Owning a Tourism Business is awesome

30 Nov 2018

Is TripAdvisor’s new social app the future of travel?

More than ever, we are seeing brands trying to provide a one-stop shop for all our needs in order to keep us within their website or app.
At Web Summit 2018, Stephen Kaufer, President and CEO of TripAdvisor, shared his vision for the future of travel and described how they are looking to do this via exciting new changes to their app, which launched earlier this month.


Consumers typically visit hundreds of travel sites in planning a trip, so TripAdvisor set out to bring all of that content together in one place. By bringing all of the social sharing that consumers do into the app, they created a “feed” of everything a user’s friends, family and people they follow have to say about a place.

TripAdvisor’s new app brings information to help in the discovery and inspiration stage from all sorts of sources, brands and influencers travellers trust, together with insightful opinions on what to do and see.
Users have access to helpful and inspirational videos, photos, articles and guides from friends and family, as well as from over a thousand brands, publishers, and influencers. Brands and publishers featured within TripAdvisor’s new app experience include Condé Nast Traveler, GoPro, National Geographic, and Time Out magazine.

A more social travel experience

As travellers search for a specific destination on TripAdvisor’s new app, their travel feed automatically surfaces relevant content from the global TripAdvisor community.
For example, someone planning a trip to Paris might discover helpful information such as a food critic’s article on the best restaurant in the city, an influencer’s travel guide of must-do experiences, a friend’s review of a new hotel near the Louvre and more.
Unlike social media sites, TripAdvisor makes inspirational content actionable by enabling the traveller to book their restaurant, hotel or experience without leaving the site or app.
Does TripAdvisor have any plans to formally integrate with social media platforms? When asked this question at Web Summit, Kaufer described how the new app gives brands and influencers the ability to republish content they have already created on TripAdvisor.
The beauty of doing this in a travel vertical is that they are creating content which is going to be there for a long time, while on other social platforms the content may fade away.
Another innovative feature of the new app is called “Trips”. It enables travellers to collaborate with others by saving, organising, sharing and creating lists or in-depth guides highlighting their favourite hotels, restaurants, experiences in a particular destination.
Trips can also be made public and shared with the community to inspire and help others. Suddenly, a would-be traveller has access to an itinerary written by someone else who has been there and experienced what they are interested in – allowing them to copy, annotate and share it with their travelling companions.


14 Nov 2018

How to Prepare for Voice Search





How to Prepare for Voice Search - Voice search (Siri, Amazon Echo, Google Home) is changing the landscape of how people are and WILL search for everything.
#voicesearch #digitalmarketing #howto

13 Nov 2018

First Global Gastronomy Tourism Startup Competition Launched



The World Tourism Organization and Basque Culinary Center (BCC), have launched a pioneering initiative for the gastronomic tourism sector, with a global call for startups or companies, mature or emerging, technological and non-technological, with innovative ideas capable of revolutionizing and integrating gastronomy in tourism and inspiring tourists with new ways and reasons to travel.

The gastronomic tourism sector is moving towards innovation and the diversification of its offerings. UNWTO, in collaboration with its Affiliated Member, Basque Culinary Center (BCC), has launched the 1st UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Startup Competition, the first and largest initiative in the world dedicated to identifying new companies that will lead the transformation of the gastronomic tourism sector.
Intangible cultural heritage has become the decisive factor that attracts and captivates tourists. Gastronomy tourism, as a component and vehicle of culture and tradition, is an indispensable resource that adds value and provides solutions for destinations that seek to stand out through unique product offerings.
The Competition will make it possible to identify the best solutions and projects that contribute the most to the sector through pioneering proposals in the implementation of emerging and disruptive technologies, as well as emerging companies or startups. It aims to identify challenges and projects, and to catalyse innovations that can transform the Gastronomy Tourism sector in the near future.
“Innovation and tourism investments are not ends in themselves, but are means to promote better tourism products, improve tourism governance and harness its proven capability to foster sustainability, create jobs and generate opportunities,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili.
“Education and innovation are essential for the development of sustainable gastronomic tourism. At Basque Culinary Center, we support entrepreneurship and the development of new business projects to ensure the future of the sector. In this regard, we are proud to once again team up with our partners at UNWTO in order to continue fostering entrepreneurship and innovation linked to gastronomy tourism through this initiative,” said Joxe Mari Aizega, General Manager of Basque Culinary Center.
UNWTO and Basque Culinary Center have entrusted the process of finding startups to BCC Innovation through its Culinary Action! programme, which has accelerated nearly 50 startups by providing innovative, sustainable and high added value solutions to the gastronomy value chain.

