Email open rate reports opens relative to delivered emails. Mailchimp calculates it using recorded opens for successfully delivered messages. It is a tracking measure rather than direct evidence that a person read the email or understood the offer. Source: Mailchimp: About open and click rates

Use it as one part of the review

For a travel newsletter, review the subject line alongside clicks, enquiries and unsubscribes. Keep the audience and reporting period visible. This gives the team several observations to discuss before deciding whether the message helped readers take the intended next step.

Check automated activity

Mailchimp explains that security services, privacy tools and link previews can open emails or click links before recipients do. Check the report’s bot filtering and record how the figure was produced. This is why an increase in reported opens should prompt investigation rather than a claim that more people definitely read the message. Source: Mailchimp: About bot activity and bot filtering

Written and updated by Travelgenix. Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Worked examples and recommendations are editorial illustrations, not customer results.