What it takes to win in social media and travel marketing

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Social media in travel is no longer just about selling dreams – it’s about selling trust, identity, and shared experiences

May 28, 2025

At the Preferred Global Conference 2025 in Singapore, a standout panel on social media and travel marketing revealed a powerful shift in how influence and commerce now intersect. Far from being just a top-of-funnel inspiration channel, social media today drives full-funnel engagement — from discovery to booking — through experimentation, community, and creator-led storytelling. Panelists, including TikTok’s Eason Zhang, influencers, OTAs, and platform founders, emphasized that the new travel customer journey is nonlinear, dynamic, and deeply personal.

Key takeaways

The travel funnel is dead. long live the pinball: The traditional linear funnel has been replaced by a chaotic, bouncing customer journey. Travelers pinball between TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Google, and even ChatGPT before booking. Social media isn’t just a top-of-funnel tool anymore — it’s embedded throughout the decision-making process.
TikTok drives discovery, but threads builds community: While TikTok still drives brand visibility, creators like Amira Rahmat find Threads delivers more authentic and viral engagement. In a sea of commoditized content (like sunsets), unique narratives and representation — such as a solo hijabi traveler – offer deeper resonance.
Social sells, but travel isn’t hairspray. Selling travel requires more complexity than simple product commerce. While social media can inspire, actual bookings demand logistical integration (dates, dietary needs, etc.). OTAs still play a key role in smoothing the transaction path.
Community over followers. Influencer success no longer depends on follower count. What matters is community — shared values, trust, and authenticity. Micro-influencers and creators with niche audiences are outperforming mega-influencers in conversions.
Content creators are R&D labs: Hotels and travel brands should treat creators as agile testing partners. Let them prototype ideas, explore new markets, and generate content quickly – with relatively low risk and high learning potential.
Letting go can unlock growth: Allowing creators freedom yields results. A Parkroyal Pickering experiment showed that empowering 100 creators to live-stream freely resulted in over 1,000 pieces of content and spiked conversions.
Loyalty is shifting to “vibes:” Traditional loyalty points are losing relevance. The future lies in delivering experiences that feel aligned with individual preferences, emotions, and values – what panelists called “vibes.”
AI influencers: Still soulless? Experiments with AI-generated influencers yielded flat engagement. While improving, they still lack the communal connection and emotional depth that human creators offer.