Study into leisure holiday booking habits reveals 25% of consumers would be more loyal to a travel provider who understands their needs.
LONDON – After a bumpy year for the travel industry with Brexit uncertainty affecting consumer confidence and the Sterling, new research from Fresh Relevance, the real-time personalisation and optimisation platform, indicates travel companies are missing out on opportunities to drive revenue and customer loyalty in their marketing.
The “Digital holidaymaker trend report," which surveyed 2,000 UK holidaymakers in collaboration with Censuswide, reveals that a quarter of consumers (24%) are frustrated by irrelevant marketing tactics, such as receiving offers for a season in which they never go away or for a type of holiday they’ve never booked. One in four shoppers would prefer to see fewer travel options that are more relevant to them, rather than a long list of the latest generic offers.
The study also found that 25% of consumers would be more loyal to a travel provider who understands their needs. This is particularly the case with affluent holidaymakers, with 41% admitting they would book again with a travel company that caters to their likes and needs. What’s more, the report highlights travel brands may be missing out on sales opportunities, with only 34% of holidaymakers stating to feeling well informed when researching or booking a holiday.
In addition, the research revealed that current travel marketing tactics fail to meet the needs Generation Z shoppers:
- Gen Z are annoyed by retargeting ads for holidays they already booked (32%), irrelevant offers (31%) and expired offers (26%) shared by travel brands.
- 26% of Gen Z feel most frustrated by the length of time spent researching travel websites to find offers similar to the ones they’ve looked at or booked in the past.
- 28% of Gen Z would prefer fewer, more relevant travel options.
- 26% of Gen Z holidaymakers wish email and web marketing was more tailored to them.
Mike Austin, CEO & co-founder of Fresh Relevance comments: “As the demise of Thomas Cook last year demonstrated, the travel industry cannot afford to rest on its laurels and is under pressure to do all they can to create loyal customers. But it seems that the industry has some way to go. Many travel brands are still creating one-size-fits-all marketing campaigns better suited to the days of desktop bookings and are failing to present the personalised experiences that customers desire. As a result, customer loyalty is fleeting and mainly driven by the lowest price.
As the study suggests, travel brands need to be helpful and offer customers added value in their marketing. Marketing tactics that are perceived as helpful, by limiting an overwhelming amount of choice, filtering through the noise and guiding bookers at each stage of the customer journey, will secure the booking. It’s time for travel marketers to use data and technology to deliver relevant offers and build trust with consumers in order to generate sales and ultimately increase loyalty.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
