Travel agency — MarrakechCost per booking −41% for a Marrakech travel agency.
A Marrakech travel agency was poorly capturing international demand and leaning on OTAs. Webotic built an FR/EN acquisition setup on Meta and Google Ads, wired to WhatsApp, to convert travelers directly. (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 dependence
The agency ran most of its excursions and tours through OTA platforms, which charge a high commission and hide the customer relationship. Its own visibility with international travelers — mainly French- and English-speaking — stayed low, and the few direct requests arrived poorly qualified, often off-season or off-budget. Without a structured conversion channel, every request required long exchanges before closing, if it closed at all. The stakes were twofold: gain visibility with international demand at the right moment in the booking journey, and turn that visibility into direct bookings at a controlled cost, without relying on a costly intermediary. It also needed a contact channel suited to traveler habits, able to handle detailed questions about tours, dates and prices.
- Heavy OTA dependence and high commissions.
- Low visibility with FR/EN travelers.
- Direct requests rare and poorly qualified.
- No structured conversion channel.
The approach · international acquisition wired to WhatsApp
Webotic deployed an acquisition setup targeting French- and English-speaking markets on Meta and Google Ads. On Meta, visual campaigns showcased flagship excursions and tours toward a form and a WhatsApp conversation, travelers' preferred channel for asking questions. On Google Ads, campaigns captured search intent around excursions and tours departing from Marrakech, in French and English. A retargeting layer re-engaged visitors and unclosed requests with offers and seasonal reminders. Every request landed on WhatsApp, where the agency could qualify, advise and convert directly, without going through an OTA. Tracking consolidated cost per booking by campaign and market to reallocate budget toward the most profitable segments.
- Meta & Google campaigns targeting FR/EN internationally.
- Excursions and tours put front and center.
- Conversion via WhatsApp Business.
- Seasonal retargeting of unclosed requests.
The results · more direct, cheaper
In eight months, the setup cut cost per booking by 41% versus the baseline, while multiplying quote requests: +210% on excursions and tours. Above all, the revenue mix rebalanced toward direct bookings, whose share rose by 25 points against OTAs — commissions saved and the customer relationship taken back in hand. The WhatsApp channel shortened the conversion cycle: travelers got precise answers on tours and dates, lifting the request-to-booking rate. Steering by market let budget concentrate on the most profitable FR/EN segments by season. The result: a clean, measurable acquisition channel, far less dependent on intermediaries. (Figures to replace with final values.)
- Cost per booking −41% vs baseline.
- +210% quote requests on excursions & tours.
- Direct bookings share +25 pts vs OTA.
- Conversion cycle shortened via WhatsApp.
We relied too much on booking platforms. Today, a good share of our travelers contact us directly on WhatsApp, and we know exactly what each booking costs us.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Why target internationally in FR and EN?
- Because the clientele for excursions and tours departing from Marrakech is mostly French- and English-speaking. Targeting both languages in their home markets reaches travelers as they plan their trip, before they go through an OTA.
- Why WhatsApp as the conversion channel?
- Because international travelers naturally use it to ask detailed questions about tours, dates and prices. WhatsApp lets the agency qualify and advise directly, which shortens the decision cycle and lifts the booking rate.
- How do you reduce OTA dependence?
- By building an owned acquisition channel: campaigns targeting international demand, direct conversion via WhatsApp and retargeting of visitors. Every direct booking saves the OTA commission and makes the customer relationship reusable.
- Are the stated figures guaranteed?
- They are orders of magnitude observed on this setup, to be confirmed depending on seasonality, competition and budget. Every agency starts from a different baseline; we establish a measurement base before committing to targets.