Most travel operators need digital marketing. By travel operator we are referring to those whose businesses focus on accommodations, tour operations, and recreation/entertainment for people traveling abroad.

Why? Because simply put, the traditional means of promoting and advertising your travel-centered business are growing more outdated. In the past, advertising had its place because the control was in the operator’s hands. It didn’t matter if people wanted the message, they got it whether they wanted it or not. Whether that means of promotion was through brochures, flyers, TV commercials, etc. people would receive the message.

Nowadays, that’s a very old way to get your travel business more clients, because quite frankly people are sick of these forms of advertising. Thanks to the Internet, it’s up to the people now to choose which product or service they feel works best for them, not the companies creating them.

It’s about time you joined the rest of the world online, isn’t it? If you’re still dragging your heels, here are three big reasons why we think your travel operation needs digital marketing.

Reason 1: Being Online Means Being in Touch

The statistics on how many people are online now in order to book accommodations or tours is staggering. Approximately 3.5 billion people are searching for something on Google every day! The number of mobile users (people using a smartphone or tablet to search on Google) is also accelerating. Being online is more important now more than ever for a travel operator looking to constantly communicate with their clients. Live chat is also something to seriously consider having if you don’t already.

Basically, by not being online, consider your potential clients gone and swept up by the competing accommodations business three doors down from you.

Reason 2: It’s Got Financial Perks

Using only traditional marketing is slowly becoming less effective and more costly for travel operators to reach out to new prospects. While there are some methods of traditional marketing that still work—business cards, for example, are still effective, as are brochures and newspaper ads in the travel industry—the reality is that customers are more aware of their choices than ever before. They are the ones deciding who to go to for booking their hotel rooms or where they spend their day while on vacation. It’s no longer up to the companies to decide that.

With that in mind, digital marketing will come in handy because there are more cost-effective means now more than ever to reach out to your target audience. Blogging, e-mail newsletters, etc. are examples of digital marketing that can work to a travel operator’s advantage without costing them their entire budget. Making a TV commercial can be expensive, and putting an ad in the newspaper is growing more costly, but publishing a blog post on your website and sharing it on social media can be easily done free of charge.

Reason 3: Sharing is Caring

Travel operators are not the only ones who benefit from having a digital marketing strategy in place. Hotels, motels, hostels, resorts, spas, restaurants, and more can benefit from having a link to their website posted on a travel operator’s website should its visitors have any questions to ask. This will boost the amount of back links to cooperating accommodations (rather than competing with them), thus providing some excellent SEO for everyone involved.

Travel operators can also boost their social media interest via digital marketing. Posting your own content is great so blogging, sharing posts, and having a curation strategy in place will all contribute to boosting your agency’s brand as well as the website itself. And of course, you should definitely share posts belonging to local accommodations and restaurants you love to promote! As the saying goes, “sharing is caring!”

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