Pack With Intention: How Travel Brands Can Stay Relevant in a Rapidly Changing Market

Every trip starts with a bag. And every bag begins with a decision: what comes with you, and what gets left behind. You check the weather. You think about your itinerary. You ask yourself if you really need that extra pair of shoes (my answer is always YES!). You don’t pack for where you’ve been. You pack for where you’re going.

That same mindset applies to travel marketing right now. The market is shifting. Travelers are evolving. And the tools that used to be enough — heavy digital spend, retargeting loops, batch-and-blast email — are no longer enough anymore. If you’re going to connect with today’s traveler, especially the younger generation reshaping the entire industry, you need to reexamine what you’re bringing with you and what needs to stay behind.

This isn’t about tossing out everything you know. It’s about adapting with purpose. Because right now, the brands booking the most travelers and building the strongest loyalty aren’t necessarily the ones shouting the loudest. They’re the ones who’ve figured out how to show up meaningfully at the right time, in the right way, with the right message.

A New Kind of Traveler Is Setting the Pace

Despite macroeconomic headlines and global uncertainty, the appetite for travel is still strong. According to recent industry data, 70 percent of people still plan to travel this year. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are planning a summer vacation. But how they’re booking, what they’re prioritizing and how they spend once they get there is shifting in real time.

Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are leading this shift. They’re prioritizing experiences over things. And they’re budgeting more intentionally than many brands may realize. I’ve seen this firsthand. My daughter, who’s in her early 20s, just took a vacation to Oregon. She planned the trip, managed the budget, and cut back in other areas to make it happen. And she’s not alone. Nearly 50 percent of travelers right now are actively looking for more affordable options — not to avoid travel, but to reallocate spend where it matters most.

Loyalty Begins with Recognition

One of the most important shifts we’re seeing in the travel industry is how early brand loyalty begins. Gen Z doesn’t need to experience your product firsthand before forming an opinion. They’re building impressions based on what they see online, what their peers post and how your brand speaks to them — if it speaks to them at all.

This generation is often labeled as fickle, but I see them as extremely loyal, particularly when they find a brand that aligns with their values. They remember who took the time to connect with them personally, and they’re quick to advocate for those brands. But the opposite is true, too. They’ll disengage just as fast if they feel like the messaging is off or irrelevant.

That’s where personalization matters — not just in subject lines or ad copy, but in timing, tone and delivery. Personalized direct mail has become a surprising asset here. For a generation that didn’t grow up receiving physical mail, a behaviorally driven postcard feels both nostalgic and fresh — a novel, intentional touch that stands out. It shows that a brand sees them as more than a data point. It feels like a gesture, not a grab for attention.

At NaviStone, we’ve delivered over 24 million pieces of direct mail for travel and hospitality clients in just the last two years. The results? Over $500 million in revenue and a dramatic increase in return on ad spend, from 20:1 to as high as 70:1. Booking rates jumped from 0.45 percent to 2 percent. That’s a clear signal that something deeper is working here.

Balance Digital and Physical Without Compromise

At this year’s Women Leading Travel & Hospitality Summit, AI dominated the conversation. It was clear that many leaders are still unsure how to fold it into their operations. But the consensus was this: even if you’re not using it yet, it’s time to start experimenting.

That doesn’t mean replacing human insight. It means amplifying it. The smartest use of AI in travel marketing is to surface patterns, support targeting and help you get closer to the customer, not further away. Personalization powered by real-time data can deepen a brand’s relevance, especially when paired with channels that actually make an impression. This is where the digital-to-physical handoff becomes powerful.

We’re seeing the strongest results from strategies that combine AI-driven audience identification with high-touch marketing tactics. Imagine a traveler who browses an all-inclusive vacation package in Riviera Maya online. A week later, they receive a postcard featuring that exact destination, with messaging aligned to their interests and booking behavior. That moment sticks. It feels tailored. It triggers action.

