🚗 Travel Is Booming — And Billboards Are in the Driver’s Seat
Americans are in motion this summer—and roadside billboards are riding shotgun, delivering powerful, inescapable messaging where it matters most.

📈 Summer Travel Spending Surges
Travel is back in a big way. U.S. consumers are expected to spend nearly $315 billion this summer on vacations and trips—shattering pre-pandemic levels. Highways, expressways, and regional routes are packed with travelers, which means more eyeballs on billboards than ever before.

Whether they’re cruising to the Jersey Shore or heading out of Philly on I-95, consumers are seeing outdoor advertising during peak decision-making moments.

👀 Why Billboards Work for Summer Travelers
According to recent OAAA/Harris Poll findings:

  • 78% of consumers who see OOH ads are influenced to take action
  • 74% go online to engage with the brand—visiting websites, apps, or social media

That makes every static or digital billboard a launchpad for digital engagement. OOH isn’t background noise—it’s a trigger for behavior.

🎯 Brands That Go the Distance
For restaurants, retailers, attractions, and tourism boards, billboards offer unmatched visibility on the road to summer destinations.

  • Hungry drivers respond to quick-service restaurant ads
  • Families on road trips pull off for attractions they just saw promoted
  • Last-minute hotel stays are often prompted by a well-placed sign

And with so many people unplugged from their devices while traveling, a billboard becomes the most relevant screen in sight.

🛣️ Roadside Real Estate: Prime and Powerful
Billboards—especially along high-traffic corridors like the NJ Turnpike, Route 1, and I-76—aren’t just ad placements. They’re decision-point influencers.

These formats offer:

  • Unskippable presence in key summer travel routes
  • Local and regional relevance to travelers en route to beaches, parks, and attractions
  • Sustained frequency—drivers may pass the same board multiple times over a trip

When booked in the right location and timed well, a billboard can be the single biggest nudge in a traveler’s journey.

📊 DOOH Adds Flexibility—But Static Still Stands Strong
While digital billboards offer flexibility for changing messages and promotions, static boards continue to lead the industry in impact and value. In fact, billboards (static and digital combined) made up 76% of all OOH revenue in Q1 2023.

And let’s not forget:

  • A strong billboard campaign can amplify mobile and digital traffic
  • QR codes and short URLs make even static boards interactive
  • Travelers are often captive audiences—giving billboard messaging time to land and stick

🏖️ 5 Billboard Tips for Travel Marketers
1. Get Ahead of the Wave
Book early—before peak holidays and booking windows—to get your brand in the travel mindset.

  1. Think Like a Local Tourist
    Choose boards that reach drivers headed to beaches, historic towns, entertainment venues, and scenic getaways.
  2. Keep Messaging Bold and Simple
    “Exit Now,” “Next Right,” and “Deals Ahead” drive response when you’re on the road. Clarity wins.
  3. Pair with Digital for Lift
    Use your billboard to drive online traffic—especially to summer landing pages, limited-time offers, or mobile apps.
  4. Measure What Matters
    Even without fancy attribution tools, you can track performance through promo codes, URL traffic, and location-based lifts in sales.

🌞 Final Thought: This Is Billboard Season
As millions of travelers take to the roads, brands that invest in high-visibility, high-impact billboards will stand out—literally.

So if you’re in tourism, retail, hospitality, dining, or entertainment, this is your moment to make a splash—not just online, but on the open road.