Sustainability and technology
Startups are invited to pitch business models that are related to sustainability, respect the value chain, offer an authentic and coherent narrative, and add value to cultural and local heritage.
The winners of this competition will have the opportunity to present their projects at the 5th World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism (2-3 May 2019, San Sebastián, Spain), with the possibility of receiving personalized consulting and mentoring from the BCC experts  of project accelerator Culinary Action!
Full information on the terms and conditions are available at https://www.gastronomytourismventures.org/.

About UNWTO
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations specialized agency, is the leading international organization with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. 

About Basque Culinary Center
Basque Culinary Center is a pioneering academic institution worldwide that comprises the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences attached to Mondragon University and a Center for Innovation and Research, BCC Innovation. It is the first Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences in  Spain and the only one in the world with an R&D centre. Its board also features 11 of the world’s leading chefs. The aim of Basque Culinary Centre is higher education, research, innovation and promotion of gastronomy and food, and it is working to promote gastronomy as a lever for socio-economic development through its actions.
Furthermore, Basque Culinary Center has created a technological centre for gastronomy, BCC Innovation. Its objectives are to transform knowledge into wealth, drive innovation in companies and to participate actively in the creation of new businesses, thus guaranteeing the future of the sector. BCC Innovation supports entrepreneurs in the development of new business projects. 

Contacts:
UNWTO Communications Department
Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@unwto.org
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31 Oct 2018

Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST)

With the support of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), UNWTO has launched the Towards a Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST). 
The aim is to develop an international statistical framework for measuring tourism’s role in sustainable development, including economic, environmental and dimensions
By integrating tourism within economic, social and environmental measurement standards, the framework aims to provide a common language and organizing structure for exploiting the richness of data already available and for more effective data production, management and integration.
Such a standards-based framework can further support the credibility, comparability and outreach of various measurement and monitoring programmes pertaining to sustainable tourism, including the derivation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators and those of UNWTO’s International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).
Overall, the statistical framework from the MST will provide an integrated information base to better inform on sustainable tourism, to facilitate dialogue between different sectors and to encourage integrated, locally relevant decision making.

 Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) 

The World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) initiative Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) received a boost last week when its working group met in Madrid (24-25 October). After successful pilot studies to produce credible and comparable data, the initiative is on track with its aim of getting the MST framework adopted as the third international standard on tourism statistics.

The group of experts creating a statistical framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism met to establish the MST initiative’s major goals for 2019. The initiative is creating a draft framework for a data standard for tourism’s impact on sustainability and plans to have it adopted as the third international standard on tourism statistics by the UN Statistics Commission (UNSC).

Among the areas of discussion during the group’s meeting on 24-25 October were summarizing the pilot studies done in Germany, Philippines and Saudi Arabia to test MST’s relevance, and which have shown feasibility of the proposed framework in three different national contexts. This means the MST framework is on track to be prepared for submission as an international standard.

For 2019 the MST working group has tasked itself with refining and documenting three statistically-based tourism indicators to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets. UNWTO is the custodian agency of these three indicators, and coordinates the development of tourism-related indicators with countries and UN agencies. The next step will then be to present this draft framework in UNWTO’s 2019 meetings of its governing bodies.

Background to the MST framework


Statistical frameworks enable countries to produce data that is credible and comparable across countries, time periods and other standards. MST is a UNWTO-led initiative for a statistical framework for tourism, supported by UNSC since March 2017. Its roadmap was set in the 6th International Conference on Tourism Statistics, held in June 2017 in Manila, Philippines.

In order to develop tourism potential, better manage the sector, and support effective evidence-based policy decisions, there is a need to better measure tourism using high-quality official statistics covering economic, social, and environmental sustainability. MST aims to expand existing tourism measurement beyond its primarily economic dimension to also measure social and environmental dimensions.

It aims to link UNSC’s System of Environmental-Economic Accounting with the Tourism Satellite Account framework, which is one of the two existing official frameworks for measuring tourism. The other is the International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics. Both were developed and proposed to UNSC by UNWTO. A similar process is planned for MST.

19 Oct 2018

Best Practices for Improving Hotel Income even in Peak Season

Each hotel has a peak part of the season they look forward to. During this time, the bigger part of their yearly revenue is made. Most hotels these days strive to increase the number of direct bookings during the peak period. This is their most direct approach to increasing their overall revenue.

