Travel Takeaway Tuesday Part XI

As we tourism and travel marketers look towards the future, it’s important to look back. How have we changed? What should we do differently? Has our purpose changed in light of how the industry has been affected? 

This week’s Connect Travel webinar focused on strategy and planning for the future while learning from our past mistakes. 

Here are our latest takeaways: 

Getting Back to Basics with Branding

As we mentioned in our previous Travel Takeaway Tuesday, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the downtime you have to reflect. It’s time to reconsider who you (as in, your destination or business) are and what you offer. If COVID has taught us anything, we can’t be complacent with what worked before, but consider what might work now and into the future. 

Your brand is the perfect place to start! Re-evaluate your mission statement, tagline, positioning strategy, and content. Ask yourself: “Is this still relevant?” “How have we adapted?” “What is our audience looking for now?” “What is our brand identity and does it still resonate with our audience?”

Planning Ahead (But Not Too Far)

Another great lesson we’ve learned from COVID is that it’s important to be nimble and flexible. In the tourism and travel industry, we’ve become accustomed to planning a year in advance. It seems that those days are behind us, and agile marketing is the future. A successful marketing plan is not set in stone. We have to anticipate that things might change and we need to leave room to react to external forces -- like a pandemic. And we give ourselves allowance to take risks on tactics that will support our goals. 

Targeting A More Targeted Audience

With more restrictions and precautions for travel, it’s crucial to re-evaluate your target audience. Are you tapping your local community? Are you reaching out to folks who have already visited your destination or attraction to invite them back? While advertising to the “regional drive visitor” is great, consider being more specific with your targeting; such as American Express Platinum cardholders who have visited in the last year.

Investing in Lead Generation Tactics

As we approach the end of the year, we’re all familiar with the “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” model when it comes to spending. While it’s important to spend those dollars, you cannot waste resources on efforts that will not drive results. Consider increasing your digital advertising spend, developing a marketing automation or lead generation drip campaign, and investing in website improvements. 

By Kayla, Account Executive/ Communications Specialist | August 25, 2020