Travel industry is particularly affected by changes in consumer’s decisional process. This presentation proposes a diagnostic and recommendations for travel and tourism industry managers.

1. Consumer Online Buying
Process and Online Selling of
Group Travel
Karine Miron Jean-François Renaud
Internet strategist - Tourism Partner, Adviso
6 novembre 2009 Conférence APAQ - Bienvenue Québec www.adviso.ca 1
www.adviso.ca

2. Who’s Adviso ?
« We are
obsessed by
online
conversion »
• We are a firm of 25 experts dedicated to online
strategy and marketing
• We serve numerous important customers since 7
years, some in tourism indutry
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3. Who’s Jean-François ?
• A guy with a YouTube T-shirt ?
…is a certified geek
• A guy with a mustache
… only for November for the Movember in the
name of Prostate cancer
• The co-founder of Adviso, who believed in the
importance of strategy before technology for Internet.
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4. Presentation Plan
• Who’s the online traveler ?
• Who are online group travelers ?
• Key numbers and stats
• Group traveler online toolkit
• What to do now
• Summary
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5. WHO’S THE ONLINE
TRAVELER ?
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6. Some Key Numbers…
• 80% of Web users plan their trip online
• 37% of total travel industry sales are made online
• Internet is the primary source of information to plan
a trip (72%)
• Internet constitue la première source d’information
pour la planification d’un voyage (72%)
Sources:
1 Comscore Networks et DoubleClik, 2006.
2 PhoCusWright, US Online Travel Overview Eight Edition, November 11 2008.
3 eMarketer, Prospectiv Consumer Preference Index, Juillet 2008.
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7. Tourists are more informed,
selective and less loyal
• A Web user visits an average of 5,4 sites in its online
travel research
• Critics and reviews of travelers are VERY important
factor for 87% of travelers
• There is a trend for purchases accomplished directly
on supplier’s Website
Sources:
1 Comscore Networks et DoubleClik, 2006.
2 PhoCusWright, «Canadian Online Travel Overview», Juin 2007, http://www.phocuswright.com/research_publications_buy_a_report/292
3 Idem
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8. Y Generation
• Sales process must adapt to its target
decisional process
• Baby-boomers and X generation have less
tendency to subcontract
• Y generation wants to
control all parameters
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Conférence APAQ - Bienvenue Québec Source: Jacques Nantel, Gestion du Marketing

