Why Audience Building is The New Playbook for Reaching Your Visitors

Remember the days when you crossed your fingers and hoped your ads were reaching the right people? Crazy to think about, right?

For years, audience targeting meant guessing based on clicks, search history, or whatever someone did online at 2am. Thankfully, there’s a far better way to find the people most likely to visit your destination: build audiences based on real-world behavior.

Start with what people actually do - Instead of assuming what someone might be interested in, start with what they’ve actually done and where they’ve been - stadiums, hotels, major festivals, competitor destinations, even big events like the World Cup or Olympics.

When you build audiences around real-world actions, you’re reaching people who have already demonstrated true interest, leading to higher engagement, stronger visitation, and a better return on ad spend.

Let's play a quick game.... 

Imagine you’re a World Cup host city, working to draw soccer fans, "Would you rather reach..." 

• Someone who almost bought a jersey for their nephew online?
• Or someone who’s been previously seen at international soccer matches?

I know which one I choose for my marketing budget.

And this matters even more in the K-shaped economy economy we currently find ourselves in. 

The K-shaped economy is widening the gap in how different groups travel and spend. Some households are thriving, while others are feeling real pressure - and these groups behave very differently online and in the real world. Because of this, one-size-fits-all messaging just doesn’t work anymore. Value-focused and affluent travelers want different experiences, respond to different messaging, and make decisions in different ways.

Tailoring your message to each audience isn’t just being strategic - it’s absolutely essential requirement for a successful campaign. 

The Bottom Line 

If you want to grow visitation and improve your ROI, strategic audience building isn’t just another tactic. It needs to be the foundation of our strategy.

When you understand real-world behavior, you can reach the people most likely to convert into visitors. Because yes, that said nephew may be old enough to travel in 15 years, but we need travelers today.

Next up: Three campaigns that absolutely crushed audience building in 2025 - and what you can learn from them. Find out here.