Travel and tourism is an ever changing landscape. The past few years alone have flipped the industry on its head both globally and locally here in Hawaii. True industry leaders need to be ahead of the ball and have real insights into their customers as individuals. To help keep your business ahead of the curve, here is GoTravelHawaii’s list of Travel Industry Trends for 2017:
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Easier booking for accommodations
You know how easy it is to use applePay or your Starbucks app for purchasing things in daily life. Think of that concept but for a Hotel or Airbnb room in Hawaii. The modern traveler is busy, and will abandon complicated checkouts. With companies like Square and other online payment systems, payment will be easy, and one-click checkouts the norm.
Google Trends: Mobile Shopping and Booking Behavior -
Personalized travel content
While meaningful data is incredibly important, content is still KING. User stories and targeted demographics guide industry experts to increase their revenue by providing more personalized travel. For example: Business conference travelers have completely different needs than wilderness explorers. Industry experts need to be more proactive by offering more personalized travel solutions and empowering the individual buyer.
HubSpot: How Targeted Lead Nurturing Increased Tourism Sales Revenue 129% -
Bots make Upgrades easier to get!
Traveling is much easier with online “travel agents” like Expedia’s Facebook Messenger Bot. The modern day travel agent is no longer human, but rather a bot! This makes it easier for the individual to find the best deal for their activities and stay.
The Ultimate Travel Bot List -
Comprehensive travel platforms
With an infinite amount of websites for accommodation, airline flights, and car transportation is exhausting and overwhelming for most travelers. The best online platforms will take all of that data-rich information and serve it to the traveller in one simple Google-like search. For example: GoTravelHawaii finds the Hawaii’s best local restaurants through a simple, comprehensive, search.
Aggregator sites outperform travel brands in search -
Discovering unique and unknown places
Travelers in 2017 are looking for opportunities to explore lesser-known activities, especially places that are unique. Many are wanting to:
• Discover untouched, unique places
• Create unforgettable memories
• Cross something off a bucket list
• Push boundaries of comfort zones
• Enjoy close-to-home around the corner experiencesVirtuoso: Five Must-Have Travel Experiences In The Coming Year
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Reputation matters more than ever
70% of Americans read peer reviews before making a purchase. This means, user reviews are rising in importance and the significance of the hotel-star-ranking system is decreasing.
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Travelers become experts
Individuals no longer need to hire a travel agent to plan their trip for them or purchase a travel package. Travelers are becoming more travel-savvy. Modern travelers do their best to research before they make purchasing decisions, and are not easily swayed, finding the best deals using the internet.
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Growth of “Sharing Economy” surpassing AirBnb
Ride sharing and home sharing are growing in light of disruptive services like AirBnb and Uber. Platforms like Couchsurfing.com and Toro.com are expanding the travel industry so that individuals are now players, not just larger companies.
HawaiiBusiness: View of Uber, AirBnb & other parts of Hawaii’s “Sharing Economy” -
Hotel Industries rising need to adapt with “Sharing Economy” disruption
Airbnb and other home sharing platforms are here to stay, and grow. Hotels will either integrate themselves into the sharing economy trend or loose even more placement in the marketshare.
Pacific Business News: Hawaii Tourism Authority considers impact study on Airbnb, Homeaway accommodations -
Hassle free, minimalist travel
In a fast-paced world, traveling has become more accessible than ever before. And with that, carrying the traditional bulky suitcase has become…well, pre-historic.
The modern traveler, especially the millennial kind, is becoming more and more about hassle-free travel, especially when it comes to packing luggage. This includes pay as you go services, as an easier alternative to taking the usual belongings. The sharing economy is not absent here as well. Some accommodation providers and startups are beginning to provide platform services like clothing rentals.
Continuing the themes of the minimalist blog and current digital nomadism culture that started in the US, more countries are experiencing this luggage-less phenomenon. Digital nomads are a group of travelers characterized by their passion for travel, new discoveries, and constantly seeking new opportunities for a better, meaningful, life.
These people are location independent, fueled by ramen and startup mentality, tend to be entrepreneurs with an online business or freelance in tech or marketing. This new adventurous tribe has become the shaping culture for travel consumerism. They pack light, stylish, and only the essentials (with their trusty laptop of course!) and live a decluttered lifestyle of embracing the moment.
To try and reach this growing number of travelers, some hotels, airlines and tour operators are using the microadventure business model.