Online & Digital MarketingSocial Media

Travel industry trends in the first half of 2014

Tourism is among the most rapidly developing, dynamic and career-promising industries in the world. It is argued that the travel industry boosted with the technological developments will have a considerable impact on the world economy within the upcoming ten years. The figures announced by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) are pretty remarkable.

8.7 percent of the business fields across the globe are related to the tourism and travel industry. According to the research, it is expected that there will be about 337 million different job positions by 2023. It is also anticipated that the annual growth rate in this industry will be 4.4 percent by 2023.

As of 2014, the benefits in the digital marketing efforts also became more visible in the travel industry. Slowly abandoning traditional channels of promotion, marketing and sales that prove less effective compared to current alternatives, travel agencies have begun setting their eyes on the facilities provided by the Internet. It would be helpful to follow these new trends regularly to ensure your agency maintains its online presence. As HotelRunner, we have checked the trends for the tourism and traveling industry for 2014.

Sustainability

Environmentally-friendly applications draw more attention than ever. Studies carried out by TripAdvisor show that 62 percent of customers who have booked rooms find the hotels’ environmental awareness important. 84 percent do not consent when the nature is harmed for the sake of comfort and luxury. Also, 17 percent accept to pay more for environmental responsibility purposes. Therefore, you can highlight the environmentally-friendly specifications of hotels on your online agency’s web site.

Growth in health tourism

According to the Global Wellness Tourism Economy Report published in the U.S., health tourism, which has been on the rise since 2014, will acquire revenue of about 680 billion dollars only in the U.S. by 2017 as a result of a 9.9 percent increase in the upcoming years. Also,  health tourism will constitute 16 percent of the global tourism market by 2017. You can also take advantage of this trend by carrying out new approaches for health tourism through your agency.

E-reputation and the power of the Internet

The development of the Internet and social media has changed the relation between the customers and businesses dramatically. In terms of reputation management, businesses now care about what their customers say about them on any platform of the Internet. Forums and social media networks are the key channels on the Internet. According to a study carried out in U.S., people mentioned brand names 3.3 billion times within the 2.4 billion online dialogues on the Internet. This points to the importance of digital platforms for reputation management once again.

It is clear that that these 2014 trends we have shared will remain in the agenda in the upcoming years. You can also claim a stronger position in the competition within the industry by evaluating these trends. Besides, the advanced features offered by HotelRunner and the peerless support it lends will stand by you in the face of challenges lying ahead in the digital world. Your elegant and customizable website, the platform with virtual POS support, and the expert support team who will guide you in all of these will always continue to support you. Create your free-of-charge HotelRunner account now and enjoy the privilege of having all these features.

Cihan Coşkuntuncel

Director of Sales and Business Development

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