Many tourist destinations have a high season and an off-season, but many businesses there stay open year-round. Attracting visitors during the off-season can be hard without the right tourism marketing strategies.
Forge Apollo is a seasoned tourism marketing agency based in Philadelphia that’s worked with large brands like Hyatt, regional brands like ICONA Resorts, and independent hotels like Oceana by the Sea. In this guide, we’re walking you through our favorite marketing strategies for off-season tourism growth.
We’ll use examples from ICONA Resorts, one of our most seasonal clients at the New Jersey shore.
Creating Your Off-Season Strategic Base
The key to effective marketing for hospitality and tourism in the off-season is crafting a strategic base for that season.
Step One: Create Seasonal Personas
Your buyer personas may change with the seasons. Dig into your audience to understand who visits your destination in the off-season.
There may also be opportunities to reach new audiences during the off-season, such as guests seeking an extended stay.
In ICONA Resorts’ off-season, we shifted their personas to focus on people in a closer geographic radius seeking a convenient, serene escape.
Step Two: Refine Your Offerings
Now that you know who you’re marketing to, you need to know what you have to offer. We suggest utilizing a dynamic pricing strategy to offer lower rates in the off-season.
This is also the time to consider your amenities and guest experience. Depending on the weather or the volume of bookings, you may need to scale back on some amenities in the off-season. However, consider what you can add or change.
For example, ICONA Resorts closes its pools in the winter months but has additional bandwidth to offer more personalized in-room upgrades.
Step Three: Create Seasonal Packages & Events
Seasonal packages and events are a major driver of your off-season tourism marketing strategies. Here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm packages.
- Align with other seasonal events – Create offerings around holidays or local happenings, like the multiple events and packages ICONA offers leading up to Christmas.
- Partner with local businesses – Partner with other local businesses to create a package that benefits you all, like a package ICONA created that included a hotel stay and a shuttle ride to a local spa, which offered an included massage and other discounted services.
- Align with your personas – Tailor packages thematically around your seasonal personas, like a Girls Getaway, Romantic Escape, or a Winery Tour.
6 Tips for Your Off-Season Marketing Strategy
Now that you have the audience and messaging for your campaigns settled, you can update your marketing strategies for off-season tourism growth.
1. Start Early
Don’t wait until the off-season is here to start trying to get bookings. Start promoting exclusive off-season packages and prices while you still have your high-season audience’s attention.
2. Seasonal Asset Refreshes
Review your ad campaigns, email marketing, and social posts to see where you can swap out messaging and imagery to align with the season.
For ICONA Resorts, we swapped ads with summery imagery and messaging for those with cozy imagery and messaging.
3. Seasonal Keyword-Driven Content
From your social media posts to blogs, create content around seasonal searches, like “things to do in Cape May in the winter.” This helps you capitalize on visitors to your destination during the off-season.
4. Work With Influencers
Travelers may not realize the benefits of visiting your destination during the off-season. Work with relevant influencers to showcase what you have to offer.
5. Flash Sales
Promoting your offerings with flash sales via email marketing, social media, or website pop-ups can drive bookings with a sense of urgency. One flash sale we ran for ICONA generated $557,747 in off-season bookings.
6. Continue Marketing the High-Season
Many travelers research and book their trips ahead of time, so it’s important to keep key high-season campaigns running to build brand awareness and capture early bookers.
Turn Slow Seasons Into New Opportunities
A slower season doesn’t have to mean fewer bookings. By staying active, sharing helpful content, and reaching the right audience, you can keep your business growing all year.
If you need help with marketing for hospitality and tourism, Forge Apollo can help. As a tourism and digital marketing agency that Philadelphia businesses trust, we create marketing campaigns that help destinations attract more visitors year-round. Contact Forge Apollo to start planning your off-season strategy.
