From attending trade shows and conferences to planning “revenge vacations” including once-in-a-lifetime trips, more Americans are traveling again. This means that travel promotional items are a great buy for businesses seeking to boost brand awareness and loyalty among U.S. consumers in 2023.
Travel promotional items, ranging from inexpensive custom luggage tags to branded weekender bags, make great customer loyalty gifts for hotels, travel agencies, and other businesses in the hospitality industry. They are also frequently given away to business travelers at trade shows and conferences.
When business and personal travel declined in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel promotional items took a backseat to health and safety promo products like hand sanitizer and face masks.
The pandemic’s impact on the hospitality and tourism industry worldwide was wide reaching unprecedented. Naturally, promotional product sales to hospitality and tourism industry businesses declined in 2020 and 2021. While the hospitality and tourism market represented 6.1% of promotional product sales in 2019, by 2021 that percentage had changed to 4.3%.
Yet, despite inflation concerns, leisure travel made a comeback in 2022. Delayed trips and group bookings (including corporate team bonding retreats) drove the notable increase in stateside and international travel during the summer and fall of 2022.
Key Consumer & Business Travel Trends
When it comes to selecting the best travel-related promotional items for your brand, it’s important to take note of emerging travel and tourism trends.
Travel trends that will continue to grow in 2023 include sleep tourism; ecotourism and regenerative travel; and luxury travel experiences and accommodations like bucket list trips and extended stays at luxurious wellness and spa resorts.
While business travel may never return to pre-pandemic levels, mostly due to the widespread adoption of virtual meeting platforms and other cost-saving technologies, business travel bookings steadily increased in 2022 and should continue to climb over the next few years.
Nonetheless, many hospitality businesses are focusing on meeting the needs of leisure travelers right now. While OTAs like Airbnb and Vrbo continue to disrupt the hospitality industry, luxury hotels and resorts are poised to recapture market share as backlash against Airbnb grows online. In fact, international hotel brands like Hilton have already begun rolling out advertising campaigns that emphasize their reliability and safety.
On-Trend Travel Swag & Promotional Items
Useful and attractive promotional gifts are a highly effective form of advertising for hospitality brands who want to increase customer loyalty and retention in 2023. Consumers who purchase services from luxury brands while vacationing or traveling for business appreciate exceptional customer service including unique customer loyalty rewards.
Branded travel accessories like custom luggage tags, RFID blocking wallets, travel umbrellas, and travel tumblers are classic promotional items for hotels, resorts and other hospitality businesses. Vacationers also appreciate gifts that support wellness and relaxation like plush robes, spa kits, and yoga mats.
Other personalized travel gifts that help make guests feel pampered include useful, high-quality items like custom packing cube sets and custom bags such as weekender duffel bags and toiletry bags. Branded tech items that are ideal for frequent fliers and other travelers include custom power banks and wireless chargers as well as custom headphones and earbuds.
Trending travel promotional products include colorful fanny packs and backpacks from sustainable brands like Cotopaxi and custom travel gift sets like road trip snack boxes, sleep mask & earplug sets, and travel blanket & pillow sets.
For additional travel giveaway ideas, browse through new and popular travel promotional items in the Metron Branding Shop!
The Best Way to Source & Distribute Travel Promotional Items
Online company stores are a novel way for travel and hospitality brands to grow brand loyalty while also generating additional revenue.
Many luxury hospitality brands – including Four Seasons and W Hotels – have begun selling premium branded merchandise to guests via online company stores. An online company store makes it easy to distribute incentives and freebies to loyal customers. A brand store can also serve as another revenue source for lifestyle and luxury travel brands.
Inspirato, a luxury travel subscription company, recently launched their own company merch store of branded apparel and travel accessories. To learn how Metron Branding built their brand store and set up a hassle-free order fulfillment workflow, check out our Inspirato Case Study.
Let us help you find travel promotional items and set up a company store for easy access to them. Contact us by filling out this form today: