Airlines, Cruise Ad Spending Down 54 Percent vs. 2019
Photo Credit: A Carnival Freedom cruise ship sits at a port waiting on passengers to sail. Skift / Rapidfire
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As both airlines and cruise lines chart their recoveries, digital is where they are focusing most of their messaging — with fewer dollars so far.
As the travel industry works to recover, airlines and cruise lines spent 54 percent less in advertising in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2019, according to new data in a study by MediaRadar, an advertising sales intelligence company.
What's more, 23 percent fewer companies in the airline and cruise industry are advertising than were in 2019, mostly smaller firms, MediaRadar data found.
“The significant drop in the number of airline and cruise line advertisers indicate that though numbers stabilized between 2020 and 2021, as a direct result of the pandemic, the smaller companies that may fly local and operate local pleasure tours are no longer advertising on a national level, if at all," a MediaRadar spokesperson said.
Focusing on the advertising spending of 301 companies and the content of their ads this year, the study shows combined spending of $71.4 million acro
