TripAdvisor on looking for value and looking ahead
Jan 3, 2014
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Our industry guest this week is TripAdvisor's Nathan Clapton and he believes that in 2014 the travel industry will be more mobile than ever and it's heading East
At TripAdvisor we are seeing that travellers are increasingly seeking value in their travel booking decisions and they spend more time shopping around and researching before booking. Their inspiration comes from many sources: traditional media and advertising, but also from travel blogs and social media platforms.
People will also consult a number of different sources before booking, so it's no surprise that there are many more meta players coming to the market now, providing real-time price and availability comparisons so that the consumer can get the best option to suit them.
We're also seeing patterns changing - people are starting to think about their next holiday, while on holiday. And social media can play a huge part in this, with one in five travellers admitting to using social media channels to brag to others while they are on holiday. Travel businesses can capitalise on this trend to make brand evangelists out of their customers.
There is no question that mobile presents a phenomenal opportunity for the travel sector overall and for hospitality business owners. This is fundamentally changing the way that our customers plan and experience travel.
Tablet and mobile are playing an increasing role at each stage of the consumer journey. All types of media provide inspiration for travel; all types of media are consumed on tablets and, to an extent, smartphones.
Nine out of ten travellers use their mobile devices while on holiday – the majority say this is to stay in touch with family and friends but we are also seeing a number of other reasons:
• 32% use smartphones to access social media while on holiday
• 36% are using their smartphones to look for restaurants while travelling
• 27% are using their smartphones to look for things to do while travelling
Consumers will increasingly book in-destination activities once they have arrived, increasing the need for availability and pricing to be displayed on mobile through Internet booking engines. Mobile enables travellers enjoying their holiday activities to share their experiences after or even while travelling.
In order to be relevant to travellers, travel businesses will need to identify how their customers and potential customers could potentially discover them via social media and mobile channels. Travellers want advice and recommendations, instant responses to their travel questions and requirements. And this is the space in which clever marketers will capitalise on the unique sensors and capabilities inherent in smartphones to delight customers and forge new markets. Expect new technologies and their providers to disrupt how we currently travel – we are already seeing connections where they didn’t previously exist.
Additionally, businesses will gain new channels to market and different ways to reach their audience – by example, we believe that small and independent accommodation providers will benefit from services like TripConnect, enabling them to reach a global audience through their TripAdvisor property page.
We can expect big changes in the next few years - the emerging middle classes in China, India, Russia and South America are travelling more than ever and China is already the biggest outbound travel market according to expenditure.
According to China Tourism Academy, China outbound travel is estimated to reach 94 million trips in 2013, up 15% year-on-year. These travellers are estimated to spend US$117.6 billion on their trips, up 20% year-on-year – good news for UK hospitality businesses.
This guest article was written by Nathan Clapton, VP of Mobile Partnerships at TripAdvisor. He will be speaking at the upcoming EyeforTravel@MobileWorldCongress 2014 (Feb 25-26)