Jennifer Axness
How to use data on traveler type and length of stay to craft tailored campaigns
Spotlight data focus: Summer Travel across the US and Europe
Every traveler has a different reason for taking a trip. Some are flying in for a major conference before returning home. Others are extending a business trip into a long weekend to make the most of local sightseeing. Families may be planning a week-long holiday, while groups of friends travel together for a special event or celebration.
Understanding who is traveling, why they are traveling, and how they travel is becoming increasingly important for destinations and hoteliers. And, as traveler expectations continue to evolve, generic marketing messages are becoming less effective. Instead, successful organizations are using data to create campaigns and experiences that truly inspire and delight specific traveler segments.
Data-driven insights are the foundation of targeted campaigns, and advertising without comprehensive, granular data is like trying to put together a puzzle before finding all the pieces.
What types of data can be used?
Passenger segments data [PN1] provides detailed, real-time insight into traveler characteristics and preferences based on the average for different segments, helping destinations and hotels better understand the people behind the bookings.
Rather than focusing solely on where travelers are coming from, data on group size, length of stay, and whether they are traveling for business and leisure can help to paint a clear and detailed picture of the types of travelers most likely to visit your destination or book your property.
For destination marketing organizations (DMOs), this kind of data can support more effective audience segmentation and campaign planning. For hotels, it can help identify which traveler types are most likely to book, allowing them to tailor offers accordingly.
When combined with forward-looking demand data, these insights can be used not only to understand travelers’ intent, but to actively shape demand.
Creating tailored campaigns
Modern travelers expect experiences that feel relevant to their needs and interests. The challenge for destinations and hotels is understanding how to deliver the right message to the right audience.
Passenger segments data provides the foundation for this approach by helping organizations understand what different traveler segments value.
- Understand your visitor mix. Start by analyzing passenger segments data to identify the balance between business and leisure travelers visiting your destination. This allows hotels to immediately adjust messaging, for example prioritizing leisure-driven inspiration over business-focused content in peak summer months.
- Identify group travel patterns. Explore whether visitors are traveling solo, as couples, with family members, or as part of larger groups. Different group types often have very different motivations and preferences, for example a solo traveler may be looking for a budget-friendly backpacking trip. Having this detail creates opportunities for more targeted campaigns.
- Analyze length of stay. Understanding how long traveler segments remain in your destination or property on average can reveal opportunities to increase visitor spend and encourage longer visits. Campaigns can then be tailored with specific offers, such as family packages or group incentives, targeted to high-value segments.
- Develop tailored campaigns. Use these insights to create targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to specific traveler segments. Whether promoting extended-stay packages to leisure visitors or highlighting convenience and connectivity for business travelers, personalization can significantly improve campaign effectiveness.
Passenger insights in action
As this process shows, passenger segments data allows destinations and hotels to move beyond assumptions and develop a more nuanced understanding of traveler behavior.
As Amadeus Arrivals and Stays international air arrivals and Demand360® hotel data for July–August 2026 confirms, summer travel is heavy on leisure travelers as they seek to soak up the sun, but pockets of business travel remain, and identifying these is key to capturing demand effectively. For example, if we look at the United States, a well-known business travel market, we see a relatively significant share of business travelers, accounting for just over 9% of passengers over July and August in 2026, which is broadly consistent with the same period last year. In contrast, just 2% of international bookings to Europe were made by business travelers, with leisure travelers making up the remaining 98% for the same period, with overall leisure demand continuing to grow year on year.
These differences become even more pronounced when examining some of Europe’s fastest-growing destinations. Both Slovakia and Albania have experienced a significant rise in passenger volume between 2025 and 2026, with increases of 63% and 26%, respectively. In both cases, this growth is driven almost entirely by leisure travel. In Albania, leisure travelers account for 99.7% of all passengers. Slovakia’s passenger growth is similarly leisure-focused, with leisure travelers representing nearly 99% of all visitors. For emerging destinations, this type of insight is especially valuable. To take advantage of these travel patterns, hotels in these regions can activate targeted campaigns through digital media channels, promoting family packages, group discounts, or campaigns that showcase local attractions and experiences, while a hotelier based in the US may choose to promote flexible check-in options, workspace amenities, loyalty benefits, or bleisure packages designed to encourage travelers to extend their stay.
This summer, the three top origin markets for Albania are Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, which make up 47% of inbound bookings between them, suggesting that holidaymakers are looking to travel closer to home this summer. The majority of traffic headed to Slovakia also originates primarily from other European markets. Bookings from Poland, for example, are up a whopping 221% as travelers prioritize budget and ease of planning.
Another key data point is the average length of stay. Across Europe as a whole, medium-length trips between six and thirteen nights remain the most common travel pattern, accounting for more than half of all journeys. However, in Slovakia, short trips are growing particularly quickly. Trips of five days or under increased by 90% year on year, significantly outpacing growth in medium and long stays. 54%, so more than half of all trips to Slovakia are now short breaks, suggesting growing demand from travelers seeking quick getaways and easily accessible leisure experiences.
Campaigns can be designed to appeal to short-stay travelers by emphasizing convenience and curated local experiences, while also encouraging longer visits by showcasing the breadth of attractions, activities, and experiences available beyond a typical weekend break.
Turning passenger segments insights into meaningful engagement
Passenger segments data provides a deeper understanding of aggregated traveler behavior, helping destinations and hotels create more relevant experiences before visitors even arrive.
Organizations that incorporate passenger segments data into their marketing and planning strategies are better equipped to identify high-value traveler segments, develop more effective campaigns, and strengthen visitor engagement.
Ultimately, understanding group dynamics, origin markets, and length-of-stay patterns allows destinations and hotels to create tailored experiences and marketing messages with real impact.