We are here to talk about a few practical things hoteliers can do to maximize their booking and raise occupancy to previously unseen levels. The global hotel industry was estimated to have made around 550 billion US dollars in 2016.

Still, these numbers are growing as global spending power increases and lifestyle priorities for people change.

Keeping up with industry growth isn’t easy but it can be done if hotels manage to keep up with their season peak.

1. Online Reviews


These days, there is less and less work for travel agencies as the modern, tech-savvy traveler takes care of most things him/herself. Modern tourists want to create their own experience and are not afraid to do hard research to make it happen.

When it comes to hotels they tend to rely more on the personal experience of people who already visited the hotel than advertisement, brand story and so on. Because of this, they will usually check various review sites, any existing testimonials, blogs or even personal videos and photos of other people who stayed at a particular hotel.

The only way to ensure great online reviews is to be active in the online environment. Keeping online reviews positive and ratings close to five stars (nobody gets a perfect score in the long term) requires a lot of work and genuine care for the experience your visitors have.

2. IT Improvement


IT has become a big factor in hospitality industry but most hotels are stills struggling to implement all the technology needed to manage multiple online channels they aim to cover. Their work can be manual and repetitive without necessary automation and, therefore, prone to mistakes, issues with systems that don’t integrate well with each other.

Pinpointing the right software solutions and making a timely investment before the peak season starts can help identify and convert more leads, raising revenue.

A cloud based hotel management software might be a perfect solution to help hotel staff keep up with booking coming in from different channels (OTAs, Brand Website, Google Hotel Ads). The goal is to unify all data and communication so as to avoid booking overlaps, vacancy issues and so on.

Picking the right online hotel software is by no means an easy feat but once you find something that fits things get a lot easier.

3. Pricing


While peak seasons don’t fit within the same time span for all hotels, each hotel is facing fierce competition regardless of this.

Most customer choices are oriented around the price they need to pay to get a certain level of accommodation quality. They will usually compare price of more than a few hotels that provide a similar quality of service and go for the most affordable one.

Hotel revenue management is a big factor here. This part of management predicts consumer behavior, optimizes availability and prices to attract as many customers as possible. Their goal is to reduce the amount of time rooms remain vacant but also to keep prices competitive.

4. Direct Booking Incentivization


We’ve already mentioned that direct booking is the most desirable booking outcome. The most direct way to improve the number of direct bookings is to offer customer benefits for doing this.

This can be achieved through discounts on various things (food, beverages, discounts on future reservations, etc), complimentary things (dinners, spa treatments, experiences, etc.) or some other benefit that suits your business model.

Through these incentives you are not only reaching your goal of raising the number of direct bookings, you are also improving customer loyalty.

Summary


These are by no means all the strategies you can use to optimize peak season revenue. Still, these four things will help you both reach new potential leads, manage them properly, optimize your vacancy/occupancy ratio and improve your brands image.

I hope you have a lucrative season!

11 Oct 2018

UNWTO World Tourism Barometer October 2018 - International Tourism Maintains Strong Momentum

Madrid, Spain, 10 October 2018 – According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)’s latest barometer, international tourist arrivals grew 6% in the first six months of 2018 after a record year of growth in 2017.

All world regions enjoyed robust growth in tourist arrivals in January-June 2018. The increase was fuelled by strong demand from major source markets, supported by an upswing in the global economy. It comes after record year-round growth of 7% in 2017.
“Today’s release of international tourism data for the first half of 2018 serves as further proof of the sector’s resilience and relentless growth trajectory. We continue to work with our many partners to translate this growth into better jobs, more benefits to societies, and more opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and destinations”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

By region, Europe and Asia and the Pacific led growth with a 7% increase in arrivals each. Southern Mediterranean Europe and South-East Asia had the strongest results in these regions, both welcoming 9% more international tourists.

The Middle East and Africa also recorded sound results with arrivals growing at 5% and 4%, respectively, according to still-limited information available for destinations in these regions. The Americas saw 3% growth in arrivals over the six-month period, driven by South America (+7%) and North America (+5%). The United States continued to fuel much growth in the region and beyond.

On the demand side, France, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation all reported double-digit increases in outbound spending in Europe. India and the Republic of Korea drove growth in Asia and the Pacific, while the world’s top source market China reported similar spending as in the same period last year.

Looking ahead

The first half of the year accounts for about 45% of annual international tourist arrivals. The second half represents 55% as it is three days longer and includes the Northern Hemisphere high-season months of July and August.

