Ten years ago, planning a vacation meant designated research time—browsing Lonely Planet guides, reading travel blogs, perhaps even a call to a travel agent. Today, our next destination might reveal itself while we’re commuting to work, making dinner, or unwinding before bed.

The travel discovery journey is no longer linear. It's organic, continuous, and deeply personal. A song playing on Spotify might evoke memories of a journey across Rajasthan, planting the seed for another road trip. A podcast episode about street food in Bangkok might turn a vague interest into concrete travel plans. These moments of inspiration are happening constantly, often when people aren't explicitly in “travel planning mode." 

Forward-thinking travel brands are finding ingenious ways to be present in these moments, creating connections with their audience that feel authentic rather than intrusive. Here they are—a new set of rules that acknowledge how profoundly the travel landscape has evolved.

Rule 1: Reach travellers before they search

By the time someone Googles “best places to visit in June 2025,” they’ve already been influenced by weeks or months of passive inspiration online. Brands simply must act early and reach travellers when they’re deeply engaged in content that puts them in a discovery mindset.

One of Asia’s leading online travel platforms did exactly this through their audio-only Spotify campaign. They chose to sponsor Safar Mix, one of India’s most popular travel playlists, and used Audio Everywhere ads to reach users across devices. The campaign delivered a benchmark-beating clickthrough rate of 0.45%, a 27-point lift in ad recall and a 21-point lift in message association. Clearly, meeting travellers in their inspiration phase pays high dividends.

Rule 2: Speak to emotions, not just demographics

Targeting travelers based on demographic data like age, income bracket, etc. is a no-brainer for advertisers. But relying only on this is a rather one-dimensional approach that fails to capture why people travel in the first place.

The Economic Times and EY recently published a report on the Great Indian Traveller, highlighting trends and preferences for 2025. It talks about how the Indian traveller would rather spend on experiences rather than assets and is a seeker of “soul enriching travel memories.” Be it romance, adventure, cultural exposure or relaxation, travellers today are choosing destinations and experiences that align with their emotional needs.

The most successful brands recognise that these emotional contexts provide a far more meaningful connection point than demographic data alone. What makes this possible is Spotify’s unique ability to understand audiences through their listening behavior. Data from GWI’s Travel Trends 2024 report shows that 50% of travel users on the platform describe themselves as adventurers, 68% enjoy road trips, and 62% say they love beach/resort stay vacations. These emotional contexts provide richer targeting opportunities for brands.

A renowned hotel chain tapped into this when they sought to get the attention of couples planning their special days such as weddings and honeymoons. Rather than promote the destination or loyalty programs, the brand created a musical tribute to romance with three original romantic singles.

The campaign reached 6.2M unique users on Spotify through tailored audio and video ads and achieved a clickthrough rate of 0.53%. A brand lift study conducted afterwards revealed an 8-point lift in unaided brand awareness for the brand, proving that an emotional connection can create a memorable brand impression. 

Rule 3: Stand out in an age of visual saturation

In an industry drowning in visual clichés—infinity pools, emerald beaches, blazing sunsets—the opportunity to stand out has never been greater. Sound bypasses visual defenses, accessing memory and emotion centers in ways images alone cannot. Sonic branding is a great way to differentiate, especially for travel brands.

Air India recognised this opportunity when launching India Takes Flight, their signature brand track featuring Grammy-winner Shankar Mahadevan, percussionist Taufiq Qureshi, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London. 

The brand partnered with Spotify to launch the track and reach listeners with an affinity for travel, exploration, and the outdoors. In the first 24 hours after launch, they brought the anthem to listeners using Spotify’s Audio Headliner, a high-impact single-day burst. This was followed up with Audio Everywhere and Display ads to stay top-of-mind and encourage repeat listens. 

And the campaign saw impressive results: a 38-point uplift in ad recall, a 19-point lift in brand anthem awareness, and notably, a 1% clickthrough rate that substantially outperformed benchmarks on Spotify.

Rule 4: Create immersive, multi-sensory experiences

The disconnect between how we experience travel and how we market it has never been more apparent. Travel is inherently multi-sensory—the sound of waves crashing, the aroma of street food, the feeling of sand between our toes… Yet, advertising has primarily engaged just one sense: sight.

The most effective advertising reflects the nature of travel itself, triggering stronger emotional responses and deeper engagement. When Make My Trip wanted to raise awareness about their booking offers, they chose to do this. 

Using creative sound design featuring the sounds of the wind, waves and birds, their ads on Spotify transported listeners to exotic destinations, triggering a desire for a holiday. These were supplemented with visual messaging through Spotify’s Display ads. The results were excellent: the campaign reached 4.8M unique users with a benchmark-beating clickthrough rate of 0.31%.

As digital content continues to play an increasingly influential role in travel decision making, the most successful brands will be those that recognise that marketing itself should be an experience worth remembering.

With 24 million Spotify users having taken a vacation in the last 3-6 months and 7 million purchasing air tickets online during the same period, the streaming platform represents a unique opportunity for brands to connect with high-intent travelers in ways that traditional advertising channels simply cannot match.