Influence vs. Conversions: Rethinking the Tourism Marketing Funnel

March 4, 2025

I recently spoke with a senior experience executive about advertising, and she said something that stuck with me:

“We have no choice but to focus on conversions to make our numbers.”

This mindset—driven by the need to demonstrate short-term results—has taken over not just the tourism and experience industry in NYC but marketing as a whole. (See references below.)

Business owners, Broadway producers, and senior executives should regularly evaluate whether allocating more marketing resources to short-term conversions risks compromising their brand and limiting their ability to attract future audiences. Is this strategy truly the best approach for winning the competition with similar experiences?

Marketers understand the risks of disproportionately funneling precious dollars into bottom-of-the-funnel tactics. They know the flaws of last-click attribution and the limitations of ROAS as a metric. Yet breaking free from this cycle is difficult, especially when financial stakeholders apply relentless pressure to meet immediate goals.

McKinsey describes the issue this way:

“Many CMOs shift too much of their marketing spend toward the easy-to-justify capture of customers at the bottom of the funnel at the expense of the less tangible generation of customer demand and attention at the top.”

They go on to state:

“Many marketers have found that incorporating both brand-building and performance elements in a campaign often increases the overall return on ad spend (ROAS) compared with spending on performance channels alone.”

According to eMarketer, only 21.5% of marketers are confident that last-click attribution provides an accurate reflection of a platform’s long-term impact. As they explain: “It falls well short of representing what’s really going on.”

Are reported ROAS numbers truly reflective of a campaign’s influence on sales?

The Reality: Accurately Tracking Campaign Performance Is Impossible
Capture More of NYC’s 65 Million Tourists

Combine Short-Term Conversions with Long-Term Influence

A recent Harvard Business Review article emphasizes that senior managers, owners, and producers must refocus on growth, shifting their businesses away from a short-term obsession and toward sustainable success. Here’s how:

1. Guide the Customer Journey

If you want to capture a tourist’s precious time at your venue—away from competitors—you need to convince them how your experience will enrich their life, long before they’re ready to buy. Their journey begins when they first consider what to do in NYC and ends when they pull out their credit card. Educate them at every step.

2. Recognize That Tourists Come in Different Flavors

Some travelers meticulously research, while others act on impulse. Weather, international vs. domestic perspectives, and personal preferences are just a few of the factors that shape decisions. But what unites all visitors? They want to know how your experience will leave them happier. Make it clear by describing how they will feel.

3. Sales Channels Are Not Influencers
By the time a consumer visits a ticketing platform, their decision is likely already made. Spending ad dollars at this stage is more of a Hail Mary than a well-executed game plan. Ticketing platforms may take credit for the sale, but information sources influence the decision.

Tourism Education Is the Ultimate Conversion Tool

City Guide educates hotel guests. It’s more than just an ad placement—it introduces, informs, and influences tourists at the most critical moment: when they are deciding where to go. We are the only hotel medium that describes your attributes so that guests will choose you.

A successful tourism communication strategy aligns with McKinsey’s insight—incorporating both brand-building and performance marketing. This balanced approach delivers higher ROAS and long-term success.