Against a strong first semester, growth prospects for the remainder of 2018 remain positive overall, though at a slower pace, according to the latest UNWTO Confidence Index survey. The Index value for May-August and expectations for September-December are somewhat lower than the Index value for January-April.

International Tourism 2017 - Market share by region of tourist arrivals and tourism receipts


International Tourism Arrivals


News release - International Tourism Maintains Strong Momentum




Useful links:

Contacts:
UNWTO Communications Department
Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@unwto.org
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13 Sept 2018

A letter about Fraud Law Suit from TripAdvisor CEO


I'm writing to update you on a landmark development in our continued fight against review fraud, and to let you know how you can help. 

Recently, in one of the first legal cases of its kind, the owner of an illegal business that was selling fake reviews in Italy was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined approximately 8,000 Euros in costs and damages.

Paid review fraud is a violation of the law in many countries, but this is one of the first cases resulting in a criminal conviction. We're proud to have supported the prosecution of this illegal business by sharing evidence from our in-house fraud team, and through support from our Italian legal counsel.
Protecting our community from fraud is a fundamental part of everything we stand for at TripAdvisor. As a company we're fully invested, with advanced tracking technology and a dedicated team of investigators working tirelessly to catch paid review companies and keep them from operating on our site. 

But we can't do it alone – and I want to thank you, our business community, for playing such a vital role in our ongoing fight against paid review fraud. You've kept your eyes open, you've reported suspicious activity – and since 2015, our fraud investigations have stopped the activities of more than 60 paid review companies worldwide with your help. 

This is an issue we all face as an industry, and we can do even more together. If you're contacted by a paid review company, please do not engage with them – instead share their information with our Content Integrity team directly at paidreviews@tripadvisor.com. All reports made will be investigated, and every piece of information, no matter how minor, can help.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the Italian fraud investigation – as well as how we moderate reviews and protect our content – here.

In this fight against paid review fraud, we're beyond grateful to have partners like you. Thanks again for all of your help – and here's to more wins like this one! 

Kind regards,

Steve Kaufer
CEO, TripAdvisor

19 Jul 2018

8 Hotel Marketing Trends for 2018

It’s that time of year again and business planning is in full swing here at THAT Agency. Every year around this time we like to take a step back, take inventory of what we’ve learned, and identify trends for the upcoming year. So what trends can we expect to see in the hospitality industry for 2018? The trends for 2017 lived up to the hype, but here’s what’s changed and what you can expect to encounter as the calendar flips yet again.

MOBILE IS A NECESSITY

Mobile is a Necessity for Your Hotel Marketing | THAT Agency
Just as we saw in 2017, guests are turning to their mobile devices to research the specifics on hotels and other specifics for their travels. Interestingly enough, Google reports that people are researching more on mobile, but turning to a desktop to actually book their stay. Even though 90% of bookings occur on desktop, showing up during the research process will keep you as an option when they switch devices.
This trend goes past the booking process as well. When guests arrive at their destination, they’re turning to their mobile devices to find activities to do around town. In fact, 85% of leisure travelers decide on activities only after they’ve arrived at their destination.
Empower your guests to have a great experience while they’re in town by sending them updates about what’s happening around town during their stay. For instance, a good morning email with a highlight of local attractions and events can create a better experience for your guests.



8 Hotel Marketing Trends for 2018

14 Jun 2018

Six Hotel Marketing Trends for 2018

Six Hotel Marketing Trends For 2018

It’s always interesting to look back on the trends that were predicted for the previous year and see how things panned out. We were told video would dominate; mobile use would surpass desktop; reputation management would take off, and that print media wasn’t dead. While the last one is still up in the air, for the most part, those hit the mark or are well on their way.
So, here we go again. Feel free to check back in at the end of the year and let me know if my batting average should put me into the All-Star game or have me sitting on the benchSix Hotel Marketing Trends for 2018

7 Jun 2018

The Hotel Digital Marketing Trends 2018

As for most industries, it’s important for the Hotel industry to adapt to the digital age in order to remain successful, especially with the expansion of people searching for the best hotel deals online. 
To remain competitive means constantly being up to date with the latest digital marketing trends. 
That’s why we have come up with what we found were the most important digital marketing trends for the Hotel Industry and how it can help your business.


