Booking trips online is a piece of cake for Finnish travellers. Furthermore, Finns rely more on their own experiences when booking trips.
More personal service is appreciated when Finns travel in groups or to a destination further away which often do not offer ready-made package deals. These results are revealed by a survey made by TNS Gallup for Messukeskus Helsinki. The aim of the survey was to map the travel habits of Finnish travellers.
Relying on own experiences
The information available online has the most influence on the Finnish travellers’ decisions (50%). Also prior experiences affect purchasing decisions (49%). The most important sources for information are the websites of travel agents and hotels (57%), different booking and price comparison websites (49%) and online hotel and destination reviews (43%).
- Finnish travellers rely more and more on their own experiences. This is most likely due to the fact that they are more experienced and know what they want. Finns also rely on the information provided by the destinations and hotels. This creates a marketing challenge; how to offer information fast and through the right channels, states Research Manager Anne Lahtinen from TNS Gallup.
The number of internet users over 65 years of age is increasing rapidly. 80% of all Finns are of the opinion that making online bookings is easy.
- The use of the internet for planning and booking trips is increasing due to the fact that older people now have the courage to also go online. This trend applies for the general use of the internet, not just for travel bookings, continues Lahtinen.
Smart phones at your service, also when travelling
The number of Finns using smart phones when travelling is now 76% when a year ago it was 62%. Tablets are used by 36%, last year the number was 21%.
- The increase in the use of both smart phones and tablets when travelling can be explained by the general growth in their usage. Both are easy to take with you instead of having to locate an internet cafe or going back to the hotel to go online. Such services do not have a great demand anymore, specifies Lahtinen.
However, different online services have gained ground due to this development. For example, online maps and weather services, online travel guides, online booking services and currency converters are used more and more.
Personal service is valued
Despite the increasing amount of independence created by the different online services, personal service is valued by Finnish travellers. More respondents than last year reported to appreciate personal service especially when travelling in larger groups or to a destination further away with no ready-made package deals.
Finnish travellers value friendliness (47%), reliability of the information received (46%) and meeting individual needs (38%) in personal service.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
