WiTh more Than 25 years in the

travel industry I’m one of those grumpy

old men who grumbles about “how the

industry has changed.” Although many

families still sit around the kitchen table

to make vacation decisions, now they’re

doing so with a laptop and viewing

online brochures, discount travel web-

sites and purchasing e-tickets. Gone

are the days of paper airplane tickets

and requesting vacation brochures from

destinations. How do these changes

impact the group segment and its

marketing component?

Years ago a dear friend told me the

tour & travel industry is still high touch,

not yet high tech. Tour operators do

business with suppliers they know.

National, regional and state market-

places are critical to the industry.

Relationships are born and nurtured.

Likewise, group leaders regularly trust

their members to tour operators they

know and trust. For years successful

tour operators have hosted face-to-face

group leader functions and presenta-

tions. It’s how we connected.

However, today’s suppliers, tour

operators and group leaders that are

not in tune with the new marketing

enhancements will struggle in the

future… and that future is now. The

Boomer Generation is here. Case in

point is this writer. As an early baby

boomer, I am only partially tech-savvy.

Comfortable with the Internet and

even Facebook, I’m still not into

YouTube, Twitter and mobile marketing.

How are you going to deal with a

more technologically informed cus-

tomer? Here are three effective travel

marketing steps that suppliers, tour

operators and even group leaders

need to consider:

1Take an honeST look at your

website. Get ahead of the curve.

Your website is the foundation of your

business’s future. Be ready to serve

those tech-savvy travelers.

Give your online visitor every

opportunity to interact with you. Entice

them to sign up for your e-newsletter

(see point 2) or view a destination/tour

video (see point 3).

Most important, have a staff member

responsible for regularly updating

your site. Search engines like fresh

content. A little effort can really pay off

in search engine rankings.

2e-newsletters are the way to

go. A quarterly newsletter can be

a tremendous tool for regularly com-

municating with your customers and

prospects. Suppliers, tour operators

and group leaders all need to stay in

touch with their clients.

I admit to being a fan of marketing

through e-newsletters. I believe a

piece that’s attractively designed and

filled with relevant information can be

a powerful tool. Remember, the key

word here is “news.” Blatant self-pro-

motion is a no-no. Informative stories

that share the character of your busi-

ness will be read. Of course, everyone

likes a little tour & travel humor. Keep

the piece as personal as possible.

3Fall in love with video. It proba-

bly comes as no surprise to my

readers that I’m an “old guy, print guy.”

Although it’s great to read about a

destination, I’ll admit video has the

unique ability to demonstrate.

Tour operators need to partner

with their suppliers and ask for help in

promoting new tours. At the very least

their destination video should be on

your website, easily accessible from

the tour description.

Travelers enjoy sharing their

experiences. Try sponsoring a video

contest with the winner’s work

appearing on your website.

Like it or not, the group tour industry

is shifting, and how we market is

taking on a new face. I find many of

the new techniques can be rolled

easily into your sales and marketing

plan, both conceptually and financially.

42 February 2012 LeisureGroupTravel.com

Contact Dave at 843-712-1140

or email dbodle@sc.rr.com.

Keeping Up-to-Date

in a Tech-Savvy World

� dave bodleOn Marketing

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