While
42% of stories shared by users in Facebook are apparently related to travel experiences,
Twitter is no exception when it comes to travel industry.
Allianz Global Assistance, a travel insurance and assistance provider, has recently conducted a
study on 25,000 tweets that brings out various aspects of travel-related content - customer issue resolution, changing landscape of customer support, understanding the next gen travellers.
What travellers ask (post) in Twitter?
Twitter is mostly used to help organise a trip and to ask typical tourist advice.
- Emergency assistance requests are extremely rare
- Only few requests concern travel problems such as visas, money, luggage or contacting an embassy
- 7% of requests concern reimbursement for an airline ticket, and to a lesser degree, medical expenses
- 38% of Tweeters trust their network to choose a destination, a place to visit, or an activity to do when they arrive
- 26% use Twitter to help with the logistics of their travel plans (choosing a hotel, calculating travel costs)
Why travel brands should monitor tweets?- 33% of all analysed tweets directly address tourism and travel professionals (airline companies, tour operators, hotels, etc.). These tweets primarily ask for advice or for help to resolve a problem.
- 33% of tweets received at least one response, but it’s difficult to say if all of these responses were satisfactory
- 46% of tweets receive a response if they are sent to a particular person or company
Top 10 most frequently asked questions by travellers in Twitter- Find an activity - "What’s there to see in Stockholm?"
- Ask for advice when organising a trip - "Should I go to Bermuda or Corsica to scuba dive?"
- How do I get reimbursed for an airline ticket? - "I missed my plane, how do I get my money back?"
- Find directions - "Do I turn right or left for the Eiffel Tower?"
- Find a place to sleep - " Looking to spend the night in London. Where should I go?"
- Exchange rate - "Does anyone know the value of 1000 Bolivar in Japanese Yen?"
- What to do tonight? - "Anyone have an idea about something fun to do in London tonight?"
- Find a hotel - "I need help finding a nice, inexpensive hotel in Buenos Aires"
- Choose a destination for the next trip - "I have 500$ for a two-week holiday. Any ideas where I can go?"
- The eternal visa problem - "Do I need a visa to go to Paraguay?"