Umpf Travel PR
At Umpf, we’ve been delivering travel PR consultancy for more than 15 years, so we know what makes an idea take off in the travel and leisure space. From meticulously planning a press trip to driving forward a lobbying campaign, we create standout strategies that propel brands into the media spotlight.
Our travel PR services span everything from news generation, influencer marketing, and events, to social media, creative content, design, and day-to-day press office management. Whether you’re launching a new hotel, promoting a leisure attraction, or raising awareness for a campaign, we’ll deliver the right mix of creativity and commercial thinking to put your brand on a map.
Read on for:
- Umpf’s Travel PR Experience
- Examples of Umpf’s Travel Press Office Experience
- 5 Umpf Travel PR Case Studies
- Our Travel PR Awards
- Why Choose Umpf as Your Travel PR Agency
Umpf’s Travel PR Experience
From trains to planes, hotels to hospitality, travel agents to tourist boards, Umpf has a wealth of experience in the travel and leisure industry.
Travel PR is about building awareness, trust, and excitement around destinations, hotels, experiences, and attractions. It means inspiring audiences through stories, securing influential media coverage, and ensuring your brand stands out in a highly competitive market.
From traditional press trips and thought leadership, to digital storytelling and influencer partnerships, we help brands connect with their audiences – whether that’s holidaymakers, business travellers, thrill-seekers, or industry stakeholders.
Done well, travel PR doesn’t just generate headlines, it creates long-term impact by building brand reputation and driving bookings, visits or sales.
We’ve spent more than a decade honing our media know-how and building relationships in the travel and leisure sector. Our campaigns generate awareness, deliver media coverage, and keep brands front of mind with their target audiences.
Brands we’ve worked with include: Cook’s Club, Thomas Cook, The Travel Network Group, Visit Malta, First Bus, Gunwharf Quays, Hangloose Adventure, Park Inn Radisson, Enjoy Travel, Dakota Hotels, The Grand York, Ballerz at Bluewater, and more.
We also manage end-to-end influencer marketing programmes – from identifying the right talent, to managing partnerships, content creation, and reporting to deliver measurable results.
Examples of Umpf’s Travel Press Office Experience
Alongside big campaign moments, our day-to-day activity is central to keeping travel and leisure brands in the spotlight. We draft and issue press releases – whether it’s a hotel opening, a new event or a last-minute deal – pitch features on activities and destinations, secure interviews with key media, organise photo calls, manage press trips – from invitations to flight bookings and attendance so every itinerary is fulfilled – and handle award entries.
Using our longstanding media contacts in the travel and lifestyle press – as well as online tools and journalist request platforms – we ensure our clients’ news lands in the right places. Our proactive outreach means media come to us too, trusting Umpf to provide engaging stories and expert commentary, such as the latest news or travel trends, for their readers.
5 Umpf Travel PR Campaigns That Go the Distance
1. Cook’s Club PR Stunt – Bagvertising
To launch one of Cook’s Club’s newest hotels, we created a first-of-its-kind ad medium, turning luggage into mobile billboards with our ‘Bagvertising’ campaign. Lucky travellers carried branded suitcases on their trips, sharing their experiences on social media. The campaign secured national and travel press coverage including The Sun, Daily Star and PR Week, plus influencer content reaching over 234k followers.
2. PR Campaigns for Hangloose Adventure at Bluewater
We’ve managed multiple high-profile launches for thrill-seekers’ paradise Hangloose Adventure, home to England’s longest zipwire, Europe’s biggest swing, and the UK’s only outdoor skydive machine. Our PR campaigns for just three of its openings generated more than 230 pieces of coverage across national, regional, and lifestyle media – including The Times (three times), The Daily Telegraph, i Newspaper, The Sun, Sunday Express, Daily Star on Sunday, and Sunday Mirror.
3. PR for The Travel Network Group – Day of Action
We supported The Travel Network Group, the UK’s largest independent travel membership consortium, with lobbying activity during the pandemic – asking the Government to provide sector-specific support through the Travel Industry Day of Action.
By pitching interviews with CEO Gary Lewis and securing national and broadcast coverage – including BBC, LBC, Sky News, Times Radio and TalkRadio – we put industry concerns firmly on the political and public agenda.
4. Destination marketing travel PR stunt for Clark’s Village – World’s Biggest Santa Skate
To relaunch Clark’s Village’s festive ice rink, we invited the public to set a Guiness World Record for the most Santas skating at once. Guests were given free tickets to the launch event, with extra families treated to a surprise skate on the night, where photography was captured and live interviews coordinated.
The award-winning event attracted 155 Santas, generated 56 pieces of coverage including The Times, Daily Star and BBC Online, as well as appearances on ITV West Country and BBC Radio Somerset, and reached 112m people – alongside breaking an official world record.
5. Thomas Cook – PR Brand Relaunch
When Fosun International appointed Umpf to relaunch Thomas Cook as an online-only business, we delivered press office activity that generated over 2,000 pieces of coverage worldwide. Every UK national paper covered the story, with ongoing weekly updates, deals, and commentary keeping Thomas Cook in the news.
We liaised with national travel media to share weekly late deals and proactive reactionary comments around weekly travel corridor announcements, as well as generating ad hoc PR stories. Umpf also managed the Thomas Cook press office for inbound journalist calls and emails. Broadcast coverage included ITV News at Ten (which aired an interview with the CEO, plus a 10-second brand ad), BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio 2, Virgin Radio as well as a syndicated hourly news piece on UK commercial radio stations. Post-launch, coverage averaged around 50 pieces a week.
Umpf’s Travel PR Awards
Our award-winning campaigns in the sector have been recognised nationally and regionally, with a total of 7 awards including:
- CIPR Excellence Awards 2025 – Mark of Excellence – Clarks Village, World’s Biggest Santa Skate
- PR Moment Awards – Automotive & Transport Marketing Communications Campaign of the Year – Looking4, The World’s Coolest Car Parks
- PR Moment Awards – Most Innovative Use of Digital & Social Media – Park Inn by Radisson, E-scapes
- The Travel Marketing Awards – Most Innovative Campaign – Park Inn by Radisson, E-scapes
- Northern Marketing Awards – Best Tourism & Leisure Campaign – Park Inn by Radisson, E-scapes
- Social Travel Britain Awards – East Coast Trains – Best Use of Social Media
- Digital Communications Awards – Gold Winner, Best European Content Marketing Campaign – Park Inn Hotels
Why Choose Umpf as Your Travel PR Agency
- Proven experience – more than 15 years working with leading travel and leisure brands.
- Award-winning creativity – campaigns recognised by CIPR, PR Moment, and The Travel Marketing Awards.
- Integrated approach – from influencer marketing to lobbying, press trips to social campaigns.
- Results-driven – we secure national headlines, build reputations, and drive measurable outcomes.
Let’s Talk Travel PR
If you’re looking for a specialist Travel & Leisure PR agency to raise awareness, grow reputation, or drive bookings, let’s chat. Get in touch with our teams in Leeds or London to find out how we can make your brand the next big story.