Did you know that 12 out of the 15 busiest days at US airports were in the summer months? Not only is summer a time of increasing temperatures, but it's also a time of increased travel.
DECA members can dive deeper into the Travel and Tourism industry through DECA's career clusters. As someone who placed 2nd at ICDC in DECA’s Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making event, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful these strategies can be in competition and the real world.
So, whether traveling to Phoenix for DECA’s Emerging Leader Summit or with your family, here are three marketing techniques used within the industry.
Loyalty Programs
With a competitive business environment, lodging and airline companies want to lure customers in and have them stay long-term. As consumers, we see loyalty deals all around us, from preferred boarding groups to flashy free room upgrades. The rewards are a way for consumers to choose one company over another and an opportunity to extend brand awareness.
These programs can foster emotional connections with travelers, create word-of-mouth marketing opportunities and reinforce brand loyalty. By creating lifelong customers, companies can maintain their current customer base and grow within a diverse market.
Experiential Marketing
The Travel and Tourism Industry is uniquely poised in that no tangible product is being sold. This means marketers focus on emotional connections to destinations and experiences.
This has proved successful with campaigns such as Pure Michigan, showcasing the features and benefits Michigan offers. In this campaign, Michigan focused on locations where families can travel to make memories, such as beaches and farms. At the end of the day, you can’t just sell a location or a ticket; you need to sell the experience and the journey.
Geographic Targeting
While the saying location, location, location is true in real estate, it also applies to marketing in the Travel and Tourism Industry. The closer a consumer is to a destination, the greater the chances of receiving advertisements for that specific location increase. This phenomenon relates to distance decay, suggesting interest in a destination typically diminishes with increased distance.
For example, a consumer in Milwaukee is more likely to receive advertisements showcasing a small vacation rental on a lake in Minnesota than a consumer in Washington.
From loyalty programs to distance, you live in a destination where the Travel and Tourism Industry thrives on connections. For DECA members, these insights allow us to connect daily advertisements to meaningful connections to the marketing world.
