Moving into 2024, we’re seeing the threat of a looming recession and the lingering effects of the global pandemic, manifesting as heightened inflation and a cost of living crisis. In such bleak times, will people even travel in 2024? Well, it seems so.
Points Guy, a travel trend tracking website, forecasts that 2024 will be ”the busiest year for travel.” Similarly, the World Tourism Organization has also reported that international tourism is 90% back to its pre-pandemic levels. From January to September, 975 million people traveled internationally in 2023, 38% higher than the number of people who traveled in the same period in 2022.
These figures show a promising future for the travel, leisure, and hospitality industry in 2024. Businesses in this section must keep up with the marketing trends in tourism and hospitality to attract travelers and maximize profits. Let’s look at a few of these trends.
Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism: Trends to Consider in 2024
Tourism marketing trends must be in line with the general travel trends among people. Which places are they frequenting? What kind of experiences do they want? All these factors will account for successful marketing for hospitality and tourism in 2024.
A Focus on Culinary Experiences
Maybe we should credit all those big food channels on YouTube and #FoodTok, or maybe people have just become more open to the idea of foreign food, but culinary tourism is on the rise.
Food has become an integral part of travel, with people wanting to explore different cultures through their journeys. The 2024 travel trends report from Marriot shows that 57% of travelers want to try local cuisines, while 61% are interested in learning about the origin of a local favorite dish.
Now, the fact that people are becoming increasingly interested in the foods of their travel destinations is just an observation. How do you translate it into marketing?
Make food an integral part of your marketing. We’re talking about food influencer collaborations and organizing food tours.
Don’t forget about UGC (User-Generated Content). Use pictures taken by your previous customers on social media. When people see other people have fun, they want to do it, too. Try it.
Generative AI in Tourism Marketing
Matador Network, the travel publisher that created GuideGeek — an AI travel assistant — conducted a survey that had the following findings:
- 16% of travelers used AI to plan their trips.
- 60% used AI to save time during itinerary planning.
- 70% used AI to find destinations and activities they wouldn’t have otherwise known about.
Our point is that your customers are using AI. So, why shouldn’t you?
In 2024, generative AI will find a much bigger space in marketing than it currently has. Some use cases include:
- Content Creation: In a Hubspot report, 89% of marketers said generative AI improves the quality of their content, while 83% say it allows them to create more content than they would have been able to without it.
- Customer Support: In the same report, 64% of marketers said they use generative AI to personalize their customer interactions.
- Inspiration: You can also use generative AI to get inspiration and generate ideas. 35% of marketers use it for this purpose.
Social Media Influence
In 2024, Gen Z will also be the prime demographic for travel. 78% of them in the US are on social media, and most use social media platforms for over 40 hours a week. So, if you want to attract this demographic, you need to have a strong social media presence.
Don’t limit your social media tourism marketing to pictorial posts alone. Reels and TikTok videos garner the most views these days.
According to Hubspot’s 2023 Video Marketing Trends Report, over 30% of marketers use video content for brand awareness and increasing sales. The State of Video Marketing 2023 from Wyzowl further found that 91% of brands plan to use video marketing in their campaigns.
Considering these marketing trends in tourism and hospitality, why should you stay behind?
Use social media videos to showcase your travel offerings, testimonials, user-generated content, and past experiences. You can also collaborate with influencers to get more visibility for your brand.
Take TripAdvisor’s Instagram page as an example. They have an equal number of Reels alongside their carousel posts. For example, this post titled ”A day at the world’s top hotel” takes viewers through the hotel’s interior instead of merely showing them pictures. It’s much more engaging than written content.
Wellness Traveling on a Rise
People are not only traveling for leisure; they have other purposes, too. One of them is wellness and self-discovery. Booking.com found that 18% of travelers want to ”deepen their connection with themselves,” while 20% want to learn more about health retreats.
When marketing in 2024, keep this angle in mind. Highlight the wellness aspects of your destination, such as yoga retreats, meditation sessions, or spa services. Hotels and resorts are coupling wellness traveling with culinary experiences, such as by offering nutritious dining options or cooking classes with locally sourced ingredients.
Travel ”Dupes”
Travelers will no longer be limiting themselves to Paris and Santorini. They are now willing to explore ”dupes,” which are lesser-known destinations that offer similar experiences to popular tourist spots.
Expedia reports that traveling to destination dupes will be a huge trend in 2024. For instance, Perth is a dupe for Sydney, Paros is for Santorini, and Liverpool is for London. Travelers can find cheap flights to these areas since they’re not overhyped tourist destinations. Plus, the cost of doing ”touristy” things is also lower.
The rise of this trend will provide ample opportunity for tourism marketers in these regions to showcase the unique experiences their destinations offer. Your aim should be to show people how they can have the same experience but at a fraction of the price.
Again, video content will put you right out there. Use social proof and UGC to show that other travelers have had amazing experiences in your dupe destination. You can also highlight the unique aspects of the location that may set it apart from its popular counterpart.
Conclusion
Speaking of video content creation, it can be hard to come up with fresh and creative ideas and then execute them well. But you can’t risk lagging behind on keeping up with marketing trends in tourism and hospitality, either.
What’s the fix? A professional video agency. Let PixelFish assist you in marketing for hospitality and tourism, with a special focus on video production and content creation. Contact us for more information.