8 Effective Tourism Marketing Strategies That Will Boost Your Business

Do you think tourists behave the same way as they did ten years ago?

The answer is a definite no.

When looking for a trip, they no longer visit a physical travel agency (as a general rule), nor is the offer they offer so reduced, nor do they settle for the first option they find.

Now the tourist has more information in his possession with a single click, and he wants the purchase process to be fast, direct, and as economical as possible.

For this reason, in the following post, I will explain in detail the different tourism marketing strategies that you can start applying in your business.

What is Tourism Marketing?

Today, tourism marketing is not focused only on selling a plane ticket with accommodation and food but on offering tourists the opportunity to choose, live and feel unique experiences.

But how can you differentiate yourself from the competition in such a crowded market?

Following a series of specific strategies that I tell you below.

Here Best 8 Tourism Marketing Strategies

As I mentioned at the beginning, the tourist of 60 years ago is not the same today.

But it is that one of two years ago, and neither is it.

Tourism marketing was based on the product, the price, and the place, now that space has been occupied by emotions.

Let’s know one by one the tourism marketing strategies that will make your client unable to reject your offer.

Marketing Strategies in Social Networks

The first thing is to define which are the most suitable social networks for your business.

To do this, you must answer this question: In which social network is the public that really interests you?

Although all strategies are important, the one that involves social networks is essential since it represents the best indirect marketplace in the world, so it is vital to have a good Social media plan drawn up.

Instagram

Gather all the qualities to be the queen of the party. The platform stands out the most in reference to audiovisual content.

You just have to know the resources offered by the app to make your company profitable:

• Reels: Thanks to the 15, 30, or 60-second micro-videos, the public can be reached through tips, express offers, or sell experiences on the spot so that they can view them directly.

• IGTV: Create travel guides and videos with tips, and talk about local cuisine, curiosities, or unknown customs of the area.

• Instagram Stories:  These videos that expire in 24 hours are the most consumed, so they have to be direct and eye-catching.

• Instagram ADS:  The platform allows users to increase the reach of the tourism company by buying ads. Pay special attention to segmentation before launching your campaigns.

• Influencers: One of the most used strategies in the hotel sector. It helps businesses to increase their visibility, get interactions, and, above all, to show the strengths of the business through the eyes of a real person.

• Use content: “Normal” people have the ability to generate even more trust than influencers.

• Geolocations: Including labels with the geographical location will serve to bring together all the contents in the same place.

• Hashtags: Creating a tag related to your brand will help you expand the reach of your publications and will ensure that they are always found in the same place.

• Customer service: The platform serves to offer immediate solutions to the customer. Since when he has a problem, he does not usually call the agency but sends his doubts to the company’s networks.

• Raffles and contests: Just by asking for an action such as tagging or using a hashtag, you can greatly promote your tourism products or services.

This strategy is still common, but having been so exploited, you have to know how to carry it out differently. For example, doing express raffles, forcing you to visit the company’s website to request something, and leaving us your data to increase the chances of winning, among others.

If you don’t try it, you can’t know the impact it has.

Facebook

This network is still widely used for a target of a higher age range, “young people” are usually more present on Instagram and Tik Tok as we all know.

But this does not mean that it should be abandoned because the level of participation here is very high, and it is a place to generate a forum for debate and user opinions.

I recommend that you include valuable content in every 7 out of 10 posts, games and promotions in 2 out of 10, and information about products and services in 1 out of 10.

Even so, this must be tested and the actions measured to see if it is effective, or we must change the acquisition strategy.

TikTok

We are facing the most powerful short video platform in the world.

With a very segmented audience, as we said in previous sections, this application has become a very top tool for generating viral videos on the web.

If used originally, your brand image can be positioned on Tik Tok as a trend.

How to create viral videos on it?

• It makes people talk and creates controversy (always to the right extent).
• Humanize the brand.
• It shows everyday situations.
• Sensory stimulation.
• Generates emotions.

And above all, take advantage of the void of competition in this application to differentiate yourself from them since it is a network that most corporate companies still have to exploit because it is not easy to generate content.

But, if you are brave and creative, you can take advantage of it by increasing your visibility on the network.

YouTube

What I like about this platform for the tourism area is that you can convey emotion, humanize your brand, and help tourists identify with their destination.

The cost is minimal compared to the reward.

And yes, we already know that the Youtube algorithm has been a bit of a fight for a long time, but that does not mean we should disappear from one of the platforms with the highest number of views on the market.

But the question is what to publish.