The Hotel Digital Marketing Trends 2018 

Action on sustainability in tourism needs extra push, says new UNWTO report

Madrid, Spain, 6 June 2018 - In line with its vision of advancing sustainability through tourism, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released its flagship publication ‘Tourism for Development’ in Brussels on 6 June during the European Development Days (EDD), and called for greater awareness of sustainability in tourism policies and business practices as well as in tourist behaviour.
Action on sustainability in tourism needs extra push, says new UNWTO report

‘Tourism for Development’ provides concrete recommendations on how to use tourism as an effective means for achieving sustainable development. It shows that tourism has a global reach and has positive effects on many other sectors. Not only does the sector spearhead growth, it also improves the quality of people’s lives, supports environmental protection, champions diverse cultural heritage and strengthens peace in the world.
Moreover, if well planned and managed, tourism can effectively and directly contribute to the shift towards more sustainable lifestyles and consumption and production patterns. But to get there the tourism sector must, as an agent of positive change, make evidence-based decisions that ensure a consistent contribution to sustainable development.
This two-volume report showcases 23 case studies from around the world of tourism contributing to sustainable development in all its dimensions. “This report offers tangible, wide-ranging evidence of the fact that tourism can make a meaningful and substantial contribution to achieving sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.
The report portrays tourism as a driver of sustainable development and can lay the groundwork for stakeholders to build on tourism’s opportunities by changing policies, business practices and consumer behaviour.
According to the report, this requires measuring tourism’s impact accurately and regularly, and putting the results at the service of the right policies, business practices and consumer behaviour.
‘Tourism for Development’ calls for governments to establish and enforce inclusive and integrated policy frameworks for sustainable tourism development. Businesses, on the other hand, need to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability in core business models and value chains, while individuals and civil society should also adopt sustainable practices and behaviour.
UNWTO presented ‘Tourism for Development’ at EDD, Europe’s leading forum on development organized by the European Commission. More than 180 people contributed to the publication in a global consultation with governments, organizations and civil society. UNWTO gives special thanks to the George Washington University for its contribution.

Useful links:

Contacts:
UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme
Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@unwto.org
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28 May 2018

8 tactics you need to include in your 2018 hotel marketing plan - SiteMinder


Hotel 2018 marketing plan

Here are eight tactics you should consider including in your 2018 hotel marketing plan:

Tactic #1

Make personalisation a priority

Guests know you have the ability to personalise their experience. With technology and data systems constantly improving, there is no excuse not to understand guest preferences and deliver individually catered services.
Here are some recent stats demonstrating the opportunity:
  • Over 80% of online customers say they would be open to switching loyalties if they found a service that better catered for their needs
  • 87% of customers think brands need to put more effort into customer service
  • 94% of senior-level executives believe delivering personalisation is important to reaching customers
You can use the data you collect from online travel agents (OTAs), your hotel’s own website and direct booking engine, and if you have one, your app to develop a deep knowledge of guest booking behaviour, purchase habits, and amenity preferences. Additionally you should know the complete profile of travellers including age, ethnicity, gender, and reason for travel.
With all this information in your hands, your guests should feel like they’re staying at their grandparents house, with every need anticipated and every desire fulfilled. This is what it takes to entice positive reviews from guests who are increasingly expecting more.



8 tactics you need to include in your 2018 hotel marketing plan


The everyman guide to EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) | Resort Support

This article contains information about legal frameworks and compliance related to personal data, specifically in relation to the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) from the EU legal eagles. Exciting huh? Yeah, okay so maybe not, but it is vital that you know about it for your business where ever you are based.



On the 28th May 2018 the law will change in regards to personal data. If your company holds any personal information about any people within your business, this new GDPR law will affect you.



The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new European Union regulation that aims to protect personal data, there are only a couple weeks left for compliance; will you be ready?



The everyman guide to EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

23 Mar 2018

65 travel & tourism statistics to know about in 2017 and 2018

Travel and tourism statistics for 2018
Our travel trends content is a staple part of what we produce at TrekkSoft, from our annual trend reportsto our blog content. Through it, we want to help tour operators and destinations to better understand what's shaping the industry – and help them to respond in the best way possible.


One year on from our 70 travel and tourism statistics to know about in 2016, we wanted to freshen things up. So here you go, a selection of our own data insights plus the research we've been talking about most here at TrekkSoft HQ.
These should help you make the most of 2017, prepare for 2018 and – we hope – get you excited for our 2018 Travel Trends Report which you can download now:
New Call-to-action

Booking trends

1. Leisure travellers put thought into big trips, but still enjoy spontaneity

  • 55% of leisure travellers take just 1-2 vacations a year, and they put a lot of thought into planning these trips. (Google/Phocuswright, 2016)
  • However, when presented with a promotion offer, 30% would take a trip when they weren't planning to. 25% would consider going to a destination they weren't familiar with. (Google/Phocuswright, 2016)

