21 Tourism Marketing Trends to Apply in 2021

Tourism marketing trends

Tourism is on the road to recovery and has great challenges ahead. Get to know the tourism marketing trends for 2021 to get ahead of the competition

2020 was a tough year for all sectors of the economy, especially tourism. Movement restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19 dramatically impacted tourism destinations and businesses. 

Now, with the resumption of activities and the prospects of global immunization against the virus, the challenge for businesses in the sector is: what to expect for tourism in 2021?

Post-Covid tourism, for sure, will not be like before. People’s behavior and habits changed during the pandemic. For tourism companies, it will be essential to know the new traveler profile in order to win them over as customers.

In addition, defining a tourism marketing strategy aligned to the new reality will be essential to stay in the market.

Want to get ahead of the competition? Then check out these 21 tourism marketing trends to apply in your company in 2021.

Get to Know the Tourism Marketing Trends for 2021

Tourism Marketing Trends

We want to help you stand out in the market this year. For this, we have separated 21 tourism marketing trends to apply in your company in 2021.

Check them out below: 

  1. Get online in tourism Post-Covid

The traveler became much more connected after the pandemic and learned to do almost everything online. If before the demand for travel on the internet was already growing, now this practice has consolidated and should remain as a trend for 2021.

According to Sojern, the number of consumers who use social media to plan a trip has increased by 40%. 

Just as the number of reservations made via cell phone has grown. This is because, according to World Travel Market, travelers are increasingly using mobile devices for travel services.

Therefore, if your travel company doesn’t have a presence on the Internet, it will have much less chance of doing business this year.

  1. Inbound Marketing, tourism trend for 2021

However, to be seen by the traveler amidst so many tourism services, it is necessary that you establish a good attraction marketing – or Inbound Marketing – plan.

Inbound Marketing is an efficient technique to attract, satisfy, and convert leads – people interested in your type of service – into customers. Therefore, it is a must for any tourism company. 

  1. Content Marketing as a differential

The main attraction tool of Inbound Marketing is the offer of relevant content on topics related to the service that the tourism company provides. 

For example, if you are a hotel, you can attract tourists through information about the destination where you are located, tips for tours, etc. By drawing the traveler’s attention to your site, it is easier to convince them to use your services.

However, it is not enough just to offer relevant content. It is important to know how to apply SEO – Search Engine Optimization – techniques to improve the positioning of your text in Google searches.

By reaching the top positions in Google’s results, you will have a better chance of attracting organic traffic to your company’s website and, consequently, increase your sales.

  1. Sell well over the Internet

Speaking of sales, as we have already mentioned, the online environment has become the main place for searching about travel and hiring tourism services. And this trend tends to grow in post-Covid tourism.

In this sense, your travel company needs to have a functional online store that makes it easy for travelers to do business with you. Offer all the information, facilitate the hiring and work with all payment methods.

People who buy over the Internet look for ease and convenience.

So does the traveler.

But be aware, he will only buy from you if he is totally convinced that you are the best way to help him fulfill his travel dream.

  1. Branding for identity and positioning

To do this, the way is to use branding strategies. In other words, develop actions that make your brand more desirable and positive to your target audience. 

In 2021, branding strategies will be on the rise, since the new traveler will give importance to themes such as sustainability, empathy, and solidarity. And it will be essential for your travel company to show values and actions in these directions to win customers.

The new traveler will be concerned with health and well-being. Therefore, it will be worth investing in marketing actions that highlight the sanitary measures adopted.

  1. Safety will be the key word in marketing actions.

Another tourism marketing trend for 2021 will be a focus on safety and health.

Destinations, hotels, hostels, tour service companies and travel agencies will need to provide clear information on these topics to gain the trust of the new traveler.

According to research by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), more than 80 percent of tourists are concerned about both travel restrictions and covid-19 contagion. 

Therefore, the new tourist will prioritize safety and health issues when traveling, and it is essential to make clear in the marketing actions everything that your company is doing in this direction.

