Tourism Begins Online

by Katharina Scholtz

With the current focus on tourism, as evident from the Tourism Indaba that drew to a close in Durban today, it seems valuable to discuss one of the most significant developments in tourism in the last few years. The number of people who research and even book their travel itineraries online has become immense. By 2010, 56% of total travel bookings will be made online (up from 40% in 2006). This growth is due to an incredibly important property of the Internet – its interactive nature.

Travellers can and do look for the specific information they need from both official and unofficial sources, and many guests connect with one another to share reviews. According to the European Travel Commission (ETC), 72% of online travellers are influenced by what they read online, and a further 56% use reviews from other consumers to verify any hotel choices that they may have made.

Given that locations, prices, services, and accommodation can all be compared through a multitude of sources, it’s hardly surprising that people trust each other more than any initial brand impression. In fact, studies have shown that 88% of people trust online reviews more than they trust friends and family, and definitely more than they trust travel agents.

The challenge for any tourism organisation, then, is to ensure that their hotel or service is not only accessible online, but also positively reviewed through consumer generated media.

The first point, accessibility – or visibility – involves a few processes used in online marketing. Step one is to build a website that is designed to be user-friendly, providing any and all of the information that a client might need, and accurately reflecting your brand. In terms of online bookings, adding e-commerce facilities to your site can provide your clients with a convenient way to book their holidays – and a way for you to take advantage of the moment in which they are focussed on arranging their holiday.

It’s this mindset of intent that provides the greatest opportunity for businesses marketing themselves online, and is important when considering that people have to make their way to your website. The importance of search - the way most people use the internet - has resulted in the practice of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). SEO is a competitive and nuanced process, but it is one that is essential if online visibility is your goal.

When looking for a hotel in Cape Town, for example, most people would type “Cape Town hotel” into a Google search bar, and move forward based on the search engine results (SERPS) that come up. If your hotel isn’t on the first two pages of those results that traveller probably won’t click through to your web site and definitely wont book a stay with you. SERPS are influenced through inserting key words into the copy on your site. However, it is knowing which keywords to choose that takes skill and insight.

Other tactics in the online marketer’s toolkit – like Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, WebPR and Email marketing, can and are used to the benefit of businesses in the tourism industry. What should be discussed in more detail here however, is how consumer reviews affect the online reputation of your brand – and thus how Online Reputation Management (ORM) is essential to businesses in the tourism industry.

The 2007 Social Media for Brands Report tells us that “travel products and services are the most at risk from negative comments on social networks”. Six out of ten people would abandon their purchase based on negative commentary, and 32% use consumer generated media early on in their research.

There are a number of ways that these reviews can be accessed. Through a normal search for your brand name, negative reviews could come up in the results, but SEO can help to mitigate the rankings of these reviews.

On sites like TripAdvisor, communities are actually built around reviewing hotels and tourist destinations. It is here that millions of potential clients are going to get what they consider an honest report on the merits and downfalls of your hotel. These reviews can not only hugely benefit you if they are positive, but can also teach you about your brand if they are not.

The most important aspect of online reputation management is being honest about who you are and what you offer – and using negative reviews to identify problems can be hugely beneficial to your business. If you aren’t even mentioned, people aren’t likely to invest their money in your brand either.

Search and user generated content are by no means at the forefront of tourism possibilities online. Initiatives like South African Tourism’s Google Earth Layer further demonstrate how holistic experiences can be provided online. The layer allows travellers to view many tourist routes in South Africa, and even put together itineraries

Online marketing can thus connect you with new and existing clients, streamline business processes like bookings and reservations, and educate you about your clients’ experience of your brand. Possibilities in rich media are even providing enticing ways for you to present yourself online. This is probably why a worldwide study found that 68% of hoteliers planned to move their marketing budget online a year ago. If you’re in the tourism business, you really can’t afford to wait any longer.

2008/05/13 | permalink | comments (0) | trackbacks (0)

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