The state of travel marketing

There are many challenges for the travel industry today. It’s not simply enough to provide exciting destinations at reasonable prices in order to catch the eye.

It is clear that travel marketers need to have a full understanding of the challenges they are facing, as well as the solutions to these issues. Here are three considerations we have identified.

1. Transformation of consumer habits

Consumers can browse over 7,000 touch points over a period of several months.*

The internet is facilitating a revolution in the ways in which consumers, search, browse, and book their travel. The sales cycle is now significantly longer – with potential customers often browsing for months, and considering hundreds of offers before eventually deciding upon their dream holiday.

2. A lack of loyalty

Only 9% of U.S travelers ‘always’ know which brand they want to book with prior to researching.*

Previously, travel companies could count on certain customers returning year on year. Now, today’s oversaturated market is more dependent on who offers the most visible and attractive offer at the right time, in the right place.

*Learn more about consumer habits with ThinkWithGoogle.

3. Programmatic spend is on the rise

In 2018 81.5% of total ad spend was allocated to digital formats - 3.5% more than the year before.

The pressure on marketing teams to deliver results is steadily increasing in line with bigger investment in digital formats. To seize the opportunity presented by the boost, marketing teams will need to upskill and armour themselves with the latest tech solutions and digital advertising strategies to get ahead of the competition.

Read the full report from AppNexus here.