When travellers plan their next escape, they no longer rely on brochures or travel agents. They go straight to Google Search.
This shift has turned Google Ads for tourism into one of the most powerful engines for generating bookings and brand visibility.
Trip planning has gone fully digital. Around three in four travellers do it online, and more than half interact with paid ads while.comparing tour packages or travel destinations.
Many travel businesses now treat Google Ads as a core part of online advertising, working alongside content and PR to guide intent and grow qualified demand.
Let’s uncover how five global players dominate search engine marketing and how tourism brands in Malaysia can adopt the same strategies to improve visibility, bookings, and return on ad spend.
Table of Contents
1. Expedia: Driving High-Intent Traffic from 500M+ Global Travel Searches
Expedia sits among the largest travel platforms worldwide, offering everything from flights to experiences under one roof.
The Challenge: Scaling Against 500M+ Competitor Ad Impressions
The market for travel keywords is crowded. Competing for phrases like “cheap flights to Bali” or “best hotel deals in Malaysia” demands strong strategy, not only budget.
The Action: Precision-Targeting to Qualify High Search Traffic
Expedia focused on understanding user intent. The team applied insights from Google Keyword Planner to refine keyword targeting, capturing searches that showed genuine planning behaviour.
In addition to that , they also :
- Utilised Dynamic Search Ads, Smart Bidding, and location targeting.
- Showed region-specific offers based on traveler’s search patterns.
- Connected ads to responsive landing pages with fast load times and booking options.
- Refined targeting, added negative keywords, and ran ongoing campaign optimisation.
The Result: Driving 3X More Ready-to-Book Audiences with Stable CPC
Expedia maintained extensive reach while keeping cost per click (CPC) stable. Relevance and timing helped them attract ready-to-book audiences efficiently.
Key Takeaway:
Build relevance through precision. Align every keyword and landing page with what your target audience is actually searching for.
Precision with search terms and structure around campaign optimisation will raise ad quality while protecting budget.
Looking to refine your own campaigns? Discover how our Google Ads management can help your tourism brand capture intent-driven clicks effectively.
2. Airbnb: Driving 2.5M+ Returning Visitors Through Emotional Brand Storytelling
Airbnb has transformed how people experience travel. But competition for attention in the travel industry called for storytelling that went deeper than discounts.
The Challenge: Escaping the Low-Margin Trap of “Cheap Hotels” Keywords
Searches for “cheap hotels” offered little space to stand out. Airbnb wanted to inspire travellers to seek connection and local stories instead of deals.
The Action: 100% Ad Copy Overhaul to Focus on Storytelling and Experience
They reimagined their ad copy around experiences. Phrases such as “Live Like a Local” and “Stay Where Stories Are Made” replaced generic room listings. These messages directed users to personalised landing pages with authentic photos, stories, and hosts’ insights.
Airbnb also expanded through video ads and display advertising to nurture awareness among new audiences.
The Result: Boosting Engagement by 4X and Generating More Money in Branded Return Traffic
Emotional language lifted engagement and improved conversion rate. Visitors clicked because they connected with the feeling behind the offer.
This mix lifted website traffic from both ads and organic search, as travellers who discovered the brand through paid touchpoints often returned by name on Google later.
Key Takeaway:
Emotion converts. Every travel brand can sell an experience, not only a stay.
Craft compelling travel stories that convert. Learn more about our content marketing and video making services to strengthen your brand’s emotional connection with travellers.
3. Trip.com: Boosting Mobile Conversions with High-Performance Booking Journeys
Trip.com leads Asia’s online marketing for mobile-first travel. Their success lies in catering to travellers who book on the go.
The Challenge: Combating a 45% Mobile Drop-Off from Slow Checkout Pages
Most users search and compare deals on mobile, but many booking systems perform poorly on smaller screens. A slow site risks losing interest before checkout.
A dependable booking system matters here, since mobile users drop off quickly when pages stall or checkout feels confusing.
The Action: Deploying App Install & Speed Campaigns to Achieve a 3-Second Load Time
Trip.com built campaigns that prioritised speed and simplicity. Through App Install Campaigns, exclusive mobile deals, and responsive search ads, they kept their offers one tap away.
They tracked progress using Google Analytics, reviewing performance metrics like bounce rate, engagement time, and session duration.
The data guided their campaign optimisation for better results.
The Result: Securing Top Mobile Search Position and Improving Conversion Rate by 25%
The brand secured strong positions in mobile search campaigns, winning high-intent users at the planning stage. Fast performance improved both conversions and loyalty.
Streamlined journeys and a stable booking system helped Trip.com convert intent into real travel bookings at scale.
