Commentary

Consumers Longing To Travel Plan To Hit The Road In The Next 6 Months

Travel brands should get their email systems in place prior to the anticipated market recovery later this year, judging by Data Pack Q1, a study by Criteo. 

While 62% of consumers worldwide still fear the pandemic, 69% overall still plan to travel within the next six months.

Email will play a critical role in sustaining loyalty programs, providing earned points updates, booking confirmations, reminders, notifications and promotions.

Based on the research findings, the study urges travel marketers to highlight these offerings in their messaging:

  • Refundable tickets, free cancellations 
  • Social distancing and sanitation measures 
  • Socially distant/travel bubble trips 
  • Pet-friendly accommodations

In addition, travel brands should target relevant audiences using their own data sets, with an eye toward privacy. 

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In the U.S., 47% of consumers will allow travel apps to collect their data in return for personalized content. Globally, even more would consent to that — 62%.

Yet 29% disagree in the U.S., and 23% disagree globally. The remainder neither agree nor disagree. 

Marketers better get their mobile platform ready too -- 51% of travel transactions are now done on mobile.

Worldwide, 61% of travelers expect to stay in hotels. Next on the list are housing rentals (25%) and camping (13%). Cruises remain at the bottom (8%), perhaps because of cancellations and fears of possible infection.

And 47% plan to fly during their next trip, even while ticket prices are again creeping up. But domestic flights are recovering more quickly than international flights. Another 24% will travel by train, while 17% will travel by rented car and 9% will travel in a shared car. 

But 47% of U.S. travelers say they will drive in a personal vehicle, compared to 44% worldwide. 

Car rental conversions are highest for Americans, although they are still slightly behind air travel.

And while 43% of the surveyed Americans will take a plane, only 11% will take a train. 

Still, they are going — 60% in the U.S. expect to visit family within the next six months, and 54% plan to take time for leisure. 

What are the study’s recommendations? Marketers should begin building anticipation now prior to the expected summer and fall travel renaissance. This can be done on a personalized individual level with regular marketing emails. 

  • Use a geo-focused strategy for your ad campaigns
  • Prioritize domestic flights other vacation offerings
  • Test ad copy that highlights visits to family and friends
  • Build those opt-ins by clearly explaining what users will get by sharing their information with you 

The study is based on organic data from 815 Criteo travel partners in over 20 countries, and survey data from 11,161 respondents in nine countries. 

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