Expedia Media, the advertising sales division of Expedia, Inc., has released insights from a new study on destination marketing organization (DMO) advertising trends. Commissioned by Expedia and conducted by Revel, the study most notably revealed that DMOs are significantly shifting ad dollars online and away from offline media, with some DMOs saying that online now accounts for more than 50 percent of the organization's total advertising budget. According to the Expedia study, the shift of DMO marketing dollars to online media has occurred largely because of budget cuts and increasing pressure from governing bodies to measure results.

Underscoring the opportunities that exist online for DMOs, other recent data have shown how important online sources are to leisure travelers. A 2009 PhoCusWright study reported that 56 percent of U.S. travelers select their vacation destination online. Destination marketers also have the opportunity online to influence leisure travelers in the decision process, as a 2009 Google-Compete study showed that as many as 4 in 10 leisure travelers are undecided on an exact destination when they think about planning a trip.

Social media is also an increasingly important channel for destination marketers seeking to connect with travelers online. According to a January 2010 report from Destination Analysts, 43.5 percent of consumer respondents said they had used some form of user-generated content to plan leisure travel in the last 12 months, and 24 percent said they had used a mobile phone or PDA to access travel information – 80 percent higher than the prior year. DMOs recognize the need to capitalize on this trend, and according to Expedia's study, many DMOs said they want to incorporate social media into the marketing mix, but have not yet determined the best way to leverage the channel in their marketing plans.