© Focus-Focus / iStock / Getty Images Plus Travel planning.Many factors influence our travel decisions.
Of course, great photos play a role on Instagram. But top travel influencers are never the highest paid.
Instead, it's friends, family and word of mouth, according to the Persuade Consumer Travel 2023 survey, which focuses on the travel habits of today's consumers.
The survey, conducted in March, asked 600 consumers what factors led them to choose their last travel destination.
Of particular note is that 85% of respondents chose the destination because of a "personal connection", 25% recently traveled to a particular destination because a family member or friend invited them, and 23% traveled to visit close friends and family yu. Further down the list, 21% of respondents said they had already traveled to a favorite "repeat" destination.
And of all these factors, 19% of people say they were influenced by digital marketing-based campaigns such as social influencers, email promotion or social media posts when choosing a travel destination.
In other words, the main theme or theme of the survey: digital marketing efforts can fail in the travel industry. Or, as Reporter Persuasion politely puts it, the findings highlight "an opportunity for marketers to better understand consumer motivations."
What does this mean in practice? And how can travel brands improve their marketing efforts? TravelPulse asked a number of industry experts to comment on the survey results and offered some helpful tips. That's what they say.
Avoid clicks
While there are many reasons why marketing campaigns fail, one of the most common is that they keep relying on the same old clichés and catchphrases, says Sarah Shafer, former director of marketing at Bond Studio Tour Baltimore, where she now is the general director.
“Images ranging from sunsets and cocktails by the pool, to beach destinations and glamorous city skylines, these images are very popular on social media. And often high engagement rates on posts with the same old stuff is the same content that gets some executives to pay the big bucks.” “It can make them believe they have to serve,” Schafer said.
If you look at the marketers of destinations, hotel brands and hotel groups, many of them present the same images and themes over and over again, Schafer adds.
Unfortunately, this approach leads to a sea of homogeneity, which in turn forces consumers to choose whether to seek recommendations from trusted friends and family or ignore such persuasive marketing altogether.
When he was director of marketing for Visitor Baltimore, Schafer said they took a very different approach. Local residents are the primary travel and tourism audience for DMOs.
"If they're proud of Baltimore, if they're passionate about what's going on in their city, they're going to recommend them to their friends and family," Schaefer said. We'll be doing a lot of focus group testing, community listening sessions, etc. to make sure that our company, message and image resonate well with the people of Baltimore and that they will be happy to help us spread the word.
Those efforts have paid off and led to what Shaffer calls "commodity travel," or leisure travel that can be bought with advertising.
Trust the "why".
Melendy Britt is a public relations executive with more than two decades of experience in tourism marketing for long-haul destinations, hotels and experiences in the busy corridors of Southern California. Its history includes collaborations with famous destinations such as Beverly Hills, California and New York, New York, as well as Spain, Switzerland and Sweden.
All good marketing takes into account why people travel and “gives them compelling choices about what to do, when and how,” they taught Britt.
And why there is always a winner, the British.
"It's no surprise then that marketing efforts have little impact on travelers' decisions, and that word-of-mouth and communication drive travel destination choices," says Britt, who is now a partner at marketing and communications company Be360. "Looking at people, not looking - we understand that face-to-face communication is an important factor when traveling, especially in the post-pandemic period.
"Nothing should be seen as bad news for a destination or the hospitality industry," Britt continued. However, as a marketer, you need to change your messaging and mindset a bit.
“Does your travel story convey an understanding of people and their personal motivations? Or inaccurate and programmed? Campaigns like LA Discover's "All Are Welcome" explore the story of the city of Los Angeles rather than the protagonist of a human connection story, and Virgin Airlines' "See the World Differently" explores travelers' airline choices through inclusion. . "Both win by delivering emotion, not sales," Britt said.
Don't ignore women over 50
Another missed opportunity in travel marketing? Women travelers over 50, says Carolyn Ray, CEO and editor of Journey Woman, a publication and online platform dedicated to customized travel for women over 50.
Ray said: "Our global survey of more than 1,000 women in December found that 70% feel overlooked or underrepresented in the travel industry, and the one-time supplement continues to be a major source of frustration."
Ray's readers and audience have made it clear to the publication that they don't rely on social media and marketing. Instead, they rely on recommendations from other women when making travel decisions, especially since women tend to consider safety when making travel decisions.
"I think that's why our private Facebook group has been growing by hundreds of women every week for the past few months," Ray said. "We will be collecting and collating all the tips shared in the group and putting them on our website so that women who are not on social media can access them."
Marketing authentic experiences for families with young children
The Baby Voyage platform was created to allow family travelers with young children to connect with each other and with the brands that matter to them.
According to a recent Forum survey, most respondents (56.8%) use travel guides for travel inspiration and information, while others (51%) use travel destination websites, while a third use travel magazines or blogs . 49 and 48% respectively). ). Based on these factors, 37.9% were referrals from friends and family. Tourism marketing efforts don't even make the list.
Mariana Pérez-Francis, founder and CEO of Baby Voyage, says travel marketers can better tailor their efforts to specific audiences and deliver authentic, meaningful experiences that are especially suited to families traveling with young children.
"People come to Baby Voyage because they want an 'authentic experience' suitable for families with young children, as opposed to a package holiday or a family resort," says Perez-Francis. “Very few destinations (if any) market themselves like this. That's why it's important to ask other families with children you know, or better yet, a community of trusted parents with young children.
Perez-Francis also notes that similar disadvantages may exist for other special travelers, including "LGBTQI+, people of African descent, wheelchair users."
“Travelers want to know they feel safe, respected, accepted and welcome at their destination. And when tourism marketing doesn't answer a question, they look elsewhere for information," Perez-Francis said.
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