Camel ride in the desert

2. Rising travel research on mobile comes at no surprise  

  • 70% of travellers with smartphones have done travel research on their smartphone. (Google, 2016)

  • 1 in 2 traveller journeys start on mobile (Booking.com, 2016)
  • 50% of millennial travellers have discovered a new travel company while researching on mobile. (Google, 2016)
  • 30% of mobile searches are related to a location. (Google, 2016)
  • 50% of search queries are four words or longer. (Ko Marketing, 2016)

Key takeaways: It's vital that tourism websites are mobile-optimised, especially if you're a destination or tour operator selling bookable experiences. To reach your target audience while they're using their devices in-destination, mobile can also be a great place to target your digital ad spend.
For SEO benefits when creating your website content, think in terms of phrases or questions your customers might be asking, not just keywords.


3. We want to book whenever it suits us

  • Tour and activity websites are most commonly visited during the evening, with Monday and Sunday evenings having the most visits. (TrekkSoft data, 2017)
  • 59% of travellers begin researching their next trip between one and three months before departure (TripAdvisor, 2016).
  • 38% of bookings are happening same day or up to two days before the activity. Many of these bookings take place “in-destination”, while consumers are already travelling. That number grows to 53% when looking at bookings within a week, while only 19% of these activities were booked more than a month in advance. (Phocuswright, 2017).

Our take: Consumers want flexibility in when they choose to book, whether it's advance or last-minute. Tourism providers need to provide options that allow for both planning and spontaneity. For that, you need an online booking system that updates in real-time – and no restrictions on when bookings can be accepted.
Researching travel

4. More consumers are staying on mobile to book instead of device switching

  • After researching on their smartphone, 79% of mobile travelers in 2017 completed a booking, which is significantly higher than the 70% who did so in 2016. (Google, 2017)
  • Online tours and attractions gross bookings will more than double from $9B in 2015 to $21B in 2020. And most of those online options will be mobile-optimized. (Phocuswright, 2017). 

New Call-to-action

5. Online booking channels are most important to tour & activity operators

  • Most tour operators have a distribution network that’s balanced 60% in favour of online channels. (TrekkSoft, 2016)
  • Direct bookings on a supplier’s own website are ranked as most important to tour and activity operators. This is closely followed by incoming tour operators, direct offline bookings, and online resellers (OTAs and tour & activity marketplaces). (TrekkSoft, 2016)

Online travel agents (OTAs)


Offline
  • Offline sales are still important. 45% of tour and attraction transactions are happening directly offline. This makes in-person exchanges a top channel for activity sales (Phocuswright, 2017).

Our take: A tourism business needs multiple sources of bookings to thrive and remain sustainable. Create a balanced distribution network with several strong booking sources to avoid the pressure if external factors suddenly work against your favour (which, in tourism, they often will).
There's no doubt about it: online is the future of the tours and attractions industry. You could be missing out on sales, partnerships, and those valuable last-minute bookings. Is your business ready to receive customers any time before your tours and activities?
Online booking software for tour operators  
6. Most travel bookings are done by women

  • Women are the ones booking tours and activities 67% of the time (TrekkSoft data, 2017)

Key takeaways: The numbers have shown for some time that women are researching and booking the majority of holidays. Our data shows that also applies to tour and activity bookings.


7. Younger generations most likely to book online

  • 75% of end users who book a tour or activity via TrekkSoft are aged 34 or younger. Of that percentage, 41% are aged 25-34 and 34% aged 18-24. (TrekkSoft data, 2017)
  • 12% of people who book a tour or activity via TrekkSoft booking systems are aged 35-44. The smallest proportion of bookings are from older generations - just 6% of our bookings come from customers aged 45-54, and another 6% are aged 55 and above.  (TrekkSoft data, 2017)

Online booking process 

Tours & activities
8. Activities is the third largest sector of travel

  • Activities is the third largest segment of travel at $129B and is growing faster than the total travel market. It will reach $174B globally by 2020 (Phocuswright, 2017). 
  • Online tours and attraction gross bookings will more than double from $9 billion in 2015 to $21 billion in 2020. And suppliers need to be ready: online and on mobile. (Phocuswright, 2017).
  • Since 2005, Phocuswright has noticed a huge influx of investment and innovation in travel activities. This includes more than 90 online resellers, 42 P2P marketplaces, and over 20 B2B reservation software startups. (Phocuswright, 2017). 

