How personalized travel is reshaping the tourism industry
Gone are the days where vacationers take the first deal they find.
Some say it was bound to happen. Social media has seeped into the way we look to travel, enticing online users to seek out a more personalized, community-inspired, 鈥�#goals鈥�-touting experience, a change which has upended many long-held assumptions in the travel industry.
鈥淪eemingly every company today operating in the hospitality and tourism sector is marketing itself as an experience versus a product, based on rising demand from consumers for more authentic and engaging travel experiences,鈥� , a travel management company, in a 2014 report.
Take TripAdvisor, the world鈥檚 largest travel review website. More than 160 new contributions are posted every minute from some of its , according to the website. And of these users, nearly 50 percent access the site through tablets and smartphones, a percentage the company expects to keep growing.
鈥淭he聽big daddy of online reviews,聽TripAdvisor, is becoming terrifyingly important in a traveller鈥檚 decision-making process. In fact, more than half of travelers are not willing to book a hotel until they read reviews about the property,鈥� , a company that provides commentary and business services to the travel and hospitality industry.
It鈥檚 not just TripAdvisor. Since 2009, Airbnb 鈥� the platform connecting users to personal lodging rentals 鈥� has to 鈥�$450 million in funding, a $10聽billion聽valuation, and聽over 600 employees,鈥� VentureBeat reported last year.
For the travel industry, social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram are increasingly becoming not just impressive marketing tools, but also platforms essential to making a sale.
More than to look for deals, and聽30 percent specifically hope to find travel deals, according to a 2012 study by Phocuswright, a market research firm for the travel industry. In addition, Facebook users who are are more likely to make bookings than those who find them from search engines.
How, then, are businesses adapting to the new age of the social traveler?
One word: packages.
鈥淗otels, like airlines, have particular types of travelers,鈥� reports The Wall Street Journal. Many companies now partner to push out aggressive discount prices through bundled deals that could save consumers up to thousands of dollars.
鈥淭ravel packages aren鈥檛 just for budget tourists following tour guides with red umbrellas anymore,鈥� writes the Journal. 鈥淭he new style of packages caters to today鈥檚 do-it-yourself consumers who want to book their own itineraries after carefully researching hotels, flights, and attractions.鈥�
As travel agencies offer customers more options for, say, which airline they鈥檇 prefer to fly with using a selected deal, package sales are growing by more than 20 percent, Expedia Senior Vice President聽Greg Schulze聽told the Journal.
