The travel industry’s total media ad spending declined by almost 60% in 2020, but as of this year, it will have fully regained the lost ground. Travel-related companies will spend $9.86 billion on total media advertising in 2024, just a hair above the $9.85 billion they posted in 2019. Several years of towering growth rates drove this recovery, but we now expect a substantial moderation going forward.

Over 78% of travel’s ad dollars will go to digital advertising this year, or $7.73 billion. That equates to an 8.9% YoY spending increase—a decent if unspectacular outcome. The national growth rate for digital ad spending in 2024 will be 12.6%, which means travel will underperform compared with most other industries. This represents a significant change from the past three years, when travel led all industries in growth every time.

We have substantially downgraded our growth estimate for 2024 compared with our previous forecast. We originally anticipated a gentler deceleration, but it’s been a tough year for many travel industry players. A shaky economy and persistent inflation have weighed on consumer budgets, and the “revenge travel” phenomenon of the post-pandemic era has petered out. High-income travelers continue to prioritize travel spending, but much of the middle class has pulled back. Travel marketers have responded with increased caution in their spending decisions.

Travel remains the smallest ad spender among the nine industry verticals we break out. Across both total media and digital media, travel ranks last in spending, trailing even our miscellaneous “other” category. Although it has clawed back some share compared with 2020, travel will still account for just 2.6% of digital spending this year. It will trail the next largest industry, telecom, by $12.54 billion.

Travel will spend more than $2 billion on traditional media this year, but that figure is set to decline. At 21.6% of its total outlay, travel companies’ share of spending on TV, radio, out-of-home, and print ads almost mirrors the 22.3% national average. Although travel has not abandoned traditional media as much as some other industries, it is still a very small factor for traditional ad publishers, and its spending will fall going forward.

Travel’s affinity for large-screen advertising will keep its ads on traditional media to at least some degree. Travel industry products and services can look more tempting on TV screens (and billboards) than on small-format digital devices. Traditional media is also still useful for top-of-funnel national branding exercises, which fit well with broad-based tourism campaigns. Nonetheless, travel is slowly retreating from traditional media like almost every other industry.

Read the full report, US Travel Industry Ad Spending 2024.