Success Stories
Using Travel Intelligence to Measure and Improve the Impact of a Destination Awareness Campaign
ATC’s Data-Driven Strategy to Boost Early-Season Travel to Corsica
Context
French travellers and encourage earlier trips ahead of the traditional summer peak. While Corsica is widely recognised for its high-season allure, most arrivals and overnight stays are concentrated in July and August. This strong seasonality leaves the months of April and May with significant growth potential.
To address this, ATC launched the Cet été, venez-en avril/mai campaign, targeting travellers in Paris (CDG, ORY), Marseille (MRS), Nice (NCE), Lyon (LYS), as well as key urban areas like Aix-en-Provence, Antibes, and Cannes.
Running from December 9th to 31st, the campaign encouraged advance bookings for travel in April and May, with a clear message: discover the richness and diversity of Corsica’s experiences beyond the high season.
The creative highlighted the variety of activities that Corsica offers all year round — from skiing, snorkelling, paragliding, cycling, hiking, horse riding and kayaking to its natural landscapes, cultural heritage, and active lifestyle. The ultimate goal: to extend the tourist season and boost visitation outside of the summer months.
To measure the impact and reach of the campaign, ATC partnered with Mabrian to analyse changes in booking patterns, demand trends and destination awareness in the French market before and after the campaign.
Key goals
For the Cet été, venez-en avril/mai campaign, the Agence du Tourisme de la Corse (ATC) needed to go beyond exposure and understand whether their marketing efforts were truly shifting behaviour. The main objective was to measure the real impact of the campaign on French travellers’ interest and bookings for Corsica in April and May, outside of the traditional summer peak.
ATC wanted to achieve four goals: understanding how the campaign influenced the interest and travel intention of French travellers during April and May, if travel intention converted into bookings among French visitors during and after the campaign, and if travellers motivations evolved towards alternative, year-round experiences, to appeal travellers with diversified preferences. To address these goals, Mabrian provided the data intelligence framework, enabling ATC to track demand trends, booking behaviour and traveller motivations with precision and to assess the effectiveness of their efforts in expanding the season.
Approach
To evaluate the impact of the campaign, Mabrian deployed its data intelligence platform, combining air transport indicators (flight searches, airfares, bookings, length of stay, booking anticipation) with behavioural insights (traveller interests, activities and attractions).
The analysis considered the targeted French cities, comparing them with the previous year to reveal shifts in demand and traveller behaviour. This methodology allowed ATC to pinpoint where and when the campaign was most effective: data showed that Lyon was a clear success as demand exceeded 2024 levels, supported by low airfares and early bookings nearly three months in advance; Nice and Paris had a strong traction at launch (December–January) but a fading effect later, signaling that a follow-up push in spring would have reinforced the impact; whereas Marseille showed limited results, as data indicated the campaign launched too early, while most travellers book only one month in advance, making closer-to-travel call-to-action a more effective approach for this market.
By integrating these insights, ATC could better understand the dynamics of demand, timing and pricing for future campaigns.
Results
Thanks to these insights, ATC can now plan future campaigns with data-driven precision, adjusting timing, messaging and channels to extend the tourist season effectively, leveraging Mabrian travel intelligence all the way.
Mabrian’s Insights played a crucial role in providing ATC with a clear understanding of their campaign’s performance across key French markets. The data demonstrated the effectiveness of data-driven insights in strategically designing and refining campaigns during their planning and launch phases. As a result, Mabrian travel intelligence will be integrated as a tracking and assessment tool for future initiatives.
Regarding the campaign’s outcome, analysis revealed that Lyon was the sole city to experience an increase in bookings year-over-year. This success was attributed to well-timed promotions that aligned with travelers’ planning cycles (more than two months in advance) and competitive airfares that encouraged early bookings.
For other target cities, the campaign offered valuable lessons rather than immediate traffic growth. These insights highlighted the necessity of combining awareness and tactical campaigns to boost reservations during active booking windows in key target markets. Alternatively, localising messages and content to appeal to target audiences prioritizing culture, gastronomy, family experiences, slow tourism, and nature-based activities could also be effective.
Leveraging these insights and Mabrian travel intelligence, ATC can now plan future campaigns with data-driven precision, optimizing timing, messaging, and channels to effectively extend the tourist season.
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