The weekend getaway market is one of the travel industry's most lucrative segments, full of high-intent travelers ready to book. Instead of planning an extended vacation months ahead of time, these spontaneous weekenders make decisions within weeks (or even days) of their desired travel dates.
Yet, many tourism businesses struggle to reach them effectively—missing out on millions in potential revenue.
The challenge isn't finding weekend travelers. They're actively searching for destinations. The real challenge is cutting through the noise of generic travel advertising to create genuine connections that inspire immediate action.
Key Points:
- Weekend getaway travelers represent a massive market opportunity, but most marketing strategies fail to connect with these high-intent consumers
- Traditional broad-reach advertising often misses the mark with spontaneous weekend travelers who make quick booking decisions
- Localized storytelling through trusted media partners creates authentic connections that drive bookings
- McClatchy's approach combines local credibility with targeted reach, delivering measurable results for tourism businesses
- The Pompano Beach case study demonstrates how strategic partnerships can boost room sales by over 10% YoY.
Why Traditional Travel Marketing Falls Short for Weekend Travelers
Travel marketing relies on specific tactics: stunning destination photos, TikTok, demographic targeting, and—most importantly—retargeting. While visually appealing, this approach often misses the mark with weekend getaway travelers.
These are not your typical vacationers. They are spontaneous, budget-conscious, and heavily influenced by authentic, local recommendations. Instead of polished campaigns, they usually look for genuine experiences that resonate with their needs and preferences. Here’s why traditional marketing falls short:
- Lack of Local Context: National campaigns rarely cater to the specific interests or quirks of a local audience.
- Impersonal Social Media Ads: Generic ads fail to make a connection with spontaneous travelers seeking authenticity.
- Missed Intent with Search Advertising: Search ads often don’t build enought trust to convert weekenders.
- Overreliance on Corporate Messaging: Weekend travelers prioritize peer reviews and local insights over flashy, corporate-driven campaigns.
By failing to address these nuances, many travel marketing efforts result in wasted ad spend and missed opportunities to connect with ready-to-book travelers. To succeed, marketers must embrace a more personalized, localized approach that speaks directly to this audience’s unique mindset.
Reach Weekend Travelers With Localized Storytelling
Reaching weekend getaway travelers demands a tailored approach: one that combines local credibility with strategic targeting. Travelers planning short trips want to know what locals do. They want to eat where they eat, shop where they shop, and experience what makes the destination special.
When travel content is integrated with trusted local media, it resonates on a deeper level.
Instead of feeling like an advertisement, it becomes a recommendation from a familiar, reliable source. Stories that highlight the hidden gems of a destination—crafting narratives about authentic experiences, local culture, and value—connect with travelers far more effectively than generic promotional content.
McClatchy draws on decades of community trust—across 30 markets nationwide—to help you do just that.
Our tourism advertising expertise extends far beyond ad placement. We know how to craft compelling, locally informed stories that appeal directly to weekend travelers' motivations. By combining this expertise with trusted local journalism, McClatchy ensures that travel content not only reaches its audience... but resonates.
Case Study: Pompano Beach's Remarkable Results
In December 2023, Visit Pompano Beach partnered with McClatchy with a shared vision: to inspire year-round travel and bring more visitors during the off-season. Together, we crafted a localized storytelling strategy that connected with travelers on a deeper level, showcasing the unique experiences Pompano Beach has to offer.
The results spoke for themselves:
- Rooms sold grew by 10.31% year-over-year by 2024.
- Revenue increased by 10.04% during the same period.
- In Q1 2025, demand rose by 11.5% compared to Q1 2024.
- Revenue for Q1 2025 climbed by 11.3% year-over-year.
These numbers demonstrate the power of authentic stories and thoughtful partnerships to transform how people travel. It's not just about awareness; it's about sparking curiosity and inspiring action.
Read this story (and more!) on our Case Study page.
Partner with McClatchy for Strategic Tourism Marketing
McClatchy offers unparalleled expertise and tools to help tourism businesses connect with weekend getaway travelers and beyond. Here's why partnering with us can transform your marketing:
- Loyal, Engaged Audience: Reach over 57 million monthly unique visitors and 25 million social media followers who actively engage with local content across 30 markets.
- Tourism Advertising Expertise: Our team understands the nuances of travel marketing, from seasonal trends to booking behaviors, ensuring more strategic and impactful campaigns.
- Tailored Marketing Solutions: Forget one-size-fits-all approaches—McClatchy customizes strategies to match your destination's unique characteristics and target audience.
- Multi-Platform Reach: From sponsored content and native advertising to social media and programmatic display, we surround travelers with consistent, compelling messaging.
- Deep Local Market Knowledge: Leverage our expertise in local storytelling and audience targeting to create authentic campaigns that inspire action.
By combining proven tourism advertising strategies with extensive local market reach, McClatchy helps destinations capture more high-intent travelers and drive measurable increases in bookings.
Ready to turn browsers into bookers? Partner with McClatchy and elevate your tourism marketing.
%20(1).jpg)
