What Are the Tourism Marketing Trends in 2022?

Technology, local tourism, Generation Z… As the tourism sector bounces back strongly in 2022, we wanted to take stock of the marketing trends. Trends to take into account to improve and manage your marketing/communication strategy in the coming months!

1 – A NECESSARY PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

It is advice we give you regularly. As a tourism professional, it is important to be present on social media. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok… These social networks were a real plus for communicating and staying in touch with guests at the height of the pandemic.

Social media offers many marketing features. One example is livestreaming, which lets you share an experience live or communicate live with your community. It is very popular with Generation Z.

Instagram and Facebook offer features such as “book” or “order.” These features let guests book a room or order a meal for delivery in the blink of an eye, from their smartphone. It is an interesting alternative to the traditional website.

Of course, social media should not replace a website. These communication channels should be seen as an alternative and a way to reach a younger, more connected clientele.

2 – INSTAGRAM IS INCREASINGLY POPULAR

Facebook long held a monopoly on social media. Facebook is still very powerful in this field, but its users are getting older.

Instagram is increasingly popular with industry professionals and travellers alike. It is a highly visual platform that showcases video and photo content.

Features have been added to Instagram over time to make it easier to communicate with potential guests:

• internal messaging
• stories
• collections
• guides

This is one of Instagram’s major trends in 2022: video content. To compete with TikTok, Instagram is highlighting this type of content, especially the short format (under 60 seconds) called Reels. You can, however, post longer videos, as long as they do not exceed 10 minutes.

3 – TIKTOK VIDEOS, A NEW COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

While TikTok was long a social platform reaching a target audience aged 12 to 20, this is no longer the case. During the pandemic, the number of users exploded. And new, older users became active on the platform.

Currently, 30-to-55-year-olds are the fastest-growing segment on TikTok.

As a tourism professional, it is therefore important to create short videos to showcase your destination or your property. Videos must be dynamic to capture users’ attention.

Don’t hesitate to ride the TikTok trends. These are often sounds or set-ups that are picked up very quickly and go viral. Riding these trends will get your content more exposure, even if in the end you are doing the same as everyone else.

4 – SEO OPTIMIZED FOR LOCAL TOURISM

During the health crisis, French people rediscovered their region. Unable to travel as they wished, many French people decided to use their holidays or weekends to discover their region.

As a result, Google searches with the term “near me” increased by 100% in 2020 and by 91% during 2021, according to SearchEngineLand.

To optimize your website’s search ranking, especially if you have a restaurant or an activity venue, don’t hesitate to put an SEO strategy in place so that the keyword “near me” is taken into account. Ideally, it should appear both in your website content and in the H1, H2… title tags, or even in the meta descriptions.

Don’t hesitate to work on this area with a professional, because a quality SEO strategy can significantly increase visits to your website. What’s more, it is a long-term effort, with a long-term strategy. Because patience is one of the keys to SEO!

5 – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, A MAJOR NEW ASSET

It won’t have escaped your notice: the tourism sector is increasingly linked to technology. In addition to the metaverse, which we have heard a lot about in recent months, there is also artificial intelligence.

Despite a name that may frighten some, artificial intelligence is a very good tool for improving your communication. Artificial intelligence can identify certain patterns and suggest personalized offers. Personalization is a good idea for building guest loyalty and best meeting their expectations.

Artificial intelligence is also behind 24/7 customer service. Commonly called “chatbots,” these messaging tools can respond instantly to guests at any time of day. It is estimated that this support can handle 80% of information and guidance requests, especially when booking a room or a trip.

There is no doubt that we will be hearing a lot about these 5 major tourism marketing trends this year! We will be sure to give you more advice on our blog to help you develop your strategy.

Julie
Communication Manager
In partnership with Amélie Manceau