This report provides a data-driven assessment of how well travel influencers disclose advertising content on social media.
It is a longstanding rule in the Advertising Codes that ads must be obviously identifiable. People should be able to recognise, quickly and easily, when content they see and engage with is advertising so they can make informed decisions about what they choose to engage with.
A key part of our ongoing work in this area is helping influencers understand when the rules apply and how to clearly disclose advertising content to followers.
This Snapshot was prompted by the poor disclosure rates for travel influencer ads identified in our 2024 Influencer Disclosure Report. Using insights from our Active Ad Monitoring system, this report examines Instagram and TikTok posts, including Reels and Stories, served to UK users in November 2025.
We analysed a curated sample of 531 social media posts from both dedicated travel influencers and a random sample of influencers who posted travel-related content during the monitoring period. Each post was assessed to determine whether it constituted travel-related advertising and, if so, whether it included clear and compliant ad disclosure.
Compliance levels were low. Only 20% of travel ads were adequately disclosed. A further 11% attempted to disclose advertising content but used inadequate or insufficiently prominent labels such as “PR”, “gifted”, “hosted” or “a f”. The remaining 69% made no attempt to disclose the content as advertising.
The rules are clear. Where a commercial relationship exists, whether through payment, a discounted rate or a free experience, influencers, agencies and brands must ensure posts are clearly labelled so people immediately understand they are engaging with advertising. Our recent research, Consumer awareness and understanding of influencer marketing, reaffirmed that the clearest way to do this is through the use of “Ad”.
We will continue to promote CAP’s influencer guidance and the Influencer Marketing Disclosure tool to brands, agencies and influencers. Advertising content should always be clearly labelled, and those who repeatedly fail to disclose ads appropriately may face sanctions.