Mad Over Maldives Generated 5,600 Leads at 6.2x ROAS
This travel Meta ads case study follows Mad Over Maldives, an Indian luxury travel brand selling curated Maldives holidays to Indian travellers. Meta ads brought in 5,600 enquiries in about 3 months, every one followed up on WhatsApp, and WhatsApp became the brand’s main booking channel.
Pinned results6.2x ROAS·5,600 leads·₹51.53 CPL·-45% CPL·Jul to Oct 2022
At a Glance
Who the brand is, where it sells, and what we ran.
Mad Over MaldivesEmergingAds client- Industry
- Luxury travel, curated Maldives holiday packages
- Country
- India. Indian brand, Indian travellers, ad account in INR
- Channels
- Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) + WhatsApp
- Services
- Meta lead campaigns, WhatsApp follow-up and lead qualification
- Timeframe
- About 3 months, 1 Jul to 10 Oct 2022
Premium Trips Do Not Sell Through a Contact Form Alone
These are the kinds of questions a Maldives buyer asks before paying. A form can collect the enquiry, but it cannot answer any of them.
Can we split the stay between two resorts?
Is the seaplane transfer included, or is that extra?
We are flying from Mumbai on the 20th. Is a water villa still free?
Before EmergingAds: leads came in through website contact forms. They were poor quality and slow to convert.
Mad Over Maldives sells premium holiday packages with big booking values. People buying a trip like this want to ask questions, change the itinerary and trust a real person before they commit.
So the plan was simple: keep a short enquiry form to capture the lead, then move every enquiry straight into a conversation where these buyers already are. On their phone, in WhatsApp.
How We Built It, Message by Message
This is how we build a Meta lead system with WhatsApp follow-up for a high-ticket travel brand. It describes the method, not extra results.
Campaigns optimised for leads, not clicks
Facebook and Instagram campaigns optimised for website leads, so Meta looks for people who enquire, not people who just tap. Resort-led Reels and carousels, with prices in rupees.
Ads built around how Indians holiday
Separate ad sets for honeymooners, families and groups of friends. Offers timed to the windows Indian travellers actually book for, like long weekends, festive breaks and December, with departures from the big metros in mind.
Name, phone number, and the package they clicked on. Nothing else.
Every enquiry says which ad it came from
A short form on the landing page, tagged with the campaign and package. The team knows what the person wants before saying hello, and we can tie every lead back to the ad that brought it in.
A WhatsApp message within minutes
Every new lead gets a WhatsApp message while the trip is still on their mind, with the questions that decide the quote as buttons, not typing.
A real travel planner, fast
Once the basics are in, a planner takes over with the answers already on screen, so nobody repeats themselves. Leads that come in late at night get an honest out-of-hours reply and a planner first thing next morning.
Tell Meta which chats turned into trips
Leads are labelled by stage: new, qualified, quoted, booked. Qualified and booked events go back to Meta through the Conversions API, so delivery learns from bookings, not from people who just filled in a form.
Bring back the almost-bookers
People who watched the resort videos or visited the package page but did not enquire see follow-up ads for the specific resort or package they looked at.
Starred Messages: Travel Meta Ads Case Study Results
Leads, cost per lead and timeframe from Meta Ads Manager. ROAS and the change in cost per lead confirmed by the client.
- Return on ad spendConfirmed by the client6.2x
- LeadsWebsite leads in Meta Ads Manager, followed up on WhatsApp5,600
- Cost per leadAverage, from Meta Ads Manager₹51.53
- Change in cost per leadCompared with the previous approach, confirmed by the client-45%
- Timeframe1 Jul to 10 Oct 2022~3 months
WhatsApp became the brand’s primary booking conversion channel.
Message Info: The Numbers From Meta Ads Manager
The Mad Over Maldives ad account report for 1 Jul to 10 Oct 2022, in rupees, exactly as Meta Ads Manager shows it.
- Leads
- 5,600
- Cost per lead
- ₹51.53
- Amount spent
- ₹2,88,557
- Reach
- 1,255,961
- Impressions
- 3,296,132
- Link clicks
- 32,445
- CPC
- ₹8.89
- CTR
- 0.98%
- CPM
- ₹87.54
- Frequency
- 2.62
Saved Quick Replies for Founders
If you sell something people want to talk about before they buy, keep these four handy.
/reply-fastMatch the follow-up to the price tag
The bigger the purchase, the more questions people have. A form that waits a day for a callback goes cold. A WhatsApp message within minutes answers them while they still care.
/three-tapsFollow up with buttons, not fields
Keep the form short, then ask what changes your quote on WhatsApp, each answer a tap. Every extra typed field is a reason to leave.
/tag-the-adKnow where every lead came from
Tag each enquiry with the campaign and package. Without it, you cannot tell which ads bring buyers and which bring browsers.
/feed-backTeach the ad platform what a booking looks like
Label leads by stage and send the good ones back to Meta. If you only optimise for “form filled”, you will get a lot of people who never answer the phone.
The Services Behind This Result
- emergingads.com/whatsapp-marketing-serviceWhatsApp marketingWhatsApp follow-up, qualification and hand-off
- emergingads.com/meta-ads-serviceMeta Ads managementFacebook and Instagram campaigns built for leads and sales
- emergingads.com/travel-industry-marketingTravel marketingHow we grow tour operators and travel brands
- emergingads.com/our-clientsOur clients85+ brands across several countries
- emergingads.com/success-storiesSuccess storiesMore case studies and results
Questions About Meta Leads and WhatsApp Follow-Up
Why follow up Meta leads on WhatsApp instead of email or calls?
Indian travellers already live on WhatsApp. A message arrives where they are, they can reply when it suits them, and a planner can send resort options, prices and photos in the same thread. Calls get missed and emails get buried.
What is a good cost per lead for luxury travel in India?
It depends on the package price and how qualified the leads are. For Mad Over Maldives, Meta Ads Manager shows 5,600 leads at ₹51.53 each between 1 Jul and 10 Oct 2022, with cost per lead 45% lower than the previous approach and 6.2x ROAS. Judge cost per lead next to how many leads book, never on its own.
How do you stop the lead list filling up with time-wasters?
Two things. A fast WhatsApp follow-up with tap-to-answer questions such as travel month, group and budget band. And sending only qualified and booked leads back to Meta as conversion events, so the algorithm looks for more people like your buyers.
Do we need the WhatsApp Business API for this?
For a handful of leads a day, the WhatsApp Business app can cope. Once several people answer chats, or you want automatic first messages, quick-reply buttons, labels and CRM sync, you need the WhatsApp Business Platform through a provider. We help set that up.
How long does it take to see results?
The numbers on this page cover about 3 months, from 1 Jul to 10 Oct 2022. Your timeline depends on your offer, prices and how fast your team follows up. We work on a 3-month minimum, because that is roughly what it takes to test, learn and settle.
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