9. WHO ARE ONLINE GROUP
TRAVELERS ?
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10. Who Are Group Travelers ?
In the 80s-90s Now
Age-based segmentation Interest-based segmentation
Longer and farther trips Shorter and nearer trips
Mass group travelling Niche-specific group travel : students,
parties, gastronomical, multi-generation,
girls gateway, extreme sports, courses,
gay travel, team building, etc.
Unique size traditional trip High growth of less than 50 travelers
groups
Not frequent travelers Experienced travelers
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11. Some Key Numbers…
• 41% of group travel revenues in US have been booked
online in 2008 (39 billion $)
• 56% of small group travel for leisure in US
• 61,6 millions of online travelers in US in 2007
Sources:
1 PhoCusWright, Groups and Meetings: Market Opportunity Redefined, January 2007.
2 Jupiter Research, Online Small-Group Travel, 2007.
3 Forrester, How Travel eBusiness Can Better Serve The Small Leisure Group Segment, Mars 2008.
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12. Some Key Numbers…
• 46% of online travelers have planned at least 1
trip with a party external to their family. They
travel 1,6 times per year.
• Close to 7 travelers out of 10 are optimist
when it comes to technology
Sources:
1 Forrester, How Travel eBusiness Can Better Serve The Small Leisure Group Segment, Mars 2008.
2 Forrester, How Travel eBusiness Can Better Serve The Small Leisure Group Segment, Mars 2008.
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13. Leisure Group Traveler Portrait
Source:
1 Forrester, How Travel eBusiness Can Better Serve The Small Leisure Group Segment, Mars 2008.
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14. GROUP TRAVELER ONLINE
TOOLKIT
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15. Online Behaviour of Group Traveler
Generous
traveler in
sleepers
On-site
Information
information
seeker
seeker
The planner
Source:
1 LonelyPlanet, Conférence 2007.
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16. 1. Information Seeker
Main tasks :
• Find a destination
• Have a feeling about the
destination by consulting images,
videos, virtual visits, testimonails
and travel stories
• Find specific info about
destination : situation,
geography, history, attractions,
etc.
• Collect and organize information
Objectives : get facts, discover and explore
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17. 1. Information Seeker Toolkit
• Destination management organisations
(DMO) Websites
• Photo and video galleries
• Group travel communities
• Podcasts and videocasts
• Travel stories, blogs, etc.
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18. 2. The Planner
Main tasks :
• Collect information
• Organize and structure
information
• Compare prices and offers
• Look for comments and
reviews from other users
• Find circuit ideas
• Create and share a
personalised travel itinerary
Objectives : Consult, plan, compare and book • Book online
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19. 2. THE PLANNER’S
TOOLKIT
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20. Online Group Travel Communities
• Interest-based itinerary suggestions
• Online group travel planning tool
• Personalised itineraries
• Meet travelers (online and offline)
• Share itineraries with group members
• Online payment facilitation for group organizers
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22. Online Group Travel Communities
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23. 2. The Planner’s toolkit
• Critics and reviews
from other e-tourists
• Price compare tools
• Social Medias
• Shared itravel
tineraries
• Hostels.com
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24. 3. On-site Information Seeker
Main tasks :
• Use an online touristic map
• Find local attractions
• Find practical informations
• Read online travel guides
• Use attraction-specific content
(podcast, bluetooth audioguide,
etc.)
Objectives : be guided and find local and on-site
information
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25. 3. On-site Information Seeker
Toolkit
• Mobile apps (Dopplr, Loopt,
Wikitude, etc.)
• Google Maps
• Online touristic guide, podcasts
• Local travel communities
• Bluetooth audioguides
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26. 4. Generous Traveler in Sleepers
Mains tasks :
• Upload and share photos,
videos, stories easily on a site
• Interact and give tips to other
travelers
• Bring comments and reviews of
different attractions he visited
• Suggest itineraries and
attractions based on personal
experience
Objectives : share travel experience
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27. 4. Generous Traveler in Sleepers
Toolkit
• Photo-sharing sites (Flickr,
Picasa)
• Video-sharing sites(YouTube)
• Online travel rating communities
• (TripAdvisor, Yelp!)
• Accommodation rating
directories (Hotels.com)
• For travel businesses :
opportunity to gain
ambassadors for your brand !
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28. WHAT TO DO NOW ?
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29. Best Practices
1. Use Search Engine Optimization Stratgies (SEO)
•64% of travelers use search
engines…
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30. SEO vs PPC
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32. SEO Pros
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33. SEO Traps
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34. Off-Site SEO
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35. Best Practices
2. Offer web content and applications for every steps of the
online traveler lifecycle
Generous
traveler in
sleepers
On-site
Information
information
seeker
seeker
The planner
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36. Best Practices
3. Offer web content and applications valued by group
travelers
– Group rebates (65%)
– Group divided payments (48%)
– Ability to speak with staff (46%)
– Group activy bundling and purchasing (30%)
– Online group management tools (30%)
– Trip planning tool (26%)
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37. Best Practices
4. Invest in a cost-efficient keyword purchasing strategy to
be visible only to targeted active e-tourists planning
their trips
• 74% of US E-tourists have used search
engines for activitiy ideas last summer
• 63% to plan and book accomodations
• 59% thinking about traveling
• 35% to choose a destination
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38. PPC Mechanics
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39. PPC Advantages
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40. Best Practices
5. Integrate to online distribution marketplaces
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41. Best Practices
6. Plan and execute a social
media strategy in mass
and tourism-oriented
social networks
– Generate conversations among
travelers, creating content and
experimenting your brand
– Opportunity to increase travelers
loyalty and brand engagement
– E-tourists using social networks
spend more !
Source:
1 Réseau de veille en tourisme UQAM. Les utilisateurs des médias sociaux liés aux voyages dépensent 2 fois plus – Compte-rendu de
conférence, 2008.
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42. Can He Interact ?
???
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43. Best Practices
• Social medias focused • Social medias focused
on leisure travel on business travel
Conférence APAQ - Bienvenue Québec
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44. Best Practices
7. Monitoring and online brand management
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45. Summary
• Be there at the right place, at the right
time with the good strategy
• Study and support e-tourist lifecycle
online
• Use result-oriented promotion tools to
spend on the right travelers
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46. Thank you !
Jean-François Renaud
Partner
jfrenaud@adviso.ca
www.adviso.ca | www.adviso.ca/blog
www.twitter.com/adviso
www.linkedin.com/companies/adviso
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47. Some Tourism Industry
Clients of Adviso
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48. Download this presentation for free on
Adviso’s website:
http://www.adviso.ca/en/consumer-online-
buying-process-and.html
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