And that experience doesn’t end with the postcard. The best-performing campaigns carry that tone across every touchpoint, including landing pages, follow-up emails and remarketing ads. It’s not about overwhelming your prospect. It’s about making sure every interaction feels like part of a single conversation.

Today’s travelers expect this layered approach. They want brands that are smart enough to understand their behaviors and personal enough to respond in a way that doesn’t feel automated. When everything from social content to physical media works together, that’s when real conversion happens.

Inventory Challenges Require Smarter Strategies

One question I hear a lot is how to fill unsold rooms or cabins without defaulting to deep discounts. While promotions will always be part of the equation, they shouldn’t be the only lever you pull.

This is another area where behavioral data and personalized outreach can shine. If you know someone showed interest in a particular offering, and you know they didn’t book, why not follow up with something targeted and timely? A light nudge. A reminder. Something they can see and hold, that reconnects them to the moment they first imagined the trip.

We’ve covered direct mail, but it keeps proving itself in new ways. When it’s personalized and well-timed, it cuts through digital noise in a way few other channels can. For example, I recently received a postcard from a local golf course and kept it on the fridge for weeks as a reminder to check if my son was interested in lessons this summer. I even took a photo of it and texted it to a friend who was also looking for golf lessons for her child! You can’t get that kind of extended engagement and staying power with a fleeting digital impression.

Now imagine applying that same tactic to travel. If you know someone is in the consideration window, a personalized postcard about a limited-time opportunity can push them across the line. And when it’s tied to behavioral data — not just demographics — it feels like a service, not a sell.

As much as travel can be about timing, it’s often about memory and emotion. When you show up in a way that respects that, it drives trust. And in travel, trust is the currency that converts.

Rethinking Luxury Travel

Luxury travel isn’t what it used to be, and that’s a good thing. Across the travel industry, we’re seeing a shift from one-size-fits-all indulgence to a more layered, more intentional model. It’s no longer just “luxury.” Now it’s luxury, premium luxury, ultra luxury -- and even purpose driven luxury. That evolution tells us two things. First, demand is growing. And second, traveler expectations are evolving just as fast.

Today, we define luxury less by amenities and more by intention. It’s about experiences that feel meaningful, immersive and emotionally rich. That might look like a night at a five-star resort, but just as often, it’s a wellness retreat, a hyper-local food tour or a hands-on cultural excursion that connects travelers to a place and its people. Travelers are mixing and matching, personalizing their experience around what resonates. They want to post it, remember it and feel like it reflects something true about who they are. That makes storytelling an essential part of the offering, too.

What’s especially interesting is how Gen Z blends luxury with practicality. They may fly economy, but once they arrive, they’ll splurge on one incredible experience, such as a boutique hotel, a fine-dining reservation or a wellness spa. These aren’t passive travelers. They’re curators. They’re choosing travel that helps them express who they are and what they value. And increasingly, they expect brands to meet them on their terms.

For travel brands, the takeaway is clear: If you offer flexible luxury experiences, make sure you’re framing them for this mindset. Focus less on extravagance and more on emotional return. Highlight sustainability, cultural authenticity or local partnerships. Because the luxury traveler of today isn’t just looking for indulgence. They’re building a personal narrative and your brand can be part of the story.

Pack for the Traveler You Want to Reach

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned in this industry, it’s this: you can’t pack for yesterday’s traveler. You have to plan for who’s booking now and who’s booking next. That means being intentional with your tools. It means investing in personalization. It means building partnerships that add value. And yes, it means bringing back some things we thought we left behind, like direct mail, because they actually work.

The travel brands that are thriving right now aren’t just louder. They’re smarter. They’re building systems that respond to behavior. They’re speaking to travelers like people, not segments. And they’re finding ways to be both digitally efficient and physically present.

So as you plan your next campaign, take stock of what you’re carrying. What’s helping you reach the right travelers? What’s weighing you down? What do you need more of? The suitcase may be the same, but the destination and the traveler are entirely different.

And the brands that pack with purpose will be the ones that arrive ready.