Despite all the uncertainty travel marketers faced in the last couple of years, people are ready to go. From glamping to dog-friendly vacation destinations, we’re ready to prioritize travel. Good storytelling, across channels, by travel and tourism destinations, will make brands part of the traveler’s journey.
What is Travel Marketing and Why is It Important?
- The travel and tourism industry is growing at an annual rate of 8.46%
- Earning in the Travel & Tourism market is project to reach *54 billion in 2023.
- Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate from 2023-2027 of 4.41%, resulting in a projected market value of over one billion by 2027
- In the Travel & Tourism market, 74 of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2027.
Source: Statista
After taking in these statistics, do you have to ask why travel marketing is important? There’s real money to be made.
Marketing Strategies for Travel and Tourism
With real demand comes real competition. There are any number of reasons people travel and even more ways. There are solo travelers and those who crave local experiences. While others seek wineries and prioritize sustainable destinations. Appreciating this it’s essential that travel and tourism businesses distinguish their destination through clear messaging across channels. Below are just a few way brands are getting noticed:
Video Transports:
In the travel industry, videos have long been an indispensable marketing tool. They show off destinations and hospitality businesses in their full glory. Travel marketers that lean into video creation—and that doesn’t have to equal big budget productions--will forge connection with target audiences. Digital video is an amazing way for brands to educate, elicit emotion, tell compelling stories.
Data Visualization Guides Tells You Were Your Going:
Year after year, the need for insightful data analytics grows. At-a-glance dashboards can be overwhelming at first, but the exciting part about raw data is that, eventually, that becomes a story. Here are a few things you should be looking for when looking at analytics:
- Engagement rate: How are people engaging with your content? Are they commenting, saving, and sharing, or merely scrolling past? If you have a million followers but only 1,000 interact with your marketing that’s not a great return on your effort.
- Reach: How many new audiences are you reaching? How is your messaging resonating with the best prospects? Is this number stagnant or growing?
- Putting it all together: Let the picture of what you see tell you where you want to go, where you should be spending more, and what ads you should optimize. For the effort that your business is putting into collecting and maintaining a database, you should be able to obtain an equal or greater amount of value from the insights it gathers. Many of today’s big data visualization software offerings are extremely intuitive and easy to use; however, to obtain the most actionable insights, you and your team must exercise careful and considerate planning. Moreover, you must communicate your insights in an easy-to-understand format— and the best way to do this is by utilizing data
The Metaverse, VR and You:
It’s the ultimate test vacation. The metaverse can transport you just about anywhere and no passport required. Like what you see? Post an offer and start planning. While still in the early stages, the tourism industry is already making the jump in the virtual reality (VR) world. Over the past few years, museums have introduce more creative ways to interact with exhibits and some have even taken consumers on pub crawls. The Thomas Cook, a pioneer in the travel and tourism industry for more than 170 years, is using 360 VR films so travelers can test the waters of Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt and more. And if you’re trying to reach Gen Z, they’re here and they’re ready to go places.
Search, Tried and True Resource:
It’s easy to consider SEO an afterthought after so many other options vying for your attention and let’s be honest, some seem more fun but. Skipping search in your marketing plan would be like not seeing the Eiffel Tower when in Paris. While it’s important to have a well-rounded strategy, SEO should remain a top priority for its importance in facilitating direct bookings, driving site engagement and overall cost-effectiveness.
Getting your brand name on the first page of results is the holy grail to success when 94% of search start with search engine and more than 25% click the first result that comes up. This organic traffic is yet to boosting bookings directly from your sights rather than a third-party or worse, a competitor. While you may already spend on SEO, it a good idea to have an SEO check-in from time to time make sure you’re targeting the right folks and doing so the way they want you to.
Going Native — Digitally, and in Magazines:
Few things combine time and place than native advertising. It’s the ultimate storytelling device empowering marketers to say exactly what they want to say and where. A good native advertising piece will take the shape of an article for example showcasing a vineyard in Napa on the cover of Travel + Leisure or a video showcasing the beaches of Mexico within a surfing site. The creative will transport and hopefully a nicely placed call to action to a website that will give audiences more of the information they seek.
- Create content that encourages the reader to act
- Know how you’re going to measure results: what is it that you want user to do after they read your article or play your video
- Try to be original. If you are one of several players trying to host destination weddings, why should they pick you? Are you offering a special incentive code?
- Be authentic. Be real. Native content is storytelling not overt advertising. They aren’t selling, per se, but rather sparking ideas.
- Find a fit: Be mindful of where you’re running your creative and complement the space. It’s a curated audience you’re being seen in so make the most of it.
Get Started with Travel Marketing Today
The world is open and it’s up to marketers in the travel industry to decide how best to invest advertising dollars.
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