What $250M in Travel Ad Spend Taught Us About the Five Things That Actually Drive Bookings

Most tour operators are making marketing decisions based on gut instinct, last year's playbook, or whatever their Google Ads rep told them last week. Meanwhile, the operators pulling ahead are doing something different... and the data proves it.

Propellic has managed the advertising accounts of more than 60 travel companies since 2021, with visibility into nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in ad spend over seven years. In this session, Brennen Bliss, CEO of Propellic, distills that dataset into the five marketing pillars that consistently separate operators who scale from those who stall: statistical modeling that sets the right targets, deep traveler journey intelligence, creative strategy that actually converts, ad platform signal engineering most operators have never heard of, and a conversion-to-scale framework that turns spend into sustainable growth.

You'll also get an honest look at how AI-driven discovery is reshaping where travelers find you - and what operators need to do now before traditional search traffic disappears. You'll leave with a self-assessment framework, real industry benchmarks, and a clear picture of where your operation stands relative to your competitive set.