What started as an experiment has become a trend these days with digital marketing taking centre stage. Disha Shah Ghosh delves into the changing preferences for marketing a destination, blurring the lines between B2B and B2C engagement.

Until two decades ago, destination marketing in India was the bastion of seasoned and popular nations that recognised early on the value of the Indian traveller. With passage of time, more overseas destinations as well as domestic tourism departments set their sights on India due to increasing purchasing power of the traveller, and expanding demographic dividend.

As part of this exercise to tap the market, annual participation in handful of established travel exhibitions and roadshows was a norm. This alongside in-person sales calls were the primary mode of outreach in India, supplemented with calculated branding and promotions across billboards, television, and radio channels to cover the B2C gamut.

However, with the advent of digital media, and the growth of social networking platforms namely YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, destinations now have a plethora of avenues to market their offerings. This has given rise to personalisation of content, with a dedicated messaging.

Growth of Social Media Marketing
Destination marketing agencies are now deploying varied measures for engagement on social media posts, and the ‘views’ and’ likes’ are the new-age indicators to gauge the ROI on their marketing dollars.

Social media has been abuzz with reels and promotional content about not only destinations, but even hotels, homestays, restaurants, cruise ships, trains and attractions to drive home a perspective. The latest to follow the trend is Switzerland Tourism with their YouTube series ‘Ticket to Switzerland’ showcasing stories from renowned creators of iconic spots as well as lesser-known gems in line with their campaign Travel Better to promote the country as an all-round tourist destination.

Citing their example, Noriah Jaafar, Director, Tourism Malaysia Mumbai, “Social media has made destinations like Malaysia more discoverable through the stories of real travellers rather than just official brochures or advertisements. If you browse any reel of someone zip lining in Langkawi or a reel of Penang street food can inspire thousands to plan a trip. User-generated content now holds as much power as national campaigns.”

Tourism Australia is another destination marketing agency to appoint Sara Tendulkar as their brand ambassador for India as part of their “G’day” campaign. Termed as being designed with nuances of Indian culture, the agency believes that Tendulkar’s genuine love for Australia makes the difference in aspiring Indian travellers to explore the nation Down Under.

For Reena Sachdev, Founder, Travel Arena, social media has become an extended tool for any marketer to showcase any destination from their point of view as well as select their specific audience, hence making it more streamlined and focused as a platform.

Blurring Lines
With regards to the focus on B2B promotions vs. B2C campaigns, seasoned travel marketer GB Srithar, Head – Tourism Services, VFS Global believes that social media has transformed destination marketing by adding new layers of engagement.

“Today, digital platforms allow both destinations and travellers to showcase experiences in real time – whether through brand-led campaigns or traveller-generated stories. What’s changed is the speed and relatability of the message. People do not just view content anymore they interact with it, share their perspectives and begin to imagine themselves in the experience almost instantly,” Srithar says.

Seldon Tenzing, CEO – India, East West Marketing, opines that social media has completely flipped destination marketing. Earlier it was all brochures, ads, and controlled messaging. “Now it’s visual, real-time, and mostly driven by travellers themselves. One reel or story can create instant buzz. For me, it’s less about what we say as marketers and more about how people experience and share a destination. And that’s the exciting part, it’s become more democratic.”

While roadshows and exhibitions continue to draw large footfalls, and there has been a noticeable growth in trade initiatives across cities beyond the main metros, however, one can’t ignore the role and impact of digital outreach in driving marketing investments. On one side there is a surge in the number of exhibitions being hosted throughout the year, with participation of destinations and delegations from far and wide, and on the other hand, investments across digital media are taking centerstage.

Campaigns like “Malaysia Truly Asia” video can inspire tourists while also being used by travel agents to promote packages. The same storytelling appeals to both audiences, blurring the line between B2B and B2C, states Jaafar.

