Sojern, a leading digital marketing platform for travel, has released its "State of Destination Marketing 2025" report in collaboration with Benchmark Research Partners. Supported by Brand USA, Destination Canada, the European Travel Commission, and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the report builds on last year’s findings, analyzing trends shaping the future of destination marketing organizations (DMOs).

Findings from the 2025 Report

1. Digital Advertising Budgets Are Growing

• 85% of DMOs are maintaining or increasing their digital ad spend compared to last year.
• A shift toward data-driven strategies is helping DMOs maximize ROI and engage travelers throughout the funnel.

2. Campaign Complexity and ROI Challenges

• DMOs are launching multichannel campaigns but struggle with tracking results.
• Top metrics used:
  • 60% measure performance by clicks.
  • 54% struggle to prove ROI.
  • 37% cite tracking and attribution as major challenges.
• Programmatic advertising (83%) remains a preferred strategy due to its precision and cost-effectiveness.

3. AI Adoption in Destination Marketing

• 63% of DMOs leverage AI for content creation, but only 28% use AI for data analysis.
• This highlights a huge opportunity for DMOs to use AI in performance measurement and campaign optimization.

4. The Shift to Always-On Campaigns

• 52% of DMOs now prefer always-on marketing over traditional seasonal campaigns (40%) to maintain continuous engagement.
• 42% of DMOs report that always-on strategies improve brand awareness.

5. Personalization & Audience Targeting

• 66% of DMOs create tailored campaigns for specific travel audiences (e.g., outdoor enthusiasts).
• However, only 15% use real-time personalization, revealing a missed opportunity for deeper audience engagement.

6. A New Focus on Brand Awareness

• Post-pandemic, DMOs are shifting from short-term bookings to long-term brand-building.
• Campaigns are now evenly split (50/50) between full-funnel and stage-specific strategies.
• This is a shift from 2024, where full-funnel dominated at 70%.

7. Data: A Powerful Yet Underutilized Tool

• 51% of DMOs cite data analysis as a major challenge.
• 45% struggle to turn insights into action.
• Despite challenges, most DMOs use data for:
  • 84%: Digital marketing insights.
  • 75%: Visitor tracking.
  • 69%: Market research.

8. Co-op Marketing Gains Momentum

• European DMOs saw a 16% YoY increase in co-op marketing, partnering with airlines, hotels, and attractions to amplify reach.

9. Social Media & Video Dominate

• 91% of DMOs use social media for marketing.
• Facebook & Instagram (99%) remain top channels.
• CTV and short-form video are emerging as powerful storytelling tools for destination marketing.

Sojern’s 2025 Destination Marketing Report confirms the increasing digitalization of DMOs, the rise of AI-driven marketing, and the shift to always-on strategies. While challenges around data, ROI measurement, and personalization remain, programmatic advertising, co-op marketing, and video adoption offer new growth opportunities for travel marketers.