Earlier this month, Tourmag gave a rapid overview of the topics which dominated this year’s ITB: Social Media, Mobile technology and the combination of both trends.
The statistics speak for themselves and confirm that suppliers need to be featured on social media and, just as importantly, need to monitor what is being said about them. Users are not waiting for companies to get with the times; they’ve taken things into their own hands and are moving ahead. With 63% of interviewees saying they leave feedback on social media to share their experiences, companies who don’t listen may be left out of a major conversation and a great opportunity to interact with potential clients.
Social Media used to get travel information before booking:
Surprisingly, we notice that only 15% of the 22% social-media users go to the Facebook page or group of a company before booking.
The increasing use of mobile devices expands the access to information as anyone can instantly search internet from their mobile phone or other hand-held device. This therefore expands the importance of social media as people can make and review comments anytime, anywhere much more easily. Furthermore, it facilitates late bookings as people no longer need to be in a room with a computer and an internet access to book their hotel, tour, transport, etc. This means that not only can last minute bookings be made much more easily, they can be just as informed and no longer just the “luck” of the client who walked-in.
As we see in this article, social media are there and it seems increasingly difficult to go against the phenomenon which is evolving from a trend to a way of life. The community is becoming more and more dependent of this easy access to information, where the reputation of a company can be made of gold or sand! All the professional tourism stakeholders should be aware and include social network in their strategies.
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