Paragliding company
  
9. But is the activities industry still stuck in the Stone Age?

  • Tours and activities still have to emerge from the Stone Age. Phocuswright shares how 55% of tour and activity suppliers do not have a third-party reservation system, and of those who don’t, 67% use email or calendar to manage their bookings. (Phocuswright, 2017).
  • Tour and activity suppliers cite "growing online sales" as their number one priority, and 3/4 say they will have live online booking before the end of 2017. (Phocuswright, 2017).
  • Most suppliers are manually validating reservations, which is a risk as well as tedious. The larger suppliers ($1m+ revenue) are being hit hardest by fraud, among which 38% reconcile later. Geographically, emerging markets are worse off. (Phocuswright, 2017).

Our take: Suppliers need to see the urgency of investing in tech and working with online resellers, even if they think "we're doing just fine without it". This is especially the case for smaller suppliers and those in emerging markets. Consumer behaviour has shifted online (and increasingly last-minute and in-destination when booking), and suppliers have to be fighting against inertia and "how we've always done it". Tech is the enabler here.
 Manual and digital booking processes 


Trending markets and experiences

10. Sustainable organisations are reaping the benefits

  • Booking.com found that only 42 percent of those questioned considered themselves to be sustainable travellers. This number increased from last year among travellers from Italy, Germany, and China, but Australia, Brazil, Japan and the US have seen a decline. (Booking.com, 2017). 
  • According to the U.N.W.T.O., sustainable tourism has three guiding principles for hotels, tour operators, airlines and cruises (as well as destinations and tourists):
1) Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.
2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance
3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
  • Eco-friendly tours are increasing. Intrepid Travel, for example, now offers more than 1,000 group tours a year that are fully carbon neutral. (NY Times, 2017)
  • Booking.com predicted that the number of travellers staying in an eco-friendly or ‘green’ accommodation at least once could double in 2017. (Booking.com, 2017)

Key takeaways: In terms of setting goals for 2018, making your tourism business more sustainable is a great choice. While we should all be doing our bit for the planet, it also makes business sense. Now is the ideal time to solidify your reputation as a conscious organisation and set yourself apart from local competitors.


Sustainable travel

11. Trending destinations and brands aren't always predictable

  • Emirates was chosen as the top airline worldwide for 2017 by TripAdvisor users in the platform's Travelers' Choice Awards (TripAdvisor, 2017)
  • Top destinations on the rise are San Jose del Cabo (Mexico), Whistler (British Columbia), and Jericoacoara (Brazil) (TripAdvisor, 2017)
  • The top landmarks in the world according to TripAdvisor users are Angkor Wat in Cambodia followed by Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center in Abu Dhabi (TripAdvisor, 2017)
  • Airbnb ranked as the most visited accommodation website in Q4 2016, receiving nearly 88 million visits, up 42% from Q4 2015. Booking.com came in second, with more than 82 million visits and a 24% growth rate, while Expedia-owned Hotels.com was fourth, with more than 65 million visits, up 25% YoY. (CMO, 2017)
  

12. The Chinese market is changing

  • Less shopping, more experiences. In ITB's World Travel Trends report, tourism expert Professor Zhang Guangrui says the "crazy" spending habits of Chinese travellers might slow down sooner than expected.

Key takeaways: The Chinese market is becoming more segmented with a lot of diversity in travel habits. We're beginning to see a clear distinction between first-timer travellers and matured travellers, and they're not necessarily looking for the same things. In any case, it's important not to stereotype Chinese travellers when advertising to this market – especially as their travel preferences are changing so fast.
Read next: Here's what's changing about Chinese travellers in 2017
Changing Asian travel market 
13. The industry is still trying to understand millennials

  • Staycations make up 43% of all trips taken by Millennial families, especially those who wish to reduce environmental impact or save for a larger trip in the future. Not all millennials want to travel to exotic destinations. (Skift, 2016)
  • Millennials don't always want to book a trip on their own. In a survey by MMGY, 34% of Millennials were found to use a travel agent and they're more likely to turn to professional planners when the upcoming trip is more expensive.
  


