Combining their global audiences and reach, the companies say they aim to usher in a new era of exploration with a common mission which advertisers can now partner with.
With travel entering a period of recovery, the two brands’ common mission is to create meaningful, inspirational change to how people experience the world in the future, helping to leave behind the past practice marked by over-tourism and cookie-cutter experiences.
At the heart of this mission is a recommitment to conscientious travel.
Therefore, both brands pledge to continue and expand the promotion of sustainable travel options, respectful interactions with other cultures, responsible wildlife and outdoor experiences, and support for local businesses and communities.
Advertisers can join this mission as Culture Trip and Lonely Planet join forces. According to the two companies, their combined audience reach was more than 100 million unique users in the last half of 2019, and they collectively have more than 20 million social media followers, effectively reaching the entire spectrum of global travellers and the culturally curious.
To enable partners and advertisers to connect with this audience, Lonely Planet and Culture Trip will offer brand-safe, cross-platform distribution across their pool of advertising solutions including display ads, bespoke campaigns, branded content, social media, video, mobile app integration, email, experiential activations and more.
This is supported, they say, by up-to-the-minute insights into the new travel mindset at a bigger scale than ever before to help clients create and optimise relevant, effective campaigns based on shifts in planning behaviour, social media interactions, content engagement trends and more.
Through this alliance, they will be able to advertise across both platforms, targeting users at many points across their inspiration, planning and booking journey.
Dr Kris Naudts, Founder-CEO of Culture Trip said: “I’m incredibly proud of Travel Reborn - our strategic, commercial partnership with Lonely Planet that comes at a time when collaboration is more important than ever in order to be stronger together. 2020 hasn’t been easy for our industry and much has changed - what hasn’t changed is that we are both brands that are mission-driven. So instead of just going back to business as usual, we want to take this moment as an opportunity to help travellers and other brands reset and get it right.
“Together we want to help our global audiences discover new experiences, develop new habits and reshape how they connect with places and cultures - it is a truly unique alliance within our sector that has the opportunity to change behaviours for good. We have a common mission and we would love other brands and advertisers to partner with us on this important journey that will reach a global audience at a time when we see appetite for travel returning.”
Luis Cabrera, CEO of Lonely Planet explains: “Culture Trip and Lonely Planet share an unrivalled passion for travel, and a real commitment to responsible travel. For nearly five decades, travellers have looked to Lonely Planet for in-depth travel advice they can trust. Our experts have trodden almost every cobbled street and taken in almost every view on the planet, always keeping one step ahead of the travel curve. Since the publication of its first guidebook in 1973, Lonely Planet has believed that responsible travel can be a force for good, and now, as the world re-emerges from lockdown, we have an incredible opportunity to rethink how we go about it. We’re proud to combine our expertise with Culture Trip for this new era, bringing together our strengths, our knowledge and our shared belief as both brands collaborate, pledging to continue evolving our content to deliver amazing, authentic, immersive and sustainable experiences for travellers seeking to explore in a new way.”
