Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks for Recreation and Travel

Introduction

Recreation and Travel purchase costs ran hot against the market this period. Across all available countries, median Cost Per Purchase (CPP) for Recreation and Travel hovered near double the global benchmark through 2025, then climbed sharply into Q4 before an extraordinary January 2026 spike. The year opened on par with the market, surged in February, settled into a midyear plateau, and finished with elevated Q4 costs—then diverged dramatically from the global trend in January.

This analysis is based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks. This analysis explores ad performance trends for Recreation and Travel across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

• Recreation and Travel opened at $54.24 CPP in January 2025 and closed at $717.16 in January 2026—a 12x jump driven by a single outsized spike. Excluding that spike, December 2025 marked the high at $184.62.
• Over the full 13 months, Recreation and Travel averaged $151.50 CPP versus the global $49.62—about 205% higher. Looking only at 2025, the category averaged $104.37, roughly double the global 2025 average of $51.65.
• Highs and lows:
• Low: $54.24 (Jan 2025)
• Pre-spike high: $184.62 (Dec 2025)
• Overall high: $717.16 (Jan 2026)
• Movement and volatility:
• The category’s average month-to-month swing was $74, magnified by January 2026. Excluding that month, typical monthly change averaged $32.
• The global benchmark was comparatively steady, averaging a $3.3 monthly change (about $1.6 excluding its January 2026 dip).

Notable inflection points:

• February 2025 leapt to $151.69 (from $54.24), then normalized to $69.89 in March.
• A midyear band formed between $79–91 from May through August.
• Momentum built into fall: $102.95 in September, $140.12 in October.
• December peaked at $184.62 before the January 2026 shock to $717.16.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The category showed a clear rhythm:

• Q1 was uneven: a February spike followed by a March retracement.
• Q2 settled into a higher, steadier range ($84–91), easing slightly by July.
• Q3 strengthened into September, with CPP lifting from the high $70s/low $80s to just over $100.
• Q4 was elevated and choppy—October increased to $140, November eased to $120, and December surged to $185.
• January 2026 diverged from typical post-holiday patterns with an exceptional $717 median CPP, while the global benchmark fell roughly by half month over month.

Country vs. Global

Recreation and Travel CPP tracked near market in January 2025 (+2% vs. global), then ran consistently above it:

• Through most of 2025, the category ranged 57–174% above global levels, with wider gaps in late year: +165% in October, +154% in November, and +288% in December.
• The narrowest gap was in January 2025 (near parity); the widest was January 2026, when Recreation and Travel was about 28x the global CPP as the global benchmark dropped to $25.15 while the category spiked.
• Trend lines diverged into year-end: the global series remained flat-to-soft through December before dropping in January, while Recreation and Travel rose into Q4 and then surged in January 2026.

Closing

These Facebook Ads benchmarks underline that Cost Per Purchase in Recreation and Travel across all countries was consistently above market in 2025, intensified in Q4, and spiked dramatically in January 2026. Understanding CPP trends for Recreation and Travel across all countries helps marketers contextualize country-specific ad costs and compare industry ad performance to global patterns.