Marketing Ideas for your Travel Agency Business
Now that customers can make their own travel arrangements online, travel agencies will need to adjust their marketing strategies if they want to succeed. In the past, travel agencies could focus on raising interest in the idea of travel or in a certain destination; agents now need to concentrate on building their brand and making meaningful personal connections in order to gain travelers’ business. To do this, travel agencies will need to apply a variety of effective online and offline marketing strategies. To help you in your endeavor, we’ve put together a few of our favorite marketing ideas for your travel agency business. Good luck and good marketing!
Create a Mobile App for Your Travel Agency
Mobile apps for travel agencies have become the best way to connect with today’s aventurers, who use smartphones as their primary way of accessing the Internet and searching for services. In order to get the widespread usage that builds brand awareness, make sure your app provides real value to travelers by building in certain essential functionalities:
- An easy, fast booking portal for your tours, travel packages, and excursions
- Valuable exclusive discounts, available only through your travel app
- A shortcut to customer service – Give customers a direct line to your services so you can resolve any difficulties that arise during their travels (missed flights, extra hotel reservations
- Local Information and guides to nearby attractions, etc. (be sure to include a booking
Market to Millennials with Destination Excursions
A recent survey conducted for Hotwire found that one-third of Millennials plan to travel in 2015, but there are still very few travel agencies that focus on this key demographic. Become the travel agency of choice for this niche market by arranging a series of excursion packages to destinations that matter to these travelers. Prime destinations would include the Winter X Games and Dew Tour BMX Finals, a weeklong Burning Man travel package, Las Vegas weekend getaway, etc.
Leverage Social Media to Build Your Brand
The visual nature of social media presents the perfect opportunity to market your travel agency. Employ a multifaceted approach with simultaneous campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+, using photos and videos to engage travelers’ interest. Social media marketing for travel agencies benefits you in several ways: you raise interest in travelling, which will raise your booking rate; you keep your travel agency front-of-mind with the visitors you connect with (and the visitors they connect with, and so on); and you gain valuable data that you can leverage to create tightly targeted, highly effective marketing campaigns.
Write Articles for Local Magazines and Papers
Local papers and magazines are often looking for interesting articles to publish. Approach these outlets about writing a multi-part series about affordable travel opportunities; the free exposure will benefit you in several ways: it will build your brand authority, introduce travelers to what you have to offer, and gain bookings for the featured excursions.
Create a Sports Travel Group
Partner with the staff of your local sports superstore to create an adventure travel group. It can focus on a single sport, such as rock climbing, skiing, surfing, etc. or have a wider reach and encompass all extreme sports. In addition to your group meetings, give talks at the sports store, local libraries, coffee houses, etc., Promote your travel group online through your social media platforms, and Create excursion packages to destinations where the group can engage in their sport, with exclusive discounts for your travel group members; create a dedicated YouTube Channel to showcase videos of your sport enthusiasts in action as they enjoy their trips.
For more marketing ideas for your travel agency business, as well as expert help in implementing them, you can always turn to Travel Tech Strategies. Our dedicated team can help you implement a comprehensive marketing campaign for your travel agency that combines responsive web design, social media marketing strategies, big data travel analyzing, and more.
Contact Travel Tech Strategies today at 954-779-2801 for more travel agency marketing tips along with expert travel marketing services that will ensure your agency’s success!
Travel Tech Strategies is a forward-thinking market leader providing the travel industry with in-depth Big Data analysis