Why a drop in bookings points tourism in a new direction

Internet and e-business research analysts, eMarketer, recently reported a drop in online travel customers. At first glance, I was a bit concerned - given that our business depends on travellers researching and booking online.

But when eMarketer senior analyst, Jeffrey Grau, applied his nouse to the findings - which came from the Internet-savvy US, he discovered that it’s the large online distributors and agencies who are seeing the drop. This fits exactly with the trends we are both observing and predicting.

“Online travel distributors’ booking tools were made for mass consumption of uniform goods,” Grau said. “They have yet to switch to to an era of individual consumption of unique goods.”

Quoted in the latest eMarketer newsletter, Grau said that the personalised service offered by traditional travel agencies had revived their popularity, posing a real challenge for large online distributors.

Significantly, Grau said that online travel distributors “must become more flexible by allowing travellers to put together travel packages that fit their unique needs.”

Here’s the point

The point is that while the Internet has enabled mass distribution of information, we are rapidly becoming - and regarding ourselves as - a global collection of very individual people, able now to fulfil our unique and specific needs through searching for exactly what we want - online.

If travel distributors respond with a faceless, mass marketing approach to travel, then online browsers will simply switch off.

And here’s the opportunity

The opportunity for smaller, niche operators is to offer exactly what travellers - or the best travel agents - are looking for: authoritative collections of information around a niche area, with easy links to enable a full tailored holiday to be researched and booked online.

Travel agents know this because it’s only the niche agencies with specialist knowledge and experience that are surviving. Those who do this well online will not only survive but thrive.

The new online travel distributors are also smaller and focused around a niche travel experience or location.

Travellers now make travel decisions based on where they want to go and the experiences they want to have. Get together with industry affiliates (partners) to market online, and you have a powerful marketing too.

This is backed up by tourism strategist and consultant, Anna Pollock of Desticorp. She describes these new online distributors as ‘brokers’, who will be ‘element-focused’ (e.g. accommodation), ‘destination-focused’ or ‘activity-focused’.

So if you’re looking at putting together a site that draws together operators in your destination or travel niche, you’re on exactly the right track. Think about what your visitors are looking for, and help them find it.

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