The UK travel sector alone is worth $106 billion, representing the fastest growing industry in the UK, and is expected to reach a value of $257 billion by 2025. As such, tour operators are faced with a highly competitive market.
With so many comparison and aggregator websites, it can be a challenge to define your services and build connections with your audience. As consumer expectations around the travel industry shift, Michael Ryan, CEO and Director at Ink Digital explores how tour operators must increasingly focus on better customer experiences and authentic storytelling if they are to cut through the online clutter and stay relevant in 2024 and beyond.
Personalisation in tourism marketing
While it can be argued that the tourism and travel sector have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to online operations, one area where many lag behind is offering personalised communications and experiences throughout the customer journey.
Travel is a highly personal experience, and what appeal to one person won’t necessarily appeal to another. Tour operators can get ahead of this by properly defining who their ideal audiences are, and segmenting communications to better target individuals and offer them tailored marketing. Done correctly, this can make the difference between a conversion or a customer simply going elsewhere, with research indicating 86% of travellers prefer and value personalised offers.
Tour operators must leverage their data to offer personalised recommendations, itineraries and better predict customer behaviour if they are to offer tours and experiences that are relevant, foster a sense of brand loyalty, and increase the chances of repeat custom.
Improving mobile experiences
For many, mobile devices are the predominant way we discover, connect and buy, with mobile device usage increasing over desktop year on year. Around a third of travellers [32%] used a mobile device to book their holiday, while nearly a quarter [23%] used a mobile app directly in 2023, and as such it’s vital that tour operators ensure that their website, content and communications are geared towards a positive and user-friendly experience for mobile users.
While conversions rates are higher on desktop than mobile, most research prior to booking is conducted on a mobile device, with customers then moving over to their desktop to finalise a purchase and make a booking. Ensuring content displays well on mobile screens, and is streamlined for sharing is no longer optional for tour operators if they are to remain relevant.
Facilitating customer research
As one of the biggest purchases most people with make in a given year, holiday and travel purchases are not taken lightly. The average customer spends a minimum of 10 hours shopping around and conducting research on a potential holiday destination.
This is a great opportunity for tour operators to capture customers at the very start of their buying journey through providing in-depth, useful content during that important research phase.
It’s vital that your marketing strategy considers the sort of customers your tours are geared towards, and that you are providing those customers with the kinds of information they need during this research phase, and that this information is properly optimised for search engine discoverability.
This means that every aspect of your content and website must be optimised. Indiscriminately stuffing your content with keywords just won’t cut it, as Google’s algorithms look for user-centric content that is both helpful and relevant. It’s also important to consider the technical elements of your SEO strategy, from tags to meta data, ensuring users are able to find your content in the search results.
Storytelling through social media
Travel is a huge draw for many people on social media, with influencers having a major impact on holiday and travel decisions and purchasing, particularly amongst younger demographics like millennials and Gen Z.
Tour operators have an enormous advantage on social media, with the ability to create and curate inspirational and aspirational feeds that showcase destinations, services and activities through engaging picture and video content, and this should be a cornerstone of your digital marketing strategy. However, many businesses simply get lost in the social media shuffle, so it’s important to define who you are targeting, and build social media content around this by aligning with relevant influencers, travel bloggers and social media personalities.
The key here is not simply advertising services, but creating authentic and engaging content through storytelling that sets your brand apart from other operators.
Final thoughts
While marketing basics such as a solid SEO and social media strategy will always be important, as we move further into 2024, tour operators must increasingly invest in building relationships with their audiences, building brand loyalty and capturing them through engaging and authentic storytelling and positive customer experiences.