WhatsApp is becoming the pre-booking channel for travel
With email open rates flattening at 22-28% across travel, WhatsApp Business messages are pulling 88%+ open rates and 35%+ click-through. For destinations with a way to capture opt-in, it's the highest-leverage owned channel available today.
Why now
Three things shifted in 2025-26: WhatsApp Business API moved out of beta in the EU, GDPR-compliant opt-in flows matured, and travellers themselves started preferring chat over email for trip-related comms.
The result: destinations that capture WhatsApp opt-in via newsletter signups or campaign landing pages have a 4-5× higher engagement rate than equivalent email follow-ups.
What to send
High-value, low-frequency: 'snow report' alerts when conditions hit specific thresholds; 'lift opening' notifications keyed to the user's preferred resort; pre-trip checklists 7 days before departure.
What kills the channel fast: promotional broadcasts. WhatsApp users punish channels that feel like email.
The opt-in playbook
Lead with utility, not novelty. 'Get a WhatsApp alert when we open' outperforms 'Subscribe to our WhatsApp' by 6:1. Use a single QR code across all touchpoints (printed brochures, social posts, OOH) so the opt-in friction stays low.
Related trends
Agency
The cookieless web has arrived. First-party data is the new strategic asset
Third-party cookies are effectively gone. What replaces them — owned data, consented identifiers, and direct relationships — is now a strategic priority.
Read article →
AI
AI is rewriting how travellers plan their trips
Generative AI has moved from novelty to default for the first step of travel research — and that quietly changes where destinations need to show up.
Read article →
Agency
Retail media networks are emerging as the third great ad channel
Search and social are familiar. Retail media — the ad inventory of large retailers — is increasingly the third pillar of paid digital strategy.
Read article →