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The travel agency was eager to attract more customers with eye-catching ads and targeted campaigns. The client was a tour operator with great vacation packages but inconsistent online leads. They knew people plan trips online, but they were not capturing enough inquiries to fill their tours. When they came to Makura Creations, they wanted a reliable Facebook Ads strategy to turn social media traffic into real leads. This case study outlines how we built a campaign that delivered 120 leads in one month with a clear focus on audience, creatives, and optimization.
The first step was to define exactly who to reach. We created detailed audience segments for the travel agency. We targeted people by interests and life events relevant to travel: for example, those engaged or recently married (honeymoon planners), families with school-age children (family vacationers), and retired couples (extended trips). We also layered in travel-related interests and behaviors – frequent travelers, people who follow airlines or destination pages. We used lookalike audiences built from the agency’s best customers list to find new people similar to past bookers. At the same time, we excluded anyone who had already inquired or booked recently, so the budget only reached new prospects.
To make sure our ads saw high intent users, we combined interest targeting with life events and location filters. For instance, when promoting a European tour package, we included fans of “Rick Steves” and people planning trips to Europe. These precise segments helped us avoid waste and get ads in front of likely travelers. This targeting approach is recommended for travel ads, as it aligns ad spend with people who match your ideal customer profile.
Next, we designed the Facebook Ad creative – the images, videos, and copy that grab attention in the feed. We used a mix of formats: carousel ads to show multiple destinations, single-image ads with strong visuals, and short videos (15-30 seconds) of scenic tours. Research shows that video ads can produce cost per lead 20–40% lower than static images, so we included quick highlight reels of trips. For images, we always used real people enjoying travel experiences for example, a couple raising glasses on a cruise deck, or a family laughing on a beach since this kind of personal imagery converts better than empty landscapes.
The ad copy was straightforward and benefits-focused. We wrote headlines like “Dream Europe Tour – All Inclusive Deals” and “Family Cruises: Kids Go Free!” so potential customers could instantly see the value. In the body text we highlighted what makes our tours special, such as expert guides, unique experiences, or limited-time discounts. We also included social proof: lines like “Over 500 happy customers” and a mention of how long the agency has been in business to build trust. Each ad had a clear call to action (e.g. “Learn More” or “Sign Up”) that matched where it sent the user.
By varying the approach we learned what resonated. For example, a carousel ad with multiple images of Italy’s highlights attracted more clicks from those interested in Europe tours, while a short video of hiking in Nepal drove more interest for mountain treks. Testing different headlines and images helped us zero in on the winning creative. Overall, we saw ad click-through rates (CTR) around 1.5–2%, which is strong for this industry.
To collect the leads, we used a dedicated landing page and Facebook Lead Form. The landing page was mobile-friendly and fast-loading, with a clear form and calming travel images in the background. It had a concise headline, bullet-point highlights of the offer (e.g. tour inclusions, dates), and only a few form fields (name, email, phone). Short forms reduce drop-off and improved our submission rate. We paired this page with a Facebook pixel to track conversions from each ad precisely.
For some campaigns, we also used Facebook’s Instant Form feature. This let users submit their contact info right on Facebook without leaving the app. While Instant Forms can sometimes yield more leads at slightly lower quality, they made it very easy for mobile users to sign up. The combination of a polished landing page and lead form ensured we captured interest in whichever way the user preferred.
As leads came in, we monitored the numbers closely. We tracked key metrics like cost per lead (CPL), conversion rate on the form, and overall inquiries. Industry data shows that travel and hospitality campaigns often convert at only around 2.8%, but our optimized approach earned about 4% conversion from clicks to leads. This higher conversion suggested we were engaging well-qualified prospects.
We ran the campaign over 4 weeks with a total ad spend of about $2,000 (roughly $70 per day). Early on, the daily budget was modest to test different audiences and creatives. In week one, we tested multiple audiences (e.g. broad interest vs life-event targeting) and multiple ad sets in parallel. After a few days, it was clear which segments and ads performed best: for instance, married women aged 25–40 interested in Bali had a higher lead rate than a very broad tourism audience. We then shifted more of the budget to those top-performing sets.
On the creative side, we paused poorly performing ads after 5-7 days. For example, one image ad had a high click rate but low form fill rate – so we either refined its landing page or retired it. Meanwhile, video ads (short reels of beach and mountain scenes) consistently delivered leads at a lower CPL, aligning with known trends. By mid-campaign we bumped up spend on these videos and on the carousel ads that highlighted multi-destination tours.
We also implemented retargeting mid-campaign. Anyone who clicked an ad but didn’t fill the form was shown a follow-up ad with a special offer or testimonial to re-engage them. This increased overall conversions. In total, the Facebook pixel was used to exclude converts and to build lookalikes of converters. Over time this helped stabilize the CPL. By week four our campaigns were smoothly generating leads at a steady pace.
By the end of the month, the travel agency campaign delivered 120 qualified leads (people who completed the inquiry form). With a $2,000 spend, the average cost per lead was about $17. This is well within industry benchmarks for travel. For context, one report shows adventure travel CPL around $20 and even as high as $100 for luxury tours. Our lower CPL was due to careful targeting and use of video ads
Out of 120 leads, about 20% turned into booked trips within 30 days, according to the client’s sales team. We tracked that metric by importing bookings back into Facebook (using Offline Conversion tracking). We could not measure every booking, but early data indicates the campaign paid off the lead-to-booking conversion was strong. Given the average booking value of our packages, the return was significant.
Other metrics: the ad click-through rate was around 1.6%, and the landing page conversion (click-to-lead) was ~4%. Overall, we helped the ads reach 60,000 people on Facebook and Instagram in the target region. For comparison, a similar travel campaign once achieved 2.5 million impressions and 350+ leads, so our results scaled in line with our smaller audience focus.
Ineffective tactics included running ads with no headline (just image) these had very low CTR. Another learning was that re-marketing the entire page view audience (people who visited the site) was not as cost-effective as retargeting only those who clicked our ads. In short, focusing on high intent made the difference.
Implementing these strategies, any business can see more leads from Facebook ads:
If your travel agency needs a reliable lead generation plan, contact Makura Creations to discuss a custom Facebook Ads campaign
Our swift-paced team is capable of handling design projects on anywhere and anytime. We’re ready to deliver your best product wherever you are !
