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 [email protected].
Keeping Up-to-Date
in a Tech-Savvy World
� dave bodleOn Marketing
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