Deciding where to travel can be both exciting and difficult. Anyone who loves to travel can attest to that – the world is full of beautiful destinations and interesting places to explore. What, then, is the thing that makes us choose one place over another?
Knowing what makes tourists choose their travel destination is crucial information for anyone working in the travel business. A hotel must know, for example, how to get customers interested and excited. If they don’t focus on those specific reasons that tip a tourist one way or the other, they won’t be able to attract enough paying visitors and stay in the business.
Therefore, for anyone who relies on tourists and tourism, understanding the consumer behavior is essential. The good news is that this behavior has been extensively studied. A recent TRAVELSAT report listed 5 Factors Influencing Tourist Destination and Tourism when it comes to tourists picking their travel destination. These are:
- Recommendations from friends & relatives
- Popularity as renowned destination
- Comprehensive information online
- Availability of special offers
- Closeness of the destination
Each of these influencing factor has been described below:
1. Recommendations from friends and relatives
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the power of review is highly important for most tourists. While review sites like YELP are growing in popularity, the trust worthiest review still comes from friends and family.
In terms of tourism operators, this means offering each customer a service that makes them write that positive review and sharing tips about the location. If you can win over each customer who walks through your doors, you can end up creating plenty of positive leads. You also want to encourage people to share their experiences and memories during and after their visit – encouraging social media campaigns are definitely a good idea for many companies.
2. Popularity as a renowned destination
But tourists also like to go where other tourists are going. The popularity of the destination does matter and there are some places that are considered as must-see in the tourism world. Most people want to see the famous places like the Eiffel Tower or TajMahal.
The location of your business might not be something many can influence. However, when attracting tourists it is important to focus on the closeness of famous sightseeing opportunities and wonders of the world. It’s important to work with other local companies and boost the location’s name as a good destination. It’s essential for tourism operators and companies to understand that they should always work together with other local businesses because the growth of one company is always going to spill over to the other companies in the region. This is something on which government also work upon, called City Branding to increase the tourists to an area/ country.
3. Comprehensive information online
The survey also highlighted the importance of information. When you are spending a lot of money on travelling, you do not want to end up in a place that isn’t what you want or need. Tourists are informed and they make informed decisions. They want to know what others think but also make their own decisions based on their preferences. The information tourists are looking for ranges from knowing about the services available to what is on offer within the community and location.
For businesses operating in the field, this means having a proper online presence. You must have a good website and an active social media that’s responsive and informative. The more information you share about the business, the more likely it is that tourist will visit your place.
4. Availability of special offers
Tourists are also conscious of the cost of travel. This means they are always looking for deals and discounts that can help make travel cheaper. The availability of special offers is surprisingly high on the list and this is something tourism providers must keep in mind.
For accommodation providers, offering special discounts is highly useful and visibility on sites that offer discount schemes extremely important. It’s not a surprise that major travel companies and platforms are often running special discount schemes. For tourists to choose a specific location over another, the availability of offers can be crucial.
5. Closeness of the destination
Interestingly, many tourists don’t like to travel long distances and the geography of the location still plays an important role. Tourists like to choose destinations that are easily accessible and which don’t require days of travelling.
This, of course, means companies must continue to focus on regional customers. You should focus your marketing efforts on audiences that are geographically close and easy-to-reach. Understanding the travel routes is important and entrepreneurs should be active in transport projects that could boost the local tourism sector. As a business owner, it’s important to be part of the local community and the solutions to its problems and not just a passive member of it.
Conclusion – Making the choice easier
Tourists choose their travel destination with the above ideas in mind. For tourism companies and operators, this is valuable knowledge and it can be used to improve and grow the business. It helps the companies to create solutions that make it easier for the tourist to make that positive decision and travel to the location on offer.
So, take the tips on board and help the customer find his or her way to your business today!
