TLDR: Luxury travel in the UK is booming, with affluent consumers spending more on long-haul, safari, adventure, and increasingly cruise/expedition trips. The market is set to grow 8.2% annually, reaching £161.68B by 2030.
The ASK BOSCO® Index benchmarks online retailers’ digital marketing performance across SEO, paid search, and other channels, giving each a score out of 1000.
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Audley Travel tops the index with a strong paid search strategy powered by AI-driven customer re-engagement.
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Trailfinders leads in SEO thanks to a highly successful digital campaign with South African Tourism, boosting bookings by 57% YoY.
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Scott Dunn ranks third, excelling through content-driven strategies, influencer collaborations, and inclusive travel messaging.
What does the market currently look like?
According to a recent Mintel report on the luxury travel sector, nearly two-fifths of UK adults are defined as luxury holidaymakers. Affluent Brits are travelling more, spending more, and enjoying more long-haul trips.
Safari and adventure are still the largest luxury segments, while Cruise and expedition travel are a fast-growing trend amongst younger generations. Around eight in ten Gen Z would be interested in taking a luxury holiday on their own in the future.
The sector is projected to grow at a rate of 8.2% from 2024 to 2030, reaching 161.68 billion by 2030.
What is the ASK BOSCO index?
The ASK BOSCO® Index is a benchmarking feature within the ASK BOSCO® platform that measures how effectively online retailers are performing in their digital marketing efforts compared to their closest competitors.
What the ASK BOSCO® Index measures:
- Organic search performance (SEO visibility)
- Paid search performance (Google Ads, Bing Ads etc.)
- Other marketing (offline, influencer marketing etc.)
This generates a single (overall) score out of 1000 that indicates the relative performance and efficiency of a retailer’s online marketing strategy within a specific sector, like technology and electronics.
What the ASK BOSCO® score represents:
Higher score (400+): Strong digital presence, optimised media spending, balanced paid and organic efforts and high customer acquisition efficiency.
Lower score (<400): Indicates potential inefficiencies in media spend, weaker online visibility, or limited customer reach compared to competitors.
Who tops the league table?
Audley Travel
Topping the table is Audley Travel, an award-winning bespoke tour operator. This year, they have implemented an AI-powered system to strengthen their online presence. This system has helped their team dynamically re-engage users based on their online behaviour, such as abandoned itineraries or inquiries, by sending personalised, timely emails featuring curated recommendations aligned with each user’s interests.
This online presence is evident in their media value share, as they lead the ASK BOSCO® Index score in the paid search category, with a leading score of 728.
Trailfinders
In recent months, Trailfinders have teamed up with South African Tourism on a standout digital campaign called “Discover Your South Africa”. It featured an engaging online quiz that helped users uncover their “travel persona” (e.g., “Authentic Adventurer”) and paired personalised itineraries with a discount code for booking through Trailfinders. More than 1.5 million people were reached, with 824,440 consumers exposed, and around 17,850 quiz submissions. Most notably, the campaign delivered a 57% YoY increase in bookings for Trailfinders.
The traffic they generated during this campaign was highlighted in their ASK BOSCO® Index score for SEO, which scored them the highest with 757.
Scott Dunn
An honourable mention, achieving third place, is Scott Dunn. Over the past few months, Scott Dunn has leaned into content-driven digital marketing to increase their visibility, notably through:
- Highlighting expert travel specialists and influencers with awards and personal stories.
- Publishing trend-driven destination inspiration to capture consumer interest.
- Showcasing inclusive travel values, particularly with LGBTQ+ content.
If you’d like to learn more about the ASK BOSCO® competitor benchmarking feature and other functionality within the ASK BOSCO® platform – or if you’d just like us to rank your brand on the Index, please get in touch with the team at team@askbosco.com
