Getting on top of your tourism marketing strategy for the coming year? Here are the three top trends predicted for 2012.
More than 50% of travel bookings are now made on the internet. More than 114 million people will research travel online this year in the US alone, while 94 million will actually book reservations online
There will be more mobile bookings and research
More travellers will be turning to their mobile devices to not only research lodging and travel options, but to book and communicate room preferences directly with the hotel. Mobile channel booking has increased four-fold between 2008 and 2010 according to Forrester Research. Google is projecting that mobile will overtake PCs as the most common Web-access device by 2013. With travellers adopting smart phones and tablets at such a rapid pace, it's crucial for hospitality businesses to optimize their website for mobile usage to capture potential mobile transactions.
Social media will continue to transform connections with travellers
It is being projected that by 2016, half of the travel industry will be using social media as a way of generating revenue and bookings. Social media will become more of a key component of Search Engine Results Page (SERP) algorithms. Facebook's posts are already integrated into Bing search and Google+ emerged with native integration into Google search. Hospitality businesses can no longer afford to linger over adding social media to their marketing mix. It's now a necessary element of traffic-driving success.
For more travel trends, reports and outlook for the coming year, visit the Tourism Trend Spotting Website here. Their site is jam packed with really interesting and useful information on global tourism trends, advice and information!
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