If you’re a travel industry sales and marketing manager, you likely keep up with the trade publications to stay abreast of what is going on in the field.
To make this easier, we’ve compiled a list of statistics that we believe every sales and marketing person should be aware of if they’re involved in tourism or travel.
Interesting statistics for travel sales and marketing manager
1. Did you know that over half (57%) of travelers actually want brands to tailor information to them based on their past purchasing behaviors or stated preferences?
2. This same study found that 36% of customers are actually willing to pay a little bit more for travel services that can tailor services to customer preferences.
3. According to Oliver Heckmann, Google’s Vice President of Engineering for Travel and Shopping, almost 60% of customers support the use of artificial intelligence technology used to tailor search results for travel look-ups using past search behaviors or stated preferences.
4. According to a Booking.com customer survey, 80% of travelers prefer to search for information using self-service tools.
5. Over a third of all travelers worldwide expressed interest, according to a Google study, in using digital personal assistants to research or book travel, including hotels, flights, and excursions.
6. These assistants, such as Google Assistant, can respond to requests even if expressed in natural language, and people seem to be getting more comfortable engaging with these tools.
7. Over the past couple of years, travel related queries including the words “tonight” and “today” have grown over 150% on mobile devices, according to Google Data.
8. 38% of bookings are made in only one or two days before the actual trip and over half are made within a week of it. Remarkably, only 19% are made in advance, according to a 2017 PhocusWhright report. It is a very important stat if you are a travel sales and marketing manager.
9. According to a report by Kayak.com, the biggest year over year jump in search popularity in 2017 was for Maui, Hawaii, with a 51% increase observed. Runner ups include Barcelona, Bali, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Las Vegas, Madrid, Athens, Paris and Rome.
10. For travelers staying with hosts, 30% say their main concern is that the host not be too overbearing whereas 12% want a host that’s totally hands off. About a third say they want to stay in a holiday rental home over a hotel, according to a 2018 Booking.com report.
11. Travel entities worldwide are tailoring their offerings to tailor to single-parent families, which now comprise almost one third of all families, according to CNN.
12. About a quarter of people plan to travel by themselves in 2018, according to Solo Travel Statistics.
13. Interestingly, Google searches for “solo travel” and “travel alone” hit an all-time peak in January of 2018.
14. According to a Booking.com study in 2018, solo trips among Baby boomers appear to be on the rise.
15. About 20% of people plan to take so-called “well-being” vacations in 2018, an increase of almost double over the previous year.
16. Hiking related travel is certainly on the rise, with over half of travelers saying they would like to pursue a walking or hiking trip in the next year. Health and wellness vacations are popular now in general. These trips include spa visits, cycling, water sports, and yoga retreats, among others.
17. Over half of travelers claim they won’t finalize a booking until they’ve researched some reviews.
New data and reporting have revealed plenty of interesting bits of knowledge into how travelers and vacationers operate, particularly for a travel sales and marketing manager. Understanding these main trends can help your tailor your own services to get ahead of the trends that are developing rapidly every year. Remember that in this business, it pays to continually adapt.
