Retail media: What it is and why it matters for OTAs and Tour Operators

A picture of a shopping trolley with a passport, reflective of the content being about retail media for the travel industry

Retail media means using your own digital spaces and customer data to sell advertising and promotional opportunities to partners and brands. For OTAs and tour operators, it’s the modern evolution of practices you already know well: brochure placements, co-branded emails, sponsored listings, and package deals promoted through partner channels.

If you work at an OTA or tour operator, the term might sound like jargon borrowed from supermarkets and department stores. In practice, you’re probably doing a version of it already under another name, such as co-marketing, partner marketing, or media partnerships.

What changes with retail media is the use of digital tools and first-party data. They make those familiar activities smarter, more measurable, and far more scalable, and as a result, a lot more lucrative.

What is retail media, and what does it mean in travel?

IAB Europe defines retail media as “the digital advertising space, retail data assets and in-store opportunities a retailer or marketplace owns, which is then made available to brands for the execution of advertising campaigns.”

Each part of that definition has a direct equivalent in travel:

  • The retailer: an OTA, tour operator, airline, or any travel brand with valuable digital real estate and customer insights.
  • The brands: tourism boards, hotels, attractions, car rental companies, insurance providers, and lifestyle brands, essentially any partner wanting to reach travellers.
  • Digital advertising space: your websites, apps, booking platforms, email communications, Wi-Fi login pages, and even physical screens in retail travel locations or lounges.

Retail media turns these spaces from pure customer touchpoints into monetisable assets. Instead of simply sending customers elsewhere, you can help partners engage them in relevant, targeted ways and earn incremental revenue in the process.

Why does retail media suit the travel industry?

Travel is exceptionally well suited to retail media, and many early adopters have already seen the rewards. Four factors explain why.

Rich first-party data. OTAs and tour operators hold vast amounts of customer data: browsing patterns, booking histories, loyalty profiles, travel dates, destinations, and ancillary preferences. For partners, that data is gold, because it lets them put the right message in front of the right traveller at the right time.

Endemic partnerships. Travel brands already work with a wide ecosystem of partners, including hotels, destination management companies, insurance providers, and activity suppliers. Retail media digitises and scales those partnerships into structured, revenue-generating programmes.

Digital engagement channels. The shift to online booking and mobile apps creates prime space for sponsored placements, personalised offers, and cross-sell opportunities. From search results pages to confirmation emails, every touchpoint can become part of a retail media network.

Global audiences. Unlike many traditional retailers, OTAs and tour operators often operate across several markets. Retail media lets brands buy targeted advertising in specific geographies, languages, or customer segments, which traditional co-marketing channels struggled to achieve at scale.

How is retail media different from traditional co-marketing?

Retail media builds on your partnerships rather than replacing them. It adds the structure, technology, and data-fuelled targeting that help travel companies and their partners achieve more measurable outcomes.

A comparison table of traditional co-marketing versus retail media

What are the benefits of retail media for OTAs and tour operators?

The full list of benefits is long, but five stand out for OTAs and tour operators.

Incremental revenue. You generate new revenue without increasing booking volumes, by monetising the traffic and digital assets you already have.

Stronger partnerships. Partners get measurable value and insight from their campaigns, which strengthens your commercial relationships with them.

Better customer experience. You can deliver more relevant, personalised offers that genuinely help travellers discover useful services and experiences.

Data monetisation. Your customer insight becomes strategic value, while you stay compliant with privacy regulations.

Scalable efficiency. Technology reduces manual work, unifies media sales, and tracks return on investment across all partner activity.

What is the opportunity for travel brands?

Retail media is the modernisation of co-marketing for the digital age, and much more than a new revenue idea. For OTAs and tour operators, it’s a chance to deepen partner relationships, unlock fresh income streams, and deliver better experiences for travellers.

If your brand already collaborates with partners, you’re halfway there. Retail media is the next step to make those partnerships smarter, more profitable, and more future-proof.

Retail media has already transformed how retailers engage customers, optimise partnerships, and monetise their digital real estate. Having proven itself in retail, its potential in travel is immense.

Curious how retail media could work for your travel brand? Explore more insights and success stories or get in touch.

Next up, we explore the operational pitfalls that hold travel brands back from fully embracing retail media. Stay in the loop and sign up to our newsletter.

Frequently asked questions

What is retail media in travel?

Retail media in travel means using your own digital spaces and customer data to sell advertising and promotional opportunities to partners and brands. For OTAs and tour operators, it’s the digital evolution of brochure placements, co-branded emails, sponsored listings, and package deals promoted through partner channels.

Is retail media the same as co-marketing?

Retail media is the modern evolution of co-marketing. It builds on the partnerships you already have, adding digital tools, first-party data, and structured technology, so partner activity becomes more measurable, more scalable, and more lucrative.

Who buys retail media from OTAs and tour operators?

Any partner wanting to reach travellers. That includes tourism boards, hotels, attractions, car rental companies, insurance providers, and lifestyle brands.

Where can travel retail media appear?

Across your websites, apps, booking platforms, search results pages, confirmation emails and other email communications, Wi-Fi login pages, and physical screens in retail travel locations or lounges.

Why is travel well suited to retail media?

Travel brands combine four advantages: rich first-party data, an existing ecosystem of endemic partners, digital channels across the booking journey, and audiences that span several markets, languages, and customer segments.

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