How to be a successful tourism company online

Tourism

European travellers use the internet to help decide on where to go abroad.  Inspirational images, videos and informative content greatly affect their decision. To do well in this competitive market, local tour operators and SMEs must have a strong online presence. Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 will hopefully ease over the coming months. As confidence in travelling abroad returns, Europeans wanting to travel will use the internet as their main resource of inspiration.

An estimated 90% of Europeans use the internet to research their travel plans. Websites have become necessary for tourism providers around the world to showcase what they can offer. Typical users include fully independent travellers (FITs) wanting to make their own travel arrangements, and European tour operators looking for reliable and professional tourism service providers. 

Inspirational content is the most important factor

To succeed in this highly competitive market, your website content must be attractive to look at. It should also be engaging, motivating and informative. Images, videos and text are all forms of content. Thus you need to carefully plan every webpage. It pays off to invest in good content. Make building relationships with content creators part of your planning and development. The quality of travel websites is increasing; good content is thus essential to ensure that your website traffic grows. To grow your website traffic, you need to apply search engine optimisation (SEO) to your content.

Reach major consumer markets with social media platforms

People have shared their travel experiences with friends and relatives for many decades, and social media has made it easier to do this. The major consumer groups: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Zoomers use Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. On these platforms, they do research and share their experiences. The most successful tourism operators use a variety of platforms to reach these groups. Image-led Instagram, in particular, has become an important tool to help operators build brand awareness. YouTube is important for video marketing. 

Good content provides opportunities

A confirmed booking may be the ultimate goal of a visit to a travel website. Still, engaging with potential customers in a variety of ways allows companies to communicate with website users. Watching a video, reading a blog, subscribing to a newsletter, downloading an itinerary or sharing content with a friend. These are all actions that can lead to a potential traveller making a booking.

Website builders offer convenience and value

Building a website using templates is the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective way to get online. SMEs in developing countries will find many website builders online offering competitive packages. Most website builders offer packages of set templates. These are designed to present visually stunning content. Also, website builders often offer in-house support and advice. That way, they can help newcomers create an effective and successful travel website.

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