Online Marketing for Tourism: Where Will Your Bookings Be in 12 Months?

Greetings to our friends and colleagues around the world.

From all of the Travel & Adventure Show Team – to all of you, we hope you and your families are well and we can not wait to see you in person, face-to-face – with a little distance mixed in.

Over the past 16 years we have produced the Travel & Adventure Shows through three recessions, including the “Great Recession,” and now this most sudden COVID-19 economic downturn. Along the way, I have learned a few things and thought now might be a good time to share them:

First – this current downturn is different. It was sudden and not financially or economically induced. It was Government generated in response to a worldwide pandemic and simultaneously supported with massive stimulus and liquidity.
Second – It resulted in a massive and extremely quick increase in unemployment.
Third – It mandated travel restrictions.
Fourth – It may be a quicker recovery than anyone predicts.

Unlike other recessions, this one has hit the travel and tourism industry hard and swift. Yet I see signs that the industry will also enjoy a rapid recovery. Let’s look at three very important recent data points:

Contrary to what most expected, U.S. personal consumer income SURGED by over 10.5% in April – thank you stimulus.

Personal Consumption retracted 13.6% in April. If you are like me you were at home and stores, restaruants and entertainment are all closed there’snothing to spend on.

Most importantly, the consumer U.S. Savings Rate skyrocketed to 33% in April.

Let’s sum it up – income is up, spending down. The result - high savings.

Consumers are flush with cash tired of being at home and have massive pent up demand.

We already see airlines are increasing capacity and resuming schedules as consumer bookings begin to rise. Businesses are reopening and we are seeing a decline in jobless claims.

Consumer Sentiment turned the corner and rose in May from April lows – compare that to the Great Recession that began in 1998 – Consumer sentiment was much lower and took over four years to regain traction.

By the way, if you missed ATTF click here for a replay. Over 1,000 travel and tourism executives joined us for a three-hour virtual conference chocked full of economic, industry and demographic information on the state of the American Traveler.

American Traveler Sentiment continues to rapidly increase. In the first week of June, Destination Analysts saw over 50% of travelers are ready to travel for the first time since the pandemic lockdown.

The fact is the American Consumer is resilient and is getting ready to spend.

The Question is: Will they Spend with you?

So back to lessons learned from past recessions.

During tough times MARKETING is more important than ever!

There’s an adage that captures this well:

“If sales are your problem today, marketing was your problem 12 months ago.”

The problem here is that when finances are tight, executives have a hard time thinking long-term. It seems simple to cut back on efforts that won’t pay dividends immediately, so it’s common for marketing to be the first to go.

Resist the urge to go this route. All you’re doing with this strategy is giving yourself a bigger revenue problem down the line. In six months, eight months, or a year, you’ll be wondering where all of your customers went—and the answer will stem from your marketing cuts.

Think of your marketing costs as the costs of acquiring and maintaining your customer base.

Marketing is the cost of generating revenue.

Why would you cut back on those efforts?

Is there a pent-up demand for travel? Of course.

Are consumers ready to travel? Getting there.

Will where and how they travel change? YES.

Many tourism boards and tour operators are already adjusting how to offer exciting vacation options in a COVID-19 world. There is quite optimistic information growing on multiple effective vaccines being available in Q4 2020, and infection rates are rapidly declining.

One thing is for sure - travelers will put added emphasis on their PROCESS OF TRAVEL as a decision point in booking vacations.

So, for travel marketers and tourism organizations the time is now to put into motion marketing and communications to build confidence and inspire travelers to plan their trips.

The main takeaway is that companies that invest in marketing during a recession achieve greater gains in market share (both during and after the downturn) than companies that cut back.

We know that Travel Enthusiasts will be the first to travel and the first to book both domestically AND internationally.

It’s why the Travel & Adventure Shows are AMERICA’S TRAVEL RECOVERY SHOWs and the ONLY Major Shows in 2021.

What’s more, we are actively increasing our digital reach to our attendees and delivering new marketing vehicles for you to get your message to Travel Advisors & Consumers. Look for our announcements soon for both TravelShows.TV and our new TAS Virtual Trade Exhibit Hall / Directory.

We are here to help you every step of the way.

The Dallas Travel & Adventure Show is on in August and we still have booths available to help you capture bookings. Our 2021 schedule is published at TravelShows.com and our Recovery Rate Special has been extended to June 15^th to help you stretch your budget.

Call us today and let us maximize your marketing spend reaching the Americans who ARE TRAVELING.

Till next time… the Adventure Continues.