Nov 16 2011
How to Win Travelers’ Love and Money in 2012
By Aleasha Vuncannon
RLF Communications recently spent two days with 400+ destination marketers at the VA-1 Tourism Summit in Richmond, Va. VA-1 is an annual event for Virginia’s tourism industry to network, share destination marketing trends and discover new strategies.
RLF attended the conference as part of our ongoing work with the Chesapeake Convention & Visitors Bureau. We captured many valuable takeaways from the event, including opportunities to leverage current travel trends. The Virginia Tourism Corporation’s research team led one of the conference’s breakout sessions and shared five ways destination marketers can win travelers’ love and money in 2012.
1. Create and reinforce local, authentic messaging
Consumers crave to reach out, experience something distinct and slow down when traveling. Destination marketers can fulfill these desires by focusing on value and reinforcing a local message. From shopping to dining, consumers want to experience a destination’s culture and personality. There’s a unique opportunity for marketers to help travelers on this discovery. For example, when developing itineraries and creating tips for things to do, offer this advice as a guide with only three or four must-dos. Leave the rest for visitors to discover on their own.
2. That promotes experiences, not products
Trip Advisor’s 2012 travel forecast indicates a renewed interest in cultural trips with consumers looking to fuse precious downtime with enriching experiences. And, they want to share these experiences through social networks. As marketers, it’s critical that we speak the same language by effectively communicating what consumers want to feel and experience, and deliver on that promise.
3. Communicate your message at the right time
Weekend trips are becoming more popular over traditional, seven-day vacations with consumers taking several small trips each year. In fact, according to Trip Advisor’s 2012 travel forecast, 90 percent of its survey respondents plan to take two or more leisure getaways next year. Vacation planning time averages one or two months with 25 percent of trips planned in less than a week!
The success of travel flash sale sites such as LivingSocial Escapes and Gilt Groupe Jetsetter echo this trend and offer excellent examples of how companies appeal to recession-fatigued consumers looking for last-minute getaways. Destination marketing organizations should follow suit and look for ways to bundle packages or offer exclusive discounts to key audiences.
4. And with the right media
Consumers today are social and mobile, and they consume media simultaneously. It’s more critical than ever to maintain an integrated presence across print, broadcast and online media to maintain brand awareness among target audiences. Social media is a must, but it’s not enough to merely maintain a presence. Marketers need to engage consumers with ongoing dialogue and compelling content.
5. Don’t meet, but exceed expectations
Travelers continue to see destination marketing organizations as a partner before, during and after their adventures. There’s a unique opportunity for marketers to embrace this supporting role and exceed travelers’ expectations. Consumers are vocal about sharing experiences, and this includes the good, the bad and the average. It’s our job as marketers to help them spread what’s awesome about a destination.
