Consumers, especially millennials, are most likely to get their leisure travel inspiration via word of mouth, but some social media sites are close behind, according to a consumer survey conducted by the marketing firms AMP and Blitz, travelweekly.com reports.
BLITZ and sister agency AMP surveyed U.S. travelers between the ages of 18 – 55 who had taken a leisure trip within the past year. The survey and report, Targeting Moments of Need in the New Travel Landscape, revealed the changing attitudes of travelers beginning with what inspires them to travel, how they plan and book trips, their experiences at the destinations and their customer-service needs.
“Our research shows people are overwhelmed by the trip planning process but by and large they enjoy it,” said Peter Apple, VP, Strategy, BLITZ. “They also know they would be happier being a little more spontaneous when away from home. So a booking engine that can behave like a simplifier, or a destination that can prompt spontaneity, will drive better business. To compete in this new travel landscape, brand marketers will need to operate their brands as services.”
Key findings and emerging trends in the report include:
- Converting selfies into sales. Eighty-four percent of millennials are likely to plan trips based on someone else’s vacation updates and photos in social media. Marketers can create greater brand affinity and distinction by realizing how to leverage social channels differently from other marketing channels.
- Travel brands must simplify the whole process. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they feel overwhelmed when planning a trip. Much of their time is devoted to finding the best deals. Booking engines have an opportunity to provide consumers with time-saving experiences and better management of multiple-trip components. Niche providers are using simple, conversational interfaces.
- Brands must balance tech with a human touch. Even in a connected world, travelers want to connect in person when they need help. Airlines, hotels and tourist attractions shouldn’t be too quick to replace service personnel with digital kiosks. Instead, they must carefully select the right moments for digital interactions. For instance, 73 percent of travelers said they would be willing or very willing to receive text messages about unplanned excursions, dinners and other experiences while on vacation.
- According to the survey results, which broke down respondents’ answers into two broad categories — millennials and non-millennials — word of mouth remained the top way participants got inspired to visit the destination on their last leisure trip at 16% and 20%, respectively.
- Among millennials, Facebook and Instagram were the next most popular travel inspiration at 15% and 13%, followed by a website (12%) and YouTube (12%).
- Non-millennial respondents preferred websites (16%), but social media still proved to be popular sources of inspiration among respondents, especially Facebook (15%) and Instagram (9%). YouTube accounted for 8% of non-millennial respondents’ travel inspiration.
- Magazines (8% millennials, 7% non-millennials), TV shows and movies (8% millennials, 9% non-millennials), Twitter (7% millennials, 6% non-millennials), Snapchat (5% millennials, 3% non-millennials) and other (2% millennials, 6% non-millennials) rounded out the categories of travel inspiration.
To access the full report, click here: http://lp.blitzagency.com/travel-research-whitepaper
About BLITZ and AMP
BLITZ and AMP are sister, full-service digitally-led creative agencies with offices in Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Founded in 2001, the agencies have more than 250 of the world’s top creatives, strategists, planners, technologists and analysts working to grow clients’ businesses. BLITZ and AMP have helped drive engagement and reservations for travel brands such as Aruba, Collette Travel, Icelandair, Hilton, Disney Parks and Resorts, Holland America, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruises. Other clients include TaylorMade, Adobe, Mattel, Kaiser Permanente, FX, Dole and 2K Games. For more information visit http://www.blitzagency.com or http://ampagency.com.
Sources: prnewswire.com and travelweekly.com
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