Some of the largest travel brands cut their advertising last year amid a collapse in demand, and this could prompt a strategy rethink, according to WARC Data's latest analysis report, Global Ad Trends: Ad Investment 2021/22.

Why it matters

COVID-19 caused unprecedented disruption to the travel industry and some brands are now doing things differently. Airbnb, for example, has been vocal about its change in approach – it cut performance marketing by $541m last year and is shifting its strategy to be more brand- and PR-focused. So far this year, the company says platform traffic levels are similar...