Your 2026 Marketing Plan – Here’s where to start

If you run a visitor attraction, destination, holiday accommodation or activity business, 2026 planning should start with one principle:

Busy doesn’t always mean profitable.

Here’s an overview of the planning framework we use with owner-managed tourism businesses across Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Cornwall. It’s designed to help you sense-check priorities quickly and effectively.

1) Cut the noise: which events and campaigns made money?

Popularity isn’t the same as profit. Review 2025 and rank each event/campaign by net profit after:

staffing + suppliers
marketing costs (PPC, design, influencer fees, agency time)
operational impact (extra complexity and disruption)

Keep what performs, fix what could, and ditch anything that doesn’t give you an acceptable profit margin (or can’t realistically get there).

Quick win: Write down your top 3 profit drivers (e.g., admissions/stays, private hire, events, vouchers, F&B, retail). Your 2026 plan should prioritise these first.

2) Set minimum numbers upfront (so success is clear)

For every key event or seasonal push, define:

Break-even minimum (when do you start making profit)
Revenue Target (what “good” looks like)
Capacity ceiling (protect the guest experience)
Owner + deadline (who does what, by when)

3) Plan for 2026 booking behaviour (and don’t default to discounting)

Tourism demand is often last-minute. Build two layers:

Always-on (keeps you discoverable): search visibility, reviews momentum, consistent social, email list growth.

Fast-turn and seasonal campaigns (drives “this weekend” and holiday programming): clear messages, weather-aware angles, “what’s on this week” content.

Instead of discounting, protect margin with bundles, add-ons, timed perks, locals offers, or value-led packaging.

4) Refresh target audience personas using evidence (not assumptions)

Update your personas from:

booking patterns (school holidays, weekends, midweek gaps)
FAQs and enquiries
reviews (what people loved + what caused friction)

Then align messaging to decision triggers (ease, value, logistics, atmosphere, “worth the trip”).

Quick win: Turn your top 10 visitor questions into an FAQ section and a pinned social series.

5) Show up where people search: Google, social and AI search

In 2026, visibility is multi-channel. People discover tourism businesses via:

Google + Maps
Social search (things to do, rainy day ideas, family days out)
AI-powered recommendations and summaries

Make it easy for all of them to find you:

consistent opening times, pricing, location, parking, accessibility
clear “what to expect” content
recent proof: reviews, photos, short videos, visitor stories

6) Use the 5 Ps to plan each season

Tourism businesses change by season — your marketing should too. Review the 5 Ps for spring, peak summer, autumn, festive/winter:

Product (what’s the offering?): Price (packages/value); Place (how people buy); Promotion (channels/messages); People (delivery capacity).