The travel industry is finally beginning to recover from the pandemic, representing a great opportunity for advertisers to jump on this trend. In fact, travel bookings doubled in 2021 as increased vaccination levels made consumers more comfortable. Plus, the majority of Americans intend to spend the same or more on travel in 2022 compared to 2021. That said, now more than ever, consumers are careful with their decisions when booking their travel plans, which means it’s important for advertisers to understand key trends.
MobileVoice® is ironSource’s proprietary market research solution. Partnering with M&C Saatchi Performance, we utilized this solution to look into overall US travel trends, and mobile specifically, to see how consumers are leveraging apps for their travel needs. Let’s dive into the key findings.
1. 55.3% booked their vacation rental through an app on their phone, 59.8% of which were done from apps already installed
From booking flights, to booking car rentals, apps are a critical touchpoint for users planning their travel. This means it’s important to make sure consumers are aware they can use your app to plan, book, and manage their vacations. After all…
- 55.3% of consumers book their vacation rentals through an app on their phone
- 48.3% booked their flight and 34.8% booked their rental car from apps
- 60% of users who booked these services through apps did so through apps that were already installed.
On top of that, customers who already have your app downloaded are far more likely to use it to book their vacation travel. This means reaching users first, before your competitors, is important to becoming the app of choice when consumers are starting to plan their vacation. The most successful way to do this is by running on-device campaigns, which allows you to reach consumers at critical device touchpoints, such as when they’re onboarding their new devices. Doing so increases the likelihood you’ll beat out competitors. Check out ironSource Aura.
2. 53.2% downloaded additional apps to help find things to do while on vacation
The bottom line - customers are seeking new experiences and will download new apps to help them find things to do on vacation.
- 53.2% of respondents downloaded additional apps to help find things to do while on vacation
- The same goes for finding local transport and finding gas - 42.2% and 38.9% respectively
This is why you should be running on as many channels as you can. After all, the average mobile marketer uses 5 or fewer media sources - typically, just the traditional UA channels. However, their CPIs tend to be much higher than marketers using 6 or more media sources, $3.58 compared to $2.24. Diversification is key. For example, in addition to optimizing your social strategy, another way to get discovered is to tap into mobile ad networks, such as ironSource, to get access to ad space in apps, ensuring you reach more users. You could also consider on-device campaigns to get in front of new users at multiple points in the device lifecycle to drive incremental growth.
3. 55% consider price when making decisions about travel
When considering where to travel, 55% consider price, 34% consider child friendliness and 31% consider safety. When asked what they want to see travel brands and providers do in 2022, 39% of consumers want discounts.
Price is highly important to consumers when planning travel, which means it’s important to highlight the cost of your services, especially if it’s relatively low, as well as any special deals in your advertising efforts. For many travel brands, loyalty programs that offer points and rewards are the most effective way to offer discounts, and advertising these loyalty programs should be a focus.
With 71.4% of consumers traveling in the summer, there’s a massive opportunity to drive consumers to your brand during the off season by offering off-season coupons. After all, summer is only 3 months out of the year.
4. 85% of companies in the USA are conducting business travel as of April 2022
Business travel is expected to resume at a similar frequency to pre-pandemic, averaging about 1.6 trips per month. In fact, 85% of companies in the USA are conducting business travel as of April 2022, up from 65% in January 2022.
In-person relationships in the workplace took a back seat during the pandemic. Now that businesses are sending employees on work trips again, you have an opportunity to start thinking of ways to put business travel at the forefront of your strategy. Whether this means creating programs specifically for businesses or advertising to businesses, business travel is a massive opportunity to drive more traffic to your brand.
5. 21% of travelers in the USA held back on spending in 2021 to be able to travel internationally once it’s more accessible
While domestic travel remains the most popular vacation type among Americans in 2022, 21% of travelers in the USA held back on spending in 2021 to be able to travel internationally once it’s more accessible.
The unpredictability of COVID and restrictions to enter various countries continue to hamper international travel plans. That said, Americans have been saving up to travel abroad when it’s more convenient. To prepare for this surge in international travel, advertise your destinations abroad.
Another way to leverage this opportunity is by utilizing travel influencers to generate content about your global destinations and services. Brands can also use travel influencers to show that international travel is safe and accessible, increasing the number of people picking up their passports again.
6. 40% of consumers expect brands to put a focus on COVID-19 safety protocols
Whether it’s an airline, booking agent, or car rental company, 40% of consumers expect travel brands to put a focus on COVID-19 safety protocols.
Consumers are likely to choose a brand that takes COVID protocols seriously, which makes advertising your safety guidelines critical to ensuring users are attracted to your brand rather than turned away. In today’s ecosystem, most if not all of your ads should include some mention of your safety protocols whether it be one sentence about your efforts or a whole video dedicated to explaining your protocols in detail.
Travel is back in business. These data points on travel trends are here to help you gain an edge as consumers in America and around the world start returning to the airports, hotels, rental houses, and more.
Leveraging MobileVoice®, ironSources' market research solution, insights were collected from consumers through opt-in surveys across thousands of mobile apps within MobileVoice®
