Travel Marketing Trends 2015

Travel Marketing Trends 2015 As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to break out our crystal ball and take a look at the travel marketing trends for the upcoming year. Travel marketing underwent some major changes in 2014, as the digital marketing space evolved and agencies had to adjust their strategies to remain relevant. What will the coming year hold? These are our top picks for the most influential travel marketing trends in 2015:

Trend #1: Digital marketing will edge out web marketing
Travel agencies have been focusing their online marketing efforts on web marketing, but that will have to  change in 2015 if they want to keep reaching their target audience. The World Wide Web is just one of hundreds of ways to access the Internet, and consumers are no longer using it as their primary portal when they go online.  2015 will see travel agencies redirecting their marketing efforts and resources away from the previous concentration in web marketing into a variety of digital marketing strategies for the broadest reach.

Trend #2: Mobile sites and responsive web design will take center stage
The widespread adoption of tablets and smartphones led to the decline of desktop travel searches in 2014, while mobile travel searches experienced a corresponding surge. Standard travel websites ­­­that are designed for PCs and desktop searches can be nearly impossible to read on a smartphone screen; since more people accessing travel sites on mobile devices every day, 2015 will see growing numbers of travel marketers switch to mobile websites with responsive web design that deliver a premium user experience on every device.

Trend #3: Mobile Travel Apps
Hotel mobile apps are turning out to be one of the more popular mobile marketing strategies for hotels in recent years; guests appreciate the convenience of being able to perform certain hotel actions directly from phone or tablet, such as search and reserve rooms, access their loyalty program account, and virtually tour the grounds and learn about local amenities. Expect to see many more hotels and other travel destinations developing their own mobile travel apps in 2015; look for innovative new features and expanded capabilities to appear in the coming year.

Trend #4: Millennials will change the tone of travel marketing
Millennials will be coming of age in 2015, maturing into a position where they have the time and money to spend on travel. Travel agencies are going to need to change their marketing approach to engage these 20- and 30-somethings, who are attuned to digital media, visual content, and influenced by online peer interactions in a way that far exceeds previous generations. Astute travel marketers will incorporate social media, dynamic content, and interactive hotel marketing strategies to engage the interest of this key demographic.

Trend #5: Cultural Tourism
Cultural and historical pursuits will be the favored activities of travelers in the coming year, as they search for “real experiences” where they can participate in the local traditions of the lands they visit. The marketing trend in 2015 will be campaigns that highlight the rich cultural heritages of travel locations, replacing the images of sybaritic fun in the sun that were formerly used to sell the merits of travel with real, powerful human stories and interest.

Trend #6: Content Marketing
Today’s travelers are not impressed by overly promotional marketing; they want to be entertained and inspired through the use of high quality, informative content. 2015 will see enterprising travel marketers combine the demand for quality content with the cultural tourism trend to create some truly breathtaking videos, blogs, photo diaries, and other content that will inform us, amuse us, and remind us of why we fell in love with traveling in the first place: to explore all the best the world has to offer.

For expert hotel marketing services that will help you put the travel marketing trends of 2015 to work for your hotel, turn to Travel Tech Strategies. Our professional hotel marketing team can provide you with the responsive hotel web design, social media marketing services, and innovative hotel app designs that will ensure your hotel business succeeds in 2015 and beyond!

Contact Travel Tech Strategies today at 954-779-2801 for effective hotel marketing strategies and expert hotel marketing services that will help your hotel business grow!

Travel Tech Strategies is a forward-thinking market leader providing the travel industry with in-depth Big Data analysis