RESEARCH: 40% OF BRITS BOOKING TV-INSPIRED HOLIDAYS

Four in ten UK holidaymakers have visited a destination after seeing it featured on screen, highlighting TV’s continued influence on travel decisions, as AI threatens to reshape how consumers discover and book holidays.

The finding was highlighted at Sky Media’s Travel Leaders’ Summit 2026, hosted in Malta in partnership with VisitMalta, where senior leaders from across the travel and media industries, including TUI, Dertour, Mastercard, National Geographic and easyJet holidays challenged travel brands to rethink how they build consumer preference and convert inspiration into bookings. But the influence of TV extends beyond putting destinations on travellers’ wish lists. Sky Media shared evidence that four to seven advertising exposures can be a particularly effective frequency range for driving consideration among travel audiences. It also highlighted the commercial impact of addressable TV, with travel brand AttractionTickets achieving an eightfold return on investment (ROI) and a 27 per cent increase in brand recall through its advertising campaign.

Attention also turned to how AI is reshaping travel discovery as travellers increasingly turn to AI for recommendations rather than relying on traditional search results. Panellists from loveholidays, Ice Travel Group and Publicis Media argued that distinctive brand building, proprietary data and credible third-party content will become increasingly important in helping brands stand out as discovery evolves.

James Hawker, Director of Clients, Sky Media, commented: “Travel brands are fighting for attention in an increasingly crowded market and AI is only making that battle more complicated. When consumers are presented with endless recommendations and similar-looking offers, simply appearing in search results is no longer enough. Brands need to give people a reason to choose them before they even start searching. TV remains a powerful channel to create that desire, but advertisers rightly want proof that inspiration translates into bookings. The industry needs to move beyond treating brand building and performance as separate conversations. With better targeting and measurement, we can demonstrate how TV contributes to both.”

The summit also explored how consistent creative investment translates into commercial performance, with TUI’s Global Marketing Director, Sara Ali, highlighting the role of emotional storytelling in building brand preference in an increasingly price-competitive market. The brand shared findings showing its long-term TV advertising ROI had increased threefold, reinforcing the value of creating consumer demand rather than simply chasing it.

Alongside building demand, discussions also explored the importance of delivering on brand promises and maintaining customer trust as businesses grow.

Matt Callaghan, COO, easyJet holidays, said: “Successful growth depends on delivering the promises you make to customers. In travel, one poor experience can quickly undermine the trust you’ve worked hard to build. As businesses scale, the challenge is knowing which innovations genuinely improve the customer experience and which simply add complexity.”

The Summit also challenged travel marketers to look beyond traditional demographic labels when identifying future audiences. Speakers argued that broad groupings such as Gen Z, Boomers or 50+ can obscure significant differences in travellers’ motivations, behaviours and priorities. Panellist Avivah Wittenberg-Cox introduced her concept of Q3, the 25 years after 50, highlighting the opportunity for travel brands to move beyond age-based assumptions and adopt more nuanced, motivation-led approaches to segmentation.

The importance of making travel accessible to everyone was another key discussion. Disability advocate and presenter Sophie Morgan challenged the industry to move beyond broad accessibility promises, calling for clearer information and greater representation of disabled travellers in marketing to help more people confidently explore the world.

Source: advanced-television.com