Research: How do technology and deals influence travelers in booking holidays

Technology is transforming your travel experience, findings show, in a way that makes it even more accessible and frequent, PRNewswire notes in the following report:

According to new study – entitled “What’s Changing the Way You Travel Today” – undertaken by the CMO Council’s GeoBranding Center and AIG Travel, today’s diverse leisure travelers are smarter, more informed and better prepared than ever before. Beliefs, values and interests are influencing where, how and why people travel. Technology and service innovations are making it easier and cheaper to discover, reach and enjoy travel destinations. While deals, specials and promotions are driving desire and action, visually enriched and personalized digital content channels are making travel experiences more alluring and exciting.

The research, focused around a survey of more than 2,000 leisure travelers by Pollfish this summer, yielded some notable statistics. Almost half of those polled say the Internet and device connectivity makes travel better. A further 42 percent believe technology innovations and advancements across all modes of travel have improved the experience, and 38 percent say these tech advancements have helped them find deals, discounts and destinations more easily.

More than 51 percent of travelers surveyed admit that great deals and discounts are what prompts them to make a travel booking. Easier, do-it-yourself travel planning is also a major factor for 32 percent of travelers. Other influences are referrals from family and friends (29 percent), exciting images or video (21 percent), and interesting stories or articles (21 percent).

“We’re in the thick of a monstrous growth in global travel,” says Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, which operates the GeoBranding Center. “The message from today’s leisure traveler is clear: Travel brands from airlines and resorts to destination and location marketers need to be digitally empowered and data-driven in their go-to-market practices. The impact and influence of how people find, select, book, secure, share and rate their travel experiences in the connected economy has brought on record travel numbers that are not likely to slow.”

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