  1. Bet on the audiovisual

The audiovisual appeal has great weight in the promotion of tourism companies and services. With the traveler much more focused on online searches, websites and social media should use all available resources to enchant the target audience.

It is worth betting on virtual tours, lives, institutional videos, podcasts and, of course, beautiful photos. 

Some places already offer, even, experiences with virtual reality. This is one of the main trends for tourism in 2021, but with the need for investment in technology. 

  1. Explore Google Adwords

If Google Adwords was already an important advertising platform for tourism companies, now, with the more connected traveler, it has become essential. 

Sponsored links will also be an important tourism marketing tool in 2021. This is because, through Google Adwords, a tourism business can create advertising campaigns based on keywords listed according to the audience it wants to reach. 

In addition, it is possible to define how much you want to spend on each action and monitor the results through various metrics made available by the platform. In other words, you do not need to worry about large investments to advertise your services.

  1. Social networks on the rise in 2021

Intensifying the dissemination efforts on social networks is certainly among the main tourism marketing trends to be applied in your company in 2021.

Brazil is the country that uses social media the most in Latin America, according to 2019 data from Comscore. According to the survey, 88% of the Brazilian population has access to the main networks. 

With the pandemic, the use of these platforms has increased and, as a consequence, it is essential to know how to position your tourism business on them to win more customers. 

Therefore, invest in marketing campaigns for Whatsapp, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin, among others. 

However, it is worth noting that your efforts should be directed to the social media most used by your target audience. It will do no good, for example, to offer adventure travel on Linkedin, a social network primarily used for business.

Ads on major social networks such as Facebook and Instagram can also be leveraged. Besides having a low cost, they offer a good return with the target audience, since they allow directing the disclosure. 

  1. New traveler will seek experiences

According to the study “The Future and Present of Post-Pandemic Travel”, conducted by the travel portal Guia Viajar Melhor and us, the new traveler trend is to seek memorable experiences, with exclusive itineraries and more intimate service.  

In other words, it will be necessary to understand what the potential customer wants in order to create inspiring and exclusive campaigns that attract them. This is what we call creative connection, one of the tourism marketing trends for 2021.  

Those who know how to best apply this type of marketing campaign will come out ahead. One tip is to count on the expert help of Travel Media PR, which offers tourism marketing strategies designed to promote exactly what the traveler wants. 

  1. Storytelling to sell experiences

One of the most efficient online tools for selling experiences is the use of Storytelling – a marketing technique based on narrative. By telling stories, you can create a greater connection between your target audience and what you want to sell.

In other words, the use of storytelling helps to engage the potential customer in an indirect but persuasive way. And in tourism, storytelling is essential, since the traveler is looking for experiences, and there is nothing better than a good story to win them over.

Among the trends for 2021 regarding the use of storytelling, narratives based on data, on customers’ own experiences, and with audiovisual appeal will gain strength.

  1. Influence marketing will grow in 2021

Still on the subject of selling experiences, influencer marketing has great potential among the trends for tourism in 2021.

Using the storytelling technique, digital influencers recommend places and services to their followers and, by having their trust, are able to stimulate consumption.

Currently, 52% of Brazilian internet users follow a digital influencer, according to a study by Kantar Ibope.

Increasingly professional, digital influencers speak to specific niches, create identity with their followers and, consequently, exert great influence on the behavior and choices of their audience. 

  1. Value the evaluations

Another way to sell from experiences is by valuing the positive reviews of those who have already used the services of your tourism company and left satisfied.

If the new traveler is looking for experiences and wants to have confidence when hiring a tourism service, nothing better than seeing reports from other travelers.

Encourage your customer to evaluate your tour company. Create channels for this and then use these evaluations in marketing campaigns on your website and social networks.

  1. Reconnect with customers

Tourism marketing in 2021 will also be about reconnecting with the customer.

The pandemic closed hotels and inns, drove tourists away from tourist destinations, and drastically reduced the sales volume of companies in the sector. With the resumption of activities, it is worth reconnecting with old customers to get new business.

