The tourism marketing has evolved in recent years because of Internet development, technology platforms, social networks and especially for mobile devices that have changed the way in which tourists seek information, make a reservation and share the experience of a trip .
Companies that offer tourism products and services are no longer enough to have a website, be present on Facebook or in a third-party application. The new tourist is increasingly demanding, is hyperconnected and has the latest technological tools , so it is very important to be aware of trends and design products that suit your needs and requirements.
From our experience working with large clients in the tourism sector, we propose some ideas to identify business opportunities, define objectives and establish strategies to achieve those goals.
Implement a platform that allows you to fully manage your tourism business
An investment in the future will be to choose an application that allows you to manage all the current and future needs of your tourism business. Some market platforms, such as Travel IO , have specialized modules for each type of client in the sector (online travel agencies, hotel chains, leisure centers and parks, snow operators …). The choice of a powerful technological tool will allow centralizing the management and marketing of the entire tourism product, both its own and that of third parties, from contracting to billing through booking management.
Choosing the right tool could mean a saving in time and investment for your business.
It has an intuitive web design
An intuitive web design for the user is key to any online business, no matter the industry. With the improvement of usability and the design of the web channel, several of our clients in the tourism sector have seen an increase in customer satisfaction and improved results.
When designing a website, remember that it should be usable and with clear action calls for the user .
Define a SEO positioning strategy
Following the statistics of Google ‘s Traveler’s Road to Decision study , 60% of travelers turn to search engines as a source of travel planning, a figure that is increasing year after year.
An SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy will allow you to define the marketing actions to be implemented to increase the online visibility of your project and increase traffic to your site .
Start asking yourself questions like “do your content use the right keywords? Is your website optimized for proper navigation by Google’s robot and users? Do you have a blog and it is updated with a timely recurrence? ” And contact an SEO expert to help you define the positioning strategy of your project.
Generates content of interest
If your business has an active presence on the Internet, surely in recent years you have considerably increased the budget for the generation of content: useful articles for your users, videos with exclusive information, interesting infographics, attractive images …
These are some ideas that will be useful to work on the content of your tourism business:
Frequently asked questions about a tourist destination. Create a list with all the frequent questions that your users ask about a tourist destination, it will be a very useful content for the rest of users who are looking for similar information and need answers.
Create your own tourist guides
From startups specialized in reserving restaurants such as Resy or Reserve , traditional companies in the gastronomic sector such as Opentable or Foursquare and even transportation networks such as Uber, they have created their own tourist guides for each tourist destination. Tourism companies have to take advantage of the opportunity and create their own tourist guides where they can teach their community what they need to know about their destination and help them solve all the doubts they have.
Rankings of establishments and attractions.
The rankings of hotels, attractions or essential restaurants in a tourist destination is one of the contents best accepted by users. So, why not take the opportunity and add the value of our company or tourism brand to a ranking?
Calendar with the most important events and parties of a destination.
A content that is very attractive to the visitors of a destination (and that very few tourist companies do) is to create a list with its most outstanding events and parties. Creating a calendar with the most important festivals and fairs of a city or region, with a brief description of what each one represents, will generate a content of great added value and usefulness for users before and during their visit.
Use video marketing
According to a recent study published in the Smart Travel News digital portal , 60% of travelers consult a video to make a decision about their vacations . Live broadcasts on Instagram, Periscope and Facebook Live continue to increase, videos double the engagement on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and Youtubers are able to influence the opinion of millions of subscribers … the possibilities of Video Marketing are very broad and Tourism companies should include it in their strategies.
Develop presence in social networks
The presence of brands and tourism companies in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or other newer like Snapchat is increasingly common, since they have become a direct communication channel with users. Know in which social networks travelers move to which you are heading and how they behave in the digital world to connect with them.
Social networks allow you to communicate your brand and your products, create interest, link to the experiences of your users and generate community around your products and services.
Manage the online reputation of your tourism company
Tourism companies must have a clear marketing strategy to know what to do and how to manage the positive and negative comments they can receive in opinion forums, social networks as well as blogs and websites specialized in the valuation of establishments.
Control online reputation and make a correct management of comments , since opinions can influence the decisions of future travelers and help you to better know the community you are targeting.
Develop your mobile presence
Given the possibility of consulting information and buying through an application installed on their mobile devices, users can now create their own experience in any tourist destination in the world .
According to the latest trends in the tourism sector published by Google in his blog , travel buyers who are ready to book, usually have already reduced their options previously and perform a search similar to “[brand] + [location] “At the time of booking. In fact, almost half of searches like this happen on smartphones.
31% of leisure travelers say they have booked trips from the mobile phone, as well as 53% in the case of business travelers. For that reason, tourist destinations must adapt quickly to these changes and include mobile marketing actions in the tourism marketing strategy that allow them to offer what users need at the right time and place.
Measure and review the effectiveness of your marketing actions on a regular basis.