Gone are the days when you had to rely on travel guides and agencies. Now, YouTube travel creators have made it easy for us to embark on virtual journeys and satisfy our travel cravings.
As many travel enthusiasts flock to YouTube, a community of travel creators blossoms, offering us a wealth of entertaining and inspiring travel content.
In this blog, we’ll explore YouTube statistics for travel content creators. Here you’ll learn:
- Growth of Travel Content on YouTube
- Trends in Travel Content Consumption
- Why is Travel Content Viewership Increasing?
- Types of Travel Videos and Percentage of Their Subscriptions
- How YouTube Travel Vlogs and Videos Impact Customer Behavior?
- Monetization Opportunities for Travel Creators on YouTube
Table of Contents
Growth of Travel Content on YouTube
Admittedly, travel creators can share their travel experiences and guide audiences in a better way. This led to an increase in viewership.
Many users are now able to make travel decisions by watching travel vlogs, shorts, or other YouTube videos.
According to YouTube data analysis, the views of travel-related content on YouTube increased 118 percent year over year.
- Preferred Mode of Travel Content Consumption: Around 30% of all travel video views are from mobile devices.
- Smartphones account for 97% of travel video views.
- 205% of consumers watch travel videos from tablets.
- Time of Travel Content Consumption: During prime time (3:00—10:00 p.m. PST), 50% of travel-related videos are viewed.
- Travel video views are generated by desktop users throughout the day.
- Smartphone and tablet users are most likely to watch travel videos in the evening.
- Age-wise Watch Time: Youngsters tend to watch more travel vloggers than those 24-64 years of age.
Trends in Travel Content Consumption
Do you know that 85% of YouTube searches include general travel ideas? Just as seasonality affects different industries, travel videos are also subject to seasonal trends. According to Google, travel trends are as follows:
- YouTube travel search activity peaks in July but less in March and October.
- Most of the travel-related searches on YouTube are focused on the travel-planning process.
- 71% of YouTube users search for travel destinations, such as the best spots in Las Vegas, Paris, Dubai, etc.
- Around 8% of YouTube searches include general travel queries based on road trips, vacations, etc.
- About 9% of YouTube consumers search for local attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Disneyland, etc.
- Travel products, e.g., hotels, cruises, flights, etc, make up approximately 6% of travel queries.
- Approximately 6% of queries are focused on travel brands.
Why is Travel Content Viewership Increasing?
Fast forward to today, travel content viewership has increased significantly due to many factors. The two most common factors that impact viewership are:
Travel Curiosity
While planning travel, around two-thirds of U.S. consumers use YouTube to view travel content. 88% of travel searches involve travel destinations or attractions.
- 67% of travel content viewership is not user-generated but involves branded or professional videos.
- Branded content viewership has witnessed a 394% year-over-year increase.
Passionate Travelers
Subscriptions to travel channels are soaring by 106% year over year. Compared to non-subscribers, consumers who subscribe to travel channels tend to spend more time watching travel content, their watch time being 86% longer per view.
Most travel channel subscribers are travel vlog viewers and are more involved in liking and commenting on vlogs than any other travel content consumer.
Types of Travel Videos and Percentage of Their Subscriptions
According to Google, the percentage of travel channel subscriptions are as follows:
- With 4x more social engagement, travel vlogs top the list of travel videos and account for 48% of travel channel subscriptions.
- 19% of subscriptions include official travel brand channels.
- Travel tours and footage make up 16% of subscriptions.
- 11% of travel channel subscribers belong to reviews, tips, and how-to content.
- Official travel networks and publications constitute 7% of travel channel subscribers.
How YouTube Travel Vlogs and Videos Impact Customer Behavior?
Travel vlogs not only provide a source of entertainment but also provide insights to shape customer behavior. If anyone plans to travel, these vlogs inspire users and use tourism information in their travel planning.
Travel vlogs can provide authentic experiences for destination marketing, impacting customer behavior. Additionally, travel video viewers often get emotionally connected with vlogs and have the desire to travel and share their experiences with others.
- 92% of consumers trust recommendations from vloggers. This signifies how authenticity influences customer behavior.
- 67% of travel vlogs provide helpful information about local culture and customers.
- 5% of leisure and 72% of business travelers directly book a trip after watching online travel videos.
Monetization Opportunities for Travel Creators on YouTube
Travel vloggers can easily generate promising revenue by monetizing their channels and other sources such as ad clicks, sponsorship, merchandise, and collaborations like any other YouTube vlog category.
Let us explore the various avenues for monetization of travel content and how one can maximize their earnings.
Ad Revenue
The most common and substantial revenue generator is ad display. Travel vlogers can earn money by displaying Google Adsense ads in their videos.
The usual payout is $0.018 per view, which is $18 for every 1,000 ad views. Almost 94% of travel vloggers generate revenue through advertising.
Sponsorship
Another revenue generator is sponsored messages or clips in their vlogs by different brands, for which companies pay the vloggers according to their reach, content quality, etc.
This can range from thousands to a million dollars per sponsorship deal. Sometimes, the trips are completely sponsored, too.
33% of brands use YouTube for influence marketing or sponsorship.
Merchandise
Travel creators use merchandise sales as a side income or part-time earning platform to monetize their brands and engage with their fans and followers. It can be travel tees, mugs, bags, souvenirs, notebooks, etc.
The revenue may vary depending on the production and sales, although the travel vlogger can promote their merchandise in their videos, attracting traffic.
Merch for Youtubers is believed to make up 50% of total revenue for Youtubers.
Affiliate collaborations
Another promising revenue generator is affiliate marketing.
They can add a promotion or discount code and earn a commission for every sale. On average, a travel blogger can earn around 160,00 to 200000 $ a year.
Final Words
The key takeaways are:
- People like to watch travel videos more than other content.
- YouTube has transformed our travel experiences.
- Travel creators influence consumer behavior.
Travel vlogs are one of the most viewed content on YouTube as people want to explore the world through the content.
To thrive in the cut-throat competition, a travel vlogger must focus on adding some new angle to their videos, find hidden details, and explore new dimensions that will keep their viewers engaged with them and increase their reach.
Moreover, travel creators can leverage monetization opportunities to capitalize on their content. So, it’s more than a hobby becoming an income source.