The more cautious traveler will feel much more secure when visiting a place he already knows or hiring the service of someone who has already served him well.

Therefore, it is worth investing in reconnecting with your customer base. For this, email marketing is a great tool, and we will talk more about it below.

  1. Email marketing to build loyalty

Among the functions of email marketing is to maintain the relationship with the customer. Surely you have the contact details of those who have already used your tourism company’s services, including their email. 

Through it, you can send promotions and suggestions for tourism services based on the preferences of this type of customer. In this moment of recovery, e-mail marketing emerges as an important tool to reconnect and create loyalty.

In addition, e-mail marketing allows you to create communication with those who have shown interest in your company but are not yet customers. In other words, people who have signed up on your site to receive advertising material.

  1. Provide good online service

The connected traveler wants to receive the same attention that he would receive if he visited your company physically. 

It does no good to invest in the best tourism marketing strategies if you ignore communication with the potential customer. Be ready to provide personalized service, suggest alternatives, and answer questions from those who arrive at your website or social network.

Invest in efficient communication and you will reap the rewards.

  1. Flexibility as a marketing tool

It is worth highlighting in tourism marketing campaigns in 2021 the flexibility in the booking and cancellation policies. This is one of the procedures that will be very important for travelers’ choice. 

According to Sojern, 70% of post-pandemic tourists will only book a trip if the place offers a flexible booking policy. 

Publicizing the flexibility not only gives the traveler more security in the face of uncertainty about distancing policies to contain the pandemic, but also shows that the tour company understands the tourist and is willing to help them.

  1. Promotions will be a tourism marketing strategy in 2021

The pandemic affected not only the tourism industry, but the entire economy. The result was a drop in the purchasing power of a large part of the population. 

And this is a scenario that cannot be ignored by tourism companies. The budget for travel has decreased. Therefore, a trend for tourism in 2021 is to bet on promotions as a way to attract travelers.

One tip is to offer discounts and amenities, such as daily rates or tickets to attractions.

  1. Use of artificial intelligence will grow in 2021

A digital marketing trend that should be observed by tourism in 2021 is the use of Artificial Intelligence. 

The most common one today is voice search. Among the main ones are Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. These platforms should be included in SEO strategies so that the content produced can be found by those who search using the voice feature.

Another Artificial Intelligence tool that is already being used and tends to grow in 2021 are the chatbots. They are used in virtual customer service by simulating the conversation with the user, based on answers to frequently asked questions.

  1. Machine learning to facilitate tourism marketing

The chatbots mentioned above use Machine Learning to provide virtual assistance to users arriving at the websites of tourism companies.

Machine Learning is the ability of a system to learn without the need for programming. 

A strong tourism marketing trend for 2021, Machine Learning is very useful for SEO campaigns and boosting sponsored links. 

  1. Niche Marketing

The pandemic has not only changed people’s behavior, it has also generally changed the profile of travelers.

Travel in 2021 will not be like before. Therefore, a key exercise for tourism companies is to re-study the traveler they will serve. 

It is necessary to know how they are going to travel again, what they expect to find in the destinations, and how they want to be served. It is important to define the target audience well in order to be successful in tourism marketing actions.

In this context, the concept of Niche Marketing gains strength. By knowing exactly what the traveler of a particular group wants, it will be easier to reach them and make them a client.  

Ready for Post-Covid tourism?

These 21 tourism marketing trends to apply in your company in 2021 are just the beginning of the road to tourism recovery.

But if you think it’s all too complicated or you don’t have the staff or time to put them into practice, don’t worry. There are specialized tourism marketing agencies that can help you get ahead of the competition this year.

This is the case with Travel Media PR, a strategic intelligence agency for the travel and tourism industry. As we mentioned before, Travel Media PR is aware of tourism trends for 2021 and has the best strategies to leverage your business The agency manages portals with high volume of access and leads projects aimed at building loyalty among tourist destinations, hotels, companies, and travel agencies. Get in touch with us!

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