The Latest Tourist Marketing Trends to Inspire you

Tourism is one of the largest and most reliable markets in the entire world, so following the latest trends in the travel industry leaves a door open for improving your business continuously. The way people travel is changing gradually. More and more, people are consistently drawn to beautiful and exotic locations across the earth.

Whether they’re looking for an unfamiliar land to graciously explore, or simply a safe haven for wandering souls to bask in a home-away-from-home, people just love to travel! As so many people love to get away, it opens up an increasingly growing market.

Where is the travel industry heading?

In present times, there are countries that rely on tourism for funding and subsequent growth. It’s no wonder that new travel agencies, tour operator businesses, and small hotel startups are growing in popularity!

The current market is becoming more and more saturated, so it’s only logical for businesses to look at the most up to date tourism and marketing trends. This would allow them to stay competitive whilst attracting new business.

The market trends are, however, consistently evolving, making it an ever-complex challenge for companies to stay on top of the latest advancements. In order to help you make the most of your travel-inspired business, be it a guide, hotel or agency, here are a few of the latest tourist marketing trends that you can use to inspire your next campaign!

1. Travelling sustainably

Sustainability is more important than it ever has been. Not only are companies aware of their environmental impact, but customers are conscious of how they can help to reduce climate change or make eco-friendly choices. A rising number of tourists going out of their way to enjoy the best in ecotourism is certainly unprecedented.

Where possible, you should offer sustainable options. This doesn’t necessarily have to be related to overly expensive or ‘green’ flights - it could be as simple as using green energy sources or providing organic or fair trade food! Contrary to popular belief, supporting responsible travel doesn’t have to be expensive.

Our partners from Nature Treks Himalaya are a great example of this. Their tours help preserve the natural diversity of the wildlife and local community through socially responsible travel in Nepal.

The type of business you run will have a massive impact on how you can be sustainability aware. For this reason, it’s a great strategy to see what your competition is doing in order to plan your next marketing campaign!

2. Crafting personalised experiences

Personalised tours are a great way to attract new customers or please your existing clientele based in nearly any industry. Guests absolutely love to be accommodated! The reason that personalised tours are so successful is that it allows visitors to really make the most of their experiences.

Truth is, when tourists pay as much as they do, they want their tour to be as streamlined as possible. Provide a personal experience and allow customers to visit anywhere they want to, without having to make any sacrifices along the way.

This will make your customers feel as if they are getting more for their money, in a few words, you’ll really demonstrate the value you offer. That is a guaranteed way to encourage returning clients.

3. Going mobile

The way people consume products is changing, especially with mobile entertainment constantly on the rise. As mobile use is increasing amongst the general population, companies across different industries have begun to use this to their advantage, particularly when planning targeted ads or campaigns.

You can plan an effective ad campaign using mobile marketing tactics, such as on social media or listing websites. You will have access to the necessary tools to target not only a specific demographic but people who are already interested in your (or even similar brands) tours, experiences or services!

If you choose to use mobile advertising strategies, you need to make sure that you tailor it to provide the most user-friendly experience in order to develop a high conversion rate.

4. Creating engaging video content

Modern brands absolutely must make use of engaging video content that entices customers to either use your product or at least learn more about it. Visual content is much more likely to attract new clicks than written content, as customers prefer to watch a video over reading an article or blog.

Video marketing is on the rise in 2019, most interestingly, this total game changer is expected to keep growing in popularity in the future. Whilst video content will already be engaging, your brand should find a way to make it as interactive or involved as possible — this will lead to more clicks and potentially more profit!

5. Offering contests and giveaways

It might seem counterintuitive as a business to give away a free product or experience, but contests and giveaways have been proven to be a successful marketing strategy. Doing this will expose your brand to countless new eyes interested in what you have to offer.

Moreover, giveaways are an amazing way to gain followers and boost interaction on social media, which is why so many companies regularly offer them! Customers love freebies - especially expensive ones.

If you tempt them with the possibility of a free holiday, and all they have to do is like, comment and share with their friends, you have the opportunity to obtain hundreds, if not thousands of new fans that will interact with your brand.

6. Using the power of speech recognition

“Ok Google, what’s the best travel company near me?”

Voice search is posted to become the next big thing, especially with the increasing power of AI and the novelty impact it has on consumers. Get ahead of the trend and implement voice search capabilities! When combined with SEO, voice search can be an immensely powerful tool that you can use to grow your brand.

For example, imagine someone asking their smartphone:

“What is the best beach to visit?”

Wouldn’t it be convenient if the very first website that popped up was yours, with your popular blog post - “the 10 best beaches that you need to see”...

You get the idea now!

Aside from search engine optimisation, voice searching can be used to enhance the search functions within your own website, potentially catering to a larger audience whilst providing a great and useful feature.

7. Earning Millennial loyalty

Millennials will be an essential part of your company’s growth. That’s because they are one of the largest markets, and the most likely demographic to continuously use or recommend your brand.

You should encourage their loyalty so that they will continue to travel with you and recommend your services to their friends and families. There are so many ways to introduce a millennial loyalty programme that will help you to retain these reliable and consistent customers. One example is offering promotional coupons for referring friends and family.

Studies show that millennials are the biggest emerging opportunity for marketers and have the spending power of $600 billion every year - look after your millennials, and they’ll look after you!

8. Meaningful email campaigns

Email might sound like a thing of the past, but it remains a very effective way to appeal to a very wide audience. Interestingly, email marketing is a high-impact but low-cost way of delivering messages to customers.

A well-planned email campaign can serve a few purposes: Not only will you be reminding anyone on your email list that you have some amazing experiences on offer, but you can also appeal to them by offering them discount codes or by tying your email in with a competition or giveaway.

When your email campaigns effectively engage your customers, they are much more likely to take action!

Back to you

Staying up-to-date with the most-effective marketing trends in the travel & tourism industry will greatly influence your business’ success. In this digital age, which tactic are you planning on implementing? Leave your comment!