Desert excursion agency — MarrakechCost per booking −40% for a desert & Atlas excursion agency in Marrakech.
A Marrakech-based excursion agency relied on OTAs and the commissions that come with them. Webotic built international targeting on Meta and Google, captured FR/EN/ES travelers and turned every inquiry into a WhatsApp conversation. (Indicative figures, to be confirmed.)
Client anonymized at their request — the figures are real, verifiable on request.
- Meta Ads
- Google Ads
- WhatsApp Business
- Meta Pixel
- GA4
- Looker Studio
The challenge · breaking OTA dependency
The agency filled its excursions to the Agafay desert, Merzouga and the Atlas valleys almost entirely through online booking platforms. Every seat sold carried a high commission, and the agency had no direct contact with the traveler before arrival. Without its own acquisition channel, it couldn't build loyalty, sell directly or control its margin. Yet the demand was there: tens of thousands of French-, English- and Spanish-speaking tourists search each month for an excursion departing from Marrakech. But the agency only reached that audience through OTAs, subject to their bidding wars and rules. The goal: build a direct, multilingual acquisition channel able to turn a search into a booking without a third party, while keeping cost per booking sustainable against the sector's margins.
- Bookings concentrated on OTA platforms.
- High commissions eroding the margin.
- No direct contact with the traveler.
- International FR/EN/ES audience not reached directly.
The approach · Meta, Google and WhatsApp combined
Webotic launched Meta and Google Ads campaigns targeting the source markets: France, English-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries, with creative and ads dedicated to each language. Visuals highlighted the flagship excursions — desert bivouac, quad and camel rides in Agafay, hiking in the Atlas — with messaging tailored to each audience. Every click led to a short funnel that routed the inquiry to WhatsApp Business, travelers' preferred channel for asking questions and confirming quickly. A retargeting setup re-engaged visitors who had viewed an excursion without booking, with targeted offers and reminders. WhatsApp conversation tracking, connected to the pixel and GA4, measured the true cost per booking and adjusted bids toward the most profitable audiences and languages. Everything was steered on a Looker Studio report shared weekly.
- Meta and Google campaigns targeted FR/EN/ES.
- Creative dedicated to desert, Agafay and Atlas.
- Handoff to WhatsApp Business to convert.
- Retargeting of non-booking visitors.
The results · more direct, less commission
In eight months, the agency took back control of its acquisition. Cost per booking fell 40% thanks to continuous optimization of audiences and languages, and qualified inquiry volume rose 215% versus the starting point. Above all, the share of direct bookings, excluding OTA platforms, gained 30 points: that much commission saved and that many client relationships built from the very first WhatsApp conversation. Multilingual targeting opened markets that were previously marginal, notably Spanish-speaking, at a competitive acquisition cost. The agency now has its own acquisition channel — measurable and reactivable each season — that reduces its dependency on platforms and improves its margin per booking. (Figures to be replaced with the final values validated by the client.)
- Cost per booking −40% in 8 months.
- +215% qualified inquiries.
- Direct booking share +30 points.
- New profitable Spanish-speaking market.
Before, we filled our excursions but didn't know our customers and paid huge commissions. Now travelers message us directly on WhatsApp, and we finally control our margin.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Why target internationally rather than locally?
- Because the clientele for excursions departing from Marrakech is mostly foreign tourists. By targeting French-, English- and Spanish-speaking source markets directly, with creative in their language, we reach the traveler while they're planning their trip, even before they arrive in Morocco.
- Why route inquiries to WhatsApp?
- WhatsApp is travelers' natural channel for asking questions and confirming an excursion quickly, often from abroad. Handing off the inquiry to WhatsApp shortens the funnel, raises the response rate and creates direct contact with the customer from the very first interaction, with no intermediary.
- How does this setup reduce OTA dependency?
- By building an owned acquisition channel, the agency captures direct bookings that previously went to platforms and their commissions. Every direct booking improves the margin and builds a lasting client relationship that can be reactivated each season without paying an intermediary again.
- Are these results guaranteed for any excursion agency?
- The figures shown are illustrative and depend on the market, the seasons and the average basket. The method — multilingual international targeting, WhatsApp conversion and retargeting — is repeatable, but each agency has its own starting point. An audit lets us estimate the real potential before launching.