Key Takeaway:
Mobile convenience wins hearts. The easier the booking process, the higher your potential for repeat travellers.
Want your campaigns to connect emotionally and perform better?
Start with our tourism marketing Malaysia guide to plan your next travel ad season with intent and strategy.
4. Booking.com: Turning 9.2-Rated Stays into High-Performing Ad Campaigns
Booking.com is known for turning trust into bookings. Their advertising shows how credibility drives performance.
The Challenge: Building Trust in a Crowded Marketplace
Travellers face too many choices. With so many listings, trust becomes the deciding factor before a click.
The Action: Turning Authentic Reviews into High-Impact Ad Proof
Booking.com transformed user reviews into ad extensions. Messages like “Rated 9.2 by 5,000 guests” acted as instant proof of reliability.
Their ad copy paired these ratings with simple calls to action, then led to smart landing pages that displayed prices and availability instantly.
They kept a close eye on paid search and organic search interplay, ensuring review-rich pages ranked well while ad copy presented social proof the moment travellers compared options.
Their team refined bidding strategy and quality score by focusing on transparency and value.
The Result: Higher CTR, Stronger Conversions, and Faster Decisions
The ads delivered strong click through rate (CTR) and steady conversions. Reviews created instant comfort, reducing hesitation in decision-making.
Key Takeaway:
Trust outperforms hype. Positive feedback remains the most persuasive sales asset for every tour company.
Turn your customer reviews into powerful visuals. Ask us about Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, or Youtube Ads for engaging travel storytelling.
5. Klook: Reducing Decision Time by 2.5 Days Using FOMO-Powered Ad Copy
Klook is an online travel platform that connects travelers to unique experiences, from theme park tickets and local tours to transport passes and other travel essentials worldwide.
The Challenge: Reducing Booking Delays in a Competitive Market
Travellers often browse but delay booking, waiting for better deals or timing.
The Action: Using Urgency and Remarketing to Drive Faster Decisions
Klook introduced urgency into its Google Ads campaigns. They used ad extensions with countdown timers and messages like “Popular This Week” or “Ends Soon.”
The brand also re-engaged past visitors through remarketing across the Google Display Network, showcasing the experiences they previously viewed.
Clear rules for negative keywords filtered out low intent phrases, and ongoing campaign optimisation aligned bids with peaks in demand so ads appeared when travellers felt ready to act.
Campaigns followed seasonal trends and adapted bids around peak holidays, ensuring visibility when demand was highest.
The Result: 2.5 Days Faster Booking Time and Higher Conversion Rates
The urgency-driven format boosted engagement and pushed travellers to book earlier.
Strategic targeting, combined with a sense of urgency, quickly converted casual browsers into confirmed travel bookings.
Key Takeaway:
FOMO drives action. Creating scarcity or time-sensitive offers helps lift immediate conversions.
Want to reach travellers ready to book? Our Google Display Ads campaigns can help you stay visible when it matters most.
Gaining the Edge: Strategic Insights for Malaysian Tourism Brands
These global examples show how tour operators and local marketers can apply the same thinking.
| Lesson | How to Apply It Locally |
| Intent-driven ads win | Focus on search behaviour using keyword research and plan messages that match traveller goals. |
| Location relevance counts | Refine location targeting and show region-specific promotions. |
| Landing pages close sales | Make your landing pages visual, quick, and straightforward. |
| Trust creates clicks | Add testimonials and ratings to your creative assets. |
| Automation saves time | Use Smart Bidding and Google AdWords tools to manage performance at scale. |
| Balance channels smartly | Pair paid search with organic search to keep costs stable and visibility consistent through the year. |
| Protect budget | Use negative keywords to cut irrelevant clicks and keep CPL healthy. |
A successful tourism marketing strategy combines emotion, timing, and data.
Tools such as Google Analytics reveal what converts best, while structured ads ensure your potential customers move through the marketing funnel smoothly.
Learn how B2B travel and hospitality marketers generate consistent results with our B2B lead generation strategies
Compete Smarter, Not Louder
Tourism brands no longer compete on price alone. Visibility, storytelling, and timing shape how travellers perceive you.
By using structured Google Ads campaigns, smart bidding, and strong creative, any local brand can boost brand awareness and attract ready-to-book audiences.
A strong base in search engine optimisation helps you capture demand that grows over time, while paid search picks up high-intent users who are ready to compare and book today.
A strong online presence and well-built landing pages guide the customer journey, while smart campaign optimisation keeps every ringgit efficient.
Talk to Newnormz to plan data-driven ads, improve website traffic, and grow consistent travel bookings through strategies that deliver real return on ad spend.
Start your next campaign today and turn clicks into customers.
