How Tour Operators can Generate More Bookings Using Digital Channels

Travel is a life-changing experience. But when you turn to the opposite end and you are the one handling bookings, the sight isn't that lovely. It tends to be upsetting to pull in travelers even though everyone wants to travel. Honestly, we haven’t found anyone who has said, "I would prefer not to travel." If you have, they are lying. So what is giving them stress then?

This is the challenge.          

We know that there are two sides to everything exactly like a coin. And technology is not an exception. For example, the onset of digital media has multiplied woes and joys alike for travel marketers. Tour operators who are offering online tour bookings and are utilising digital channels are receiving the benefits. The others are missing a major opportunity.

Right now, we will talk top to bottom about how you can generate more bookings in 2020 through digital channels. This will assist you with joining the race and ace it!

Why Digital Channels are Important?

The world is on the web, everything is online now; so is the travel booking.

From a basic search to travel bookings to daily entertainment, we as a whole depend on digital channels. This implies that your entire target audience is a click away from you!

The 10-year old social network, Instagram has 1 billion active users per month as of now. The potential advertising reach on this platform is 849.3 million users. That is an ocean of opportunity right there. This is not the only digital channel. We also have Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter and our target group are simply all over the place.

If you weren’t already astonished, you will be now. Google, our go-to for everything digital, has more good news. The click-through rate (CTR) for Google Ads was a stunning 11.38% in 2019. In fact, according to a survey by Search Engine Land, 63% of searchers said they would click on a Google Ad!

These numbers are solid shreds of evidence that digital is digging in for good and the faster tour operators jump onto the fleeting trend, the better.

How to Utilise Digital Channels to Get More Bookings

The following are a few curated tips that will help you make the most out of the wonderful online world.

Be active on social platforms

Instagram, as previously mentioned, is a goldmine. Most travel sweethearts frequently use the platform and 200 million of the total users visit at least one business every day. Therefore, the chances of your business here are significantly high. After all, that is the place where all the travel pictures go! People are usually high here on their travel-life and utilising that for your advantage will work superbly. Facebook is another wonderful digital platform for engaging people just like Instagram. On both, you can stories, branded & trending hashtags, etc. for specific targeting and retargeting. Twitter and Pinterest are also good choices, but the youth is on Instagram and Facebook right now.

Use Google

People go to Google when it comes to planning a tour. Be it – they need to travel inspiration or want to compare prices or to find out more about their preferred destination.

Now imagine what will happen when your ad is the first thing searchers see. 75% of them will click on this because your promotion makes it simple for them to find what they need. Search advertisements can also build brand awareness, telling the target audience that you have amazing booking packages to offer them.

Make funnels so that you can target the users who have visited your site at least once and follow your social pages, etc. Remarketing is the best approach.

Try to Influence Your Audience

When you spend on influencer marketing, you are likely to make $6.50 for every $1. Conversions don’t get better than this! All you have to do is to find popular travel influencers on YouTube and Instagram and partner with them.

Popular travel vloggers on Youtube have on average 500k to 1 million subscribers which can be converted into enormous exposure for your brand. You can offer advantages as well as monetary benefits in exchange for their services and reach.

Since travelers prefer going through genuine experiences, influencer marketing works so well.

Upgrade the Booking Experience with Tour Operating Software

Many digital channels will drive leads to your site or landing page, but converting them into successful bookings is also similarly as significant. If the booking procedure is consistent and automated, conversion chances go up. But if not, regardless of what number of leads you get, there will be drop-offs. In that case, tour operator software like TravCRM will assist you with this. It will provide many advantages, for example, real-time booking and sales-automation so that you can stay unworried and your guests book their trips without issues. It can also assist you in quoting faster to both retail clients and B2B agents to increase your team’s productivity.

Offer Benefits to Your Visitors

Since there are numerous tour operators offering similar and competitive services, the best way to stand out and draw attention is through giving interesting benefits. Something simple yet unique package can persuade the crowd. They want a personal touch and to know that there’s something out there for their particular needs. Give them that and they will be bound to pick you.

Also, referral programs, online rewards, and partnering with global OTAs to distribute your tours will without a doubt increase your reach. Basically, you will have to pay them a small commission on your bookings however the booking volume generated through such partnerships will essentially balance the cost.

Another thing we have to mention is the importance of user-generated content. Tour operators could expand the above efforts with your social campaigns by incentivizing followers to share reviews, videos, or photos of their tour experience with branded hashtags on their social media pages. The luckiest may get rewards such as discounts on the following trips.

Publish Optimised Content

This article cannot be complete utilising digital channels without mentioning search engine optimization or SEO. Optimised and targeted content has a lot of advantages that other media cannot match. These include a loyal customer base, returning clients, consistent traffic, and more organic reach.

To make this strategy even more powerful, tour operators can construct and promote microsites on specific topics (beach travel, honeymoon travel, backpacking trips, Europe, etc.) This kind of interest-based targeting, when clubbed with SEO can help generate more conversions. Microsites usually do very well with long-tail keywords such as “Best summer beach vacations” or “best European cities for couples.” By creating microsites on different subjects, your brand can rank better for specific user queries on those keywords and get higher conversions. Check out this article for more tips and tricks on how to boost your search engine traffic.

Concluding Words

Online travel game is solid and to counter technology, there’s more technology! Use a strong tour booking software, engage with your audience, provide useful content, and offer customised benefits. And of course, consistency in doing all these efforts will help your business take off.