The traveler of the future will be more cautious and more mindful of the adventure they are about to embark upon.
This is for good reason, given the impact a global health crisis has had on an industry founded on breaking down the physical borders, bringing people and places closer together.
Two disputable facts
Fact #1 - we know that the psyche of the traveling consumer has been impacted and people will view travel in a different light and embrace travel at a different pace and intensity.
Our travel "muscle memory" will definitely be tested as we venture back out into the world. People will dream, plan, book and experience travel differently.
Spontaneity will be characterized by those anxious to venture out while others will go deeper into research mode to find the best solution to allay their fears and concerns in order to protect their health and safety.
Fact #2 - short-haul road trips (domestic, intra- and inter-state) will be the preferred mode of transport (in favor of air travel) in short-duration bursts to relieve the pressure of being in containment in the first phase of recovery. Ultimately, longer-haul and off-shore travel demand will experience an uplift.
Firstly, in the form of bilateral "corridors" between countries that reciprocally acknowledge themselves as safe, then ultimately, the global "free trade" of travel will resume.
One undeniable conclusion
A fundamental shift in consumer behavior offers a clear signal to a tourism industry, anxious to reboot itself.
These newfound consumer concerns and behaviors will stagger the return of the traveler and, like window shopping, consumers will be very tempted to buy what they see in the showroom.
However, they will resist the natural urge to book the more exotic offerings in favor of closer-to-home alternatives, reserving time and resources to do more research before taking the plunge and making the inevitable splurge.
A possible answer
It is fair to say that people will resume travel – maybe not at the same boundless volumes we’ve seen in the last decade – and that bucket list will be checked off.
It will just take time. And with volumes unlikely to match pre-crisis highs, a focus on quality, targeting and the patience to attract the right travelers will be paramount.
The free, independent traveler (FIT) market is where marketers must focus their energy, building relationships with its prospects by deploying sophisticated, data-driven marketing to earn the right to their contact data.
Bruce Lahood - ICF Next
So, for marketers of destinations in search of tourists from near and far-flung origin markets, some new strategies and approaches emerge.
Destination marketing will still be principally tasked to build its destination brand – a compelling, distinctive, enticing offering - for a market ultimately yearning for escapism to something new and different, physically, culturally and geographically.
But that typically receptive audience will need assurances given health and safety concerns will be top of mind. And that desire may take time to materialize.
The latter point offers a hint to marketers open to taking a fresh look to how they might engage with and retain a dialogue with a future traveler that just isn’t quite ready to pull the trigger. Loyalty and database marketers will salivate at this prospect.
Destination marketers will have to consider building relationships with future visitors by investing in a direct relationship with those consumers who show are affinity toward their brand.
Throwing out the old rule book
The classical view of how to market a destination – the "build a brand, they will come" mentality – will be balanced by the responsibility to cultivate and nurture a potential market with a longer conversion cycle.
The traditional brand-led marketing model will be complemented by a contemporary consumer-engagement approach.
Spontaneity will be characterized by those anxious to venture out while others will go deeper into research mode to find the best solution to allay their fears and concerns in order to protect their health and safety.
Bruce Lahood - ICF Next
With a one to two-year recovery ahead to get back to stable levels of demand, destinations will also need to think carefully about which segments they look to appeal to.
The conference, groups and meetings segments will struggle to rebound, hindered by consumer sentiment and the optics of encouraging gatherings of large groups being largely considered socially and corporately irresponsible for the time being.
That insight alone points to the criticality of focusing in on the segments likely to rebound fastest.
The free, independent traveler (FIT) market is where marketers must focus their energy, building relationships with its prospects by deploying sophisticated, data-driven marketing to earn the right to their contact data, thus ensuing exchanges thereafter that keep the destination top of mind for when consumers are actually ready to travel again.
And in today’s world, those exchanges won’t just extend to photography, video and virtual reality experiences to inspire would-be travelers, content will need to be oriented to in-region health and safety standards and protocols (to allay natural concerns) and positive developments that will signal the opening up of borders, air services and tourism infrastructure.
Industry partnerships and coalitions will also be an important element to a tourism recovery.
Those same consumers will expect all parts of the value chain to be collectively committed to the highest of standards.
A new horizon
Destination tourism organizations are well placed, as neutral non-commercial entities, to play a vital role brokering these coalitions and ensuring that the local tourism industry acts as one both to consistently execute against expectations and in fulfilling a brand promise.
You see, before a travel deprived marketplace rears its head, the discerning future traveler will expect destinations to be professional, well organized and of course, welcoming.
Not only will enticing people to visit be the priority, ensuring that they have all facts, fundamentals and assurances will play a crucial role.
Destination marketers will be forced to play the long, patient game – building bridges with consumers eager to travel but hindered by access and legitimate concerns that will slow the recovery but ultimately yield a prosperous future for the industry.