Laura Fernandez is the vice president and head of industry for travel and tourism at SiriusXM. In this spotlight, we asked Fernandez a series of questions about industry trends related to her work in the world of podcasting, music, and other types of audio. She shares the ways travelers have connected with audio over the years, the current trends related to audio among her clients, and how audio plays a role in experiential marketing.

Women Leading Travel & Hospitality: Your work involves developing media solutions that connect travel brands with their target consumers. How has the way travelers connect with audio changed over the years?  

Laura Ferndandez: Audio has always been a huge part of the travel vibe — imagine cruising down the highway with your favorite playlist, or settling into a flight with noise-canceling headphones to dive into a podcast. The evolution from traditional AM/FM radio and CDs (do you remember these?!) to streaming services and podcasts has really shifted how we tune in while traveling. Thanks to smartphones and wireless tech, we now have the freedom to access a broad range of audio content on-demand, making our travel experiences way more personalized wherever we go.

WLTH: What are the current trends in your clients’ target demographic’s audio engagement?

LF: At SiriusXM Media we conduct our own listener studies to not only understand how our audience engages with audio, but also to understand our audience across multiple verticals, like travel.  In our latest study, we found the below trends:

      1. 90 percent of listeners are listening to any type of audio while traveling
        1. 91 percent listen to music
        2. 33 percent listen to Podcasts
      2. Audio is part of the whole travel experience
        1. 84 percent listen on road trips
        2. 75 percent listen on the plane or train
        3. 37 percent listen in the hotel
        4. 37 percent listen while booking a trip
        5. 35 percent listen while researching a trip
      3. Loyalty is key for luxury travelers
        1. 83 percent of luxury travelers are hotel loyalty members
        2. 87 percent of luxury travelers are airline loyalty members
      4. Comedy is the top podcast genre for travelers (and might I recommend, “SmartLess” or “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend”—two of my favorites.)

WLTH: What are your predictions for travel trends for the rest of 2024?  

LF: The “Bleisure” trend, blending business with leisure travel, is likely to continue its strong trajectory. As business travel fully recovers, many are taking advantage of company-funded travel by extending their stays for leisure purposes.

WLTH: How do you think podcasts will evolve over the next few years, given their huge popularity right now?  

LF: While audio platforms like Pandora and Apple Music remain the primary venues for podcast listening, YouTube’s role in podcast discovery is rapidly growing. Recognizing this shift, we’ve been proactive in enabling advertisers to engage with podcast content on YouTube, initially focusing on host-read ads. We are now expanding our efforts to ensure our content reaches the broadest audience possible and provides increased accessibility and visibility for marketers.

WLTH: Companies are leaning more and more into experiential marketing. How does audio play a role in that?

LF: SiriusXM Media (SiriusXM and Pandora) hosts a robust lineup of live events, offering unique brand activation opportunities. From concerts during the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas to live podcast recordings with celebrity hosts like Conan O’Brien or the team from “SmartLess”, there’s a rich array of events for brands to engage with. For example, during Black Music Month, we organized a concert featuring Grammy Award-winning artist Coco Jones, where Delta Air Lines enhanced the experience by integrating their SkyMiles lounge directly into the venue in Los Angeles.