Here are some ideas:

• Show the facilities of the hotel or tourist complex, since in tourism there is a rule: whoever does not show does not sell or fall in love.
• Attractive experiences such as water activities, relaxation, and mountains.
• Answer the questions and doubts of the users.
• Value information.
• Satisfied customer reviews.

You can also ally yourself with public figures through a win-win relationship (now we will see this).

Automate Your Digital Project

Automating tasks, sales strategies, and tourism marketing plans is not a decision that is made overnight.

You have to know the market perfectly, the type of user you are targeting, and the mode of consumption they carry out so that the actions are effective.

The intention is to feed the brand image, personalize strategies and convert unknown people into loyal customers.

But to achieve this final goal, all these users have to go through different stages of the previously outlined  Sales Funnels.

Content Marketing

Having a solid strategy of optimized content on your website and networks will always be a plus for them to find you.

What are its advantages?

Brands with a blog that spreads their content tend to receive higher conversion rates (bookings).

In addition, you will be able to increase engagement with digital tourists and position yourself as a benchmark in the sector, thanks to useful content.

Another reason why you should do content marketing is that you will improve the positioning of the web (SEO).

If you offer content that entertains, helps solve a problem, or educates in the area, Google will value it and improve your position in search engines.

Finally, developing an application for your business and encouraging downloads can be effective action, but this is already a step for more advanced projects.

Video Marketing

Creating impressive videos is an essential action in tourism marketing. Multimedia content sells almost everything by itself since it allows the products and services of the tourism sector to be displayed in an attractive way and generates sensations.

Also, here is a list of other options offered by video marketing to promote your tourism business:

• Virtual reality: To teach customers as protagonists of the tours.
• Storytelling: A good story never goes out of style to make your brand connect. Of course, it is essential that you tell stories that engage.
• Podcast: Although associated with radio, they are video interviews that you can publish in the form of podcasting, YouTube, or Vimeo. This format serves to generate feelings of proximity and trust.
• Vlogging: It is an effective way to communicate with customers. Tourism companies use it on Youtube to show the human side of the brand, such as values, routine and work team activity.
• Live streaming: Make live videos on social networks. People will feel that you speak to them directly and more closely.
• 360°video: Help users truly immerse themselves in the world of your business. In this case, a tourist area or product related to this sector.

Marketing Strategies With Influencers

Image Source: MorningConsult

Personal recommendations are a very effective method, and influencers have been the order of the day for quite some time.

And I’ll tell you why:

• Your reviews translate into safe website visits and potential sales.
• It is not pure and hard advertising, but it transmits the experiences of real people.
• The contents generate high levels of engagement.

Advertising Campaigns

The task of disseminating the products and services of the tourism sector seems like a complicated mission for many companies.

But the first thing you should do before starting the advertising campaign is to define the basic points: The objectives and audience segmentation.

The important thing about a well-executed advertising campaign is that it can generate interest and increase the number of visitors to a place.

Create A Hashtag to Monitor The Tourist Campaign

When you plan the campaign, define the hashtag you want to use.

Use the tag in social networks to promote services, brands, or tourism products, gain reach and increase the presence of your business.

I am going to give you some tips that you should keep in mind:

• Determine the Hashtag: The idea is to monitor the impact of a campaign by creating your own term that will allow you to analyze its statistics and obtain specific data to evaluate performance.
  • Check if the tag you want to use is available and if it is a term that usually has a presence on networks.
  • Remember that the # must be short, simple, and easy to read and remember.
• Connect With The Public: Analyze the hashtag well since it should arouse the participation of the audience and make them feel identified with it.
• Choose The Language: In general, companies prefer hashtags in their own language since it promotes the connection with the real public.
• Use Tools: There are applications that help you with the task of choosing hashtags and monitoring them. My favorite tool for this is Metricool. You can keep up to date with trends and analyze everything you need.

Local SEO and Google My Business

Before making the decision to purchase a trip, tourists search the Internet for everything about the place they are going to visit, including the reviews of other people who have been there.

Whether positive or negative, these reviews will help you analyze how your business is doing and where you need to improve.

It is very important that you set your goal here, as comments can increase bookings or sink the company.

Boost Google My Business with posts, respond to comments, and use other review platforms or portals like TripAdvisor.

You can also geolocate all the images on your website so that Google has more signs of where your tourism company is located.

Conclusion

World tourism has gone through complicated times due to the unspeakable “pandemic,” reaching massive losses and even business closures.

So focus your tourism marketing strategies on being creative, betting on clear and direct communication with customers, and taking advantage of the impact of social networks to convey confidence and tranquility.

And, above all, to get reservations.