14. Travellers are merging business and leisure

  • Business trips to attend conferences/conventions are more likely to turn into bleisure trips than client meetings or team offsites. (Expedia Media Solutions, 2016)
  • Path to booking is short (1-4 weeks), especially the inspiration and research stage (Expedia Media Solutions, 2016)
  • Bleisure travellers visit OTA sites the most on mobile devices, closely followed by Events. (Expedia Media Solutions, 2016)


Destinations & experiences  

15. Destinations are becoming more digital, but they're not always finding it easy

  • 56% of DMOs focus their program budget on digital - and a majority expect to focus on it more in 2017. (TrekkSoft, 2017)
  • 73% of DMOs say a lot of effort is required to stay digitally-relevant. That increases to 76% for organisations in Europe. (TrekkSoft, 2017)
  • Only 9% of DMOs believe they have “a cutting edge digital strategy”. 55% try their best to stay digitally relevant but struggle. (TrekkSoft, 2017)
  • 65% of DMOs say they enable some form of bookings on their official website. (TrekkSoft, 2017)
  • Just 15% of organisations in our study said activities are bookable as real-time inventory on their official website. 8% are planning to change this and enable real-time bookable inventory in 2017. (TrekkSoft, 2017)

Key takeaways: The tourism boards that we see driving results are using a digital-first strategy to build an emotional and inspirational brand instead of focusing the majority of their efforts on broadcasting information. Rather than informing visitors, they are engaging and inspiring them with a content- and experience-rich approach online. 


16. Experiences is still our favourite word in travel

  • In a 2014 paper called Waiting for Merlot, psychologists Amit Kumar, Thomas Gilovich and Matthew Killingsworth show how experiential purchases (money spent on doing) tend to provide more enduring happiness than material purchases (money spent on having). Yet there are also differencesbefore consumption. People report being mostly frustrated before the planned purchase of a thing, but mostly happy before they bought an experience – such as a trip or an activity.
  • 56% of DMOs consider experiences to be “a vital part” of their destination marketing. Only 7% consider experiences to be “somewhat important”. (TrekkSoft Destination Report, 2017)
  • The most forward-thinking DMOs use a digital and content-first strategy to build an emotional & inspirational brand with experiences at its centre. (TrekkSoft, 2017)
  • 73% of destination budgets are spent on marketing experiences, yet these are rarely online as real-time inventory. (TrekkSoft, 2017)

Key takeaways: We're in an experience economy. As the Guardian neatly sums up, "there is science behind it, but it’s also very simple: regardless of political uncertainty, austerity and inflation, we are spending more on doing stuff, choosing instead to cut back on buying stuff".
Travel brands can make inspiration the centre of their marketing and get consumers even more excited about their upcoming experience. With a positive guest experience, they can also encourage feedback, sharing, and word of mouth marketing.
Experiences in destination marketing - TrekkSoft Research




Marketing insights

17.  Social media is still dominated by a few giants

  • 72% of adult internet users use Facebook (Pew Research Center, 2015). The platform now has over 2 billion monthly users, compared to Twitter's 328M.
  • Instagram has over 400M daily active users and 700M monthly active users. More than 250M stories are shared every day (Instagram, 2017).
  • Beyond YouTube (with 1.5bn users), only Facebook’s other apps have more than 1 billion users, including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, with 1.2 billion each.

Read next:



18. Tourism companies need to consciously manage their reputation

  • It's all about the guest experience. Leaders in customer experience reach an average of 17% on revenue growth within 5 years, whereas poorer customer experience attain only 3% over the same period (Forrester Research, 2016)
  • 9 out of 10 travellers think that reading online reviews is important, but 45% of tour takers don't trust reviews on tour operators' own sites. Most important are reviews by third parties: 95% of travellers trust tour & activity reviews on third party sites (Stride Travel, 2016).
  • 76% of travellers will pay more for a hotel if it has better online reviews (TrustYou, 2015).

Key takeaways: As we recently said to GuestRevu, the online reputation management platform, one of the things that can distinguish the best tour and activity companies from the competition is not just to provide a great tour, but to encourage guest feedback and use those insights to keep improving their offering.
Stay on top of your guest feedback, reviews, and online reputation and you'll be in the best position to help word of mouth spread about your business.

Read next: 




19. Good marketing has visuals, creativity and a digital focus

  • Articles with an image once every 75-100 words got double the number of social shares than articles with fewer images. (Buzzsumo, 2015)
  • 84% of millennials don’t trust traditional advertising. Brands need to get creative instead of being pushy and disingenuous (The McCarthy Group, 2014).
  • Mobile’s share of total digital ad spending in the travel industry (49% vs 51% for desktop ads) is creeping ever higher and in the future will represent a majority of the industry’s ad spending. (USDM)
  • 69% of travelers are more loyal to a travel company that personalizes their experiences online and offline. (Google, 2017)
  • 1/3 of DMOs cite content-centricity as the main way their organisation has changed since 2015. (TrekkSoft, 2017)