Travel in the region was once defined by five-star stays and luxury shopping. Today, travelers chase meaning and connection, choosing cooking classes and heritage districts over malls. They reward brands that help them find it. The Middle East’s young, globally connected, high-spending population chooses carefully. Tourism already contributed AED 257 billion to the UAE’s GDP in 2024, signalling a major opportunity for relevance.
Travelers now spend more time researching and comparing, looking for experiences that feel personal rather than mass-produced. They are less swayed by polish and more inspired by campaigns that respect their curiosity, with 78% saying they want more human interactions with brands. Relevance is more valuable than reach, and brands need to cut through a crowded digital landscape to connect at scale.
Traditional advertising still leans on broad campaigns and aspirational messaging, but audiences increasingly filter out anything that feels disconnected or intrusive. Forty-two per cent of internet users use ad blockers, and many avoid brands that bombard them with irrelevant ads.
Saturation and relevance are the core issues. Billboards, mass-market campaigns, and cookie-based targeting can’t match modern travelers who consult comparison sites, OTAs, loyalty platforms, and social media before deciding. Without relevance, attention and trust slip away.
AdTech helps bridge the gap with contextual, timely, personalised engagement. First-party data, loyalty activity, searches, and bookings within one platform capture real behaviour and turn it into actionable insight while protecting privacy. Unlike third-party cookies that track across many sites, first-party data is consent-led and durable. Seventy-seven percent of marketers now prioritise it, and another 15% plan to adopt soon.
By linking campaign performance to user behaviour, advertisers see which messages truly influence decisions. This closed-loop approach supports ongoing optimisation, so resources go toward strategies that actually make an impact.
Today, travelers want stories that reach beyond surface-level aspiration, and campaigns that spotlight culture, cuisine, or sustainability consistently earn stronger engagement. Sixty-one per cent of shoppers credit retail media touchpoints with influencing purchases, showing that the right message, placed in the right context, can directly shape outcomes.
Personalisation is key, but it must feel natural. Eighty per cent of consumers are more likely to choose brands offering tailored experiences, and nearly 90% prefer ads aligned with their interests. First-party data makes this possible by linking offers to real browsing or booking history, such as presenting family packages to users searching for child-friendly stays, without overstepping.
The journey itself is increasingly fluid. Travelers expect a smooth path across channels, from researching trips on booking apps to receiving geo-targeted tips mid-journey and loyalty nudges once they return home. Yango Ads’ research shows that nearly half of tourists are influenced by targeted campaigns, with search engines and social platforms also playing a decisive role in shaping intent.
Adaptability further strengthens impact. Real-time signals such as mobility trends, search spikes, and seasonal shifts allow brands to adjust instantly. Mastercard data shows travelers are extending their stays across MEA, giving advertisers a longer window to connect. Redirecting spend toward these markets ensures resources follow intent and maximise conversion opportunities.
It’s important to keep the relationship alive beyond the first booking. Retargeting has evolved beyond abandoned carts into a tool for building lifetime value, encouraging repeat visits and sustained engagement. With 70% of consumers more likely to convert after retargeting exposure, the approach turns short-term interactions into long-term loyalty.
Timing underpins it all. Most travelers plan two to three months ahead, while major festive activations demand far longer. In the UAE, summer remains the peak season, whereas in Europe and the US, bookings often stretch nearly a year in advance. Brands that anticipate these cycles and align campaigns early are best positioned to capture attention, sustain engagement, and deliver lasting returns.
The results of these strategies are evident. A Yango Ads awareness campaign with a GCC tourism brand lifted actual flight and hotel bookings by 13% on travel aggregator platforms within a seven-day attribution window. The work connected awareness to real bookings, not just clicks, by linking a customer data platform to first-party insights for precise, cross-platform targeting.
A global accommodation platform pivoted during pandemic disruption by focusing on domestic getaways, extended stays, and work-from-anywhere. Powered by first-party data, it turned crisis into opportunity and reported its strongest year in 2021.
Data-rich brands can test, learn, and reinvest faster than competitors, making first-party-led strategies that adapt in real time to traveller intent essential. The UAE ranked among the top seven for international tourist expenditure in 2024, with visitors spending more than USD 217 billion, a reminder of just how high the stakes are. The future belongs to brands that read the journey holistically, show up with relevance at every stage, and embed themselves in the experiences travelers take home.
