California's tourism industry is setting its sights on UK travellers, with a recent partnership between Visit California and DTTT partner Skyscanner, aiming to ignite wanderlust and drive bookings.

The campaign leverages Skyscanner's extensive reach and expertise in targeting experience-seeking travellers. Its dedicated California hub features captivating content, immersive visuals and interactive features designed to transport potential visitors to the heart of the Golden State.

This collaboration aligns with both parties' objectives:

1. Visit California: Expands its reach to a targeted audience of adventurous UK travellers seeking diverse experiences beyond the typical tourist fare.
2. Skyscanner: Strengthens its commitment to empowering informed travel decisions and supporting destination growth.

Talk about impressive! Not only did the campaign resonate with the target audience, generating significant increases in flight searches (279%) and bookings (211%) year on year but it also delivered exceptional financial results. The return on ad spend hit a remarkable 8,842%, exceeding initial brand engagement metrics.

Several factors contribute to the success of this partnership:

1. Targeted Reach: Skyscanner connects with travellers actively searching for experiences, offering a valuable platform for Visit California to showcase its diverse offerings.
2. Content-Driven Inspiration: Immersive content and captivating visuals fuel wanderlust and encourage exploration, aligning with Visit California's focus on showcasing the state's multifaceted appeal.
3. Data-Driven Insights: Tracking key metrics allows both parties to refine the campaign and maximise its impact on bookings and tourism revenue.
4. Collaborative Approach: This partnership exemplifies the trend of destinations working hand-in-hand with industry leaders to optimise reach and impact.

Whilst the long-term success for both parties remains to be seen, the early results and strategic alignment suggest a promising basis for driving UK tourism to California, complemented by Visit California's wider digital brand and marketing strategy.

This partnership exemplifies the value that Skyscanner can bring to DMOs, with over 120 million active users every month. This vast audience represents a treasure trove of potential travellers, eager to discover their next adventure. Partnering with Skyscanner places your destination front and centre on this expansive platform, making it instantly visible to a diverse range of travellers from all corners of the globe. For marketers, this opens the doors to previously untapped markets and allows them to connect with audiences with unique travel preferences, interests and budgets.

Here at the DTTT we have previously highlighted the brilliant resources that Skyscanner have been building for their destination partners recently. Having access to a global audience which is truly qualified and in the market for travel is key, whilst the insights available offer a rich set of metrics which can be invaluable in the DMO strategic planning process.