This example also holds true for Gujarat Tourism, which led a highly-successful campaign ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’ with actor Amitabh Bachchan as its ambassador almost 15 years ago. This series of advertisements and videos went on to make the tagline ‘Kuch Din toh Gujaro Gujarat Mai’ synonyms with the state and its business activities across sectors even beyond tourism.

Tenzing states, “The lines are almost invisible now. Something you create for trade ends up in front of consumers, and consumer campaigns end up shaping trade interest. Everyone—agents, operators, even travellers—is consuming the same content. So B2B is not just “back-end” anymore, it is part of the consumer space too. I feel like we’re always talking to both audiences at the same time, whether we plan to or not.”

Influencer Marketing
The norm today is user-generated content, and there has been a consistent surge of influencers that drive consumer choices. The destination marketing agencies have realised the value of this vertical, and warmed up to the idea of making their collaborations with influencers as mainstream.

Influencer marketing is exactly what the two words describe, marketing to the consumer and influencing their decision-making by showcasing those experiences from the ground level. Any traveller on a holiday is able to relate to the destination better when visually experiencing their favourite backdrop.

“Influencer marketing makes a travel advisors job easier or tougher since today the demand is created for a destination even before approaching the agent, with a good amount of information already handy. We have to be more in-depth with regards to our knowledge in order to make sure that the traveller feels our need beyond that post or reel as a reference,” Sachdev asserts.

For a market like India, influencers have become an important bridge between destinations and travellers. Having hosted influencer FAM trips for Czech Republic and Bintan Resorts, Srithar says that this diversity of perspectives helped position both destinations in fresh and engaging ways that traditional campaigns alone cannot. “When integrated with trade outreach and media engagement, influencer-led storytelling significantly widens a destination’s share of voice and converts interest into bookings.”

Relevance of B2B
Outbox, a market intelligence firm enlists that the emergence and growth of platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have led to personalisation of content for travellers. And the shift from B2B to B2C is not confined to the tourism industry alone, but also observed across all sectors of the economy. Businesses, irrespective of their size, are realising that focusing on individual customers is crucial for success.

In order to stay relevant, it has become imperative for businesses to identify their target audience clearly for more specific and flexible personalisation of messages, and just relying on intermediary partners or generic strategies for the entire market.

Tenzing says, budgets are definitely tilting towards B2C now. “But destinations are smart enough to still keep funds for B2B—like training, trade marketing, joint campaigns because honestly, without trade, consumer demand doesn’t convert. So yes, B2C gets more attention today, but I still see B2B as the backbone. The trick is finding the right balance.”

Globally, more budgets lean toward B2C to maximise digital reach through sponsored content on Instagram or YouTube campaigns. “However, B2B remains vital for Malaysia, especially in building trade relationships with regional partners. A balanced split for B2C and B2B helps achieve both visibility and strong trade pipelines,” Jaafar opines.

Srithar opines that traditional platforms continue to hold value because they build deeper engagements and better understanding of tourism offerings, that digital alone cannot deliver. “FAM trips, for instance, give agents and media first-hand familiarity with a destination – something no algorithm can replicate. Trade roadshows and exhibitions remain powerful for networking, relationship-building and creating confidence among partners who drive conversions on ground.”

However, Sachdev cautions that despite the multitude of content available online or via AI, a traveller’s aspirations cannot be measured with algorithms. “Having said that, they are great assisting tools for us as advisors and do make life easier whilst curating intricate itineraries with bespoke experiences.”

Conclusion
It is certain that social media and user-generated content are here to stay and it is the B2B segment that will drive conversions with focus on personalisation. For efficient marketers the need is to stay relevant, adapt to change and keep a sharp eye on the changing dynamics of the Indian traveller, and what drives their decision-making process. The penetration of social media and its reach is unprecedented, globally, and one can’t negate its influence in driving decision-making. What is beneficial is to be flexible enough to embrace the change. For a human-centric and aspiration-driven industry like tourism, there is no way one can replace the need for in-person meet, but a good mix of digital and traditional is always a better bet.