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Understanding the Journey of the Connected Consumer in Leisure Travel
Explore how mobile and online platforms are redefining how travel shoppers around the world discover, evaluate and purchase flights, accommodations and trip experiences.
Whether booking a family holiday or a romantic getaway, leisure travelers1 have a variety of resources at their fingertips to help them discover destinations, evaluate travel options and book their trip. However they navigate the path to purchase, one constant factor is the importance of social influence. Whether travelers seek inspiration or reassurance, family, friends and previous experiences have a deep impact on their decision to book.
To help marketers understand the leisure traveler’s customer journey, Facebook IQ commissioned Accenture to examine their behaviors. The study surveyed 1,054 US leisure travelers—ages 18 and older—who had booked flights, accommodations or trip experiences in the previous three months.
How do travelers discover brands and products for their vacations?
Vacation planning doesn’t have to start by going to a travel agency or heading directly to a tour operator’s website anymore. Today, finding out about new vacation options is so much easier, with leisure travelers discovering while they're going about their everyday lives.
With adults in the US spending on average almost 6 hours2 online every day, it comes as no surprise that it’s the most common way people discover new leisure travel products and brands. In our study, we found that 66% leisure travelers in the US now find flights, 64% find accommodations and 68% find trip experiences online.
By looking at the behavior of leisure travelers ages 18–34, we can see where the future of travel marketing is heading. These younger travelers are more likely to:
- Use the Facebook family of apps3 for inspiration. It’s the top online channel for destination discovery for leisure travelers ages 18–34.
- Discover on mobile. When it comes to destination inspiration, leisure travelers ages 18–34 are 2.4x more likely than those ages 35 and over to discover travel destinations via mobile.
- Have higher expectations of the industry. For flights, 18–34-year-olds are 1.4x more likely than those ages 35 and over4 to consider easily customizable flight options an influential factor when deciding to book.
66%
of shoppers discover products online
66%
70%
are influenced by recommendations from friends and family when deciding which travel option to book
42% use Messenger5 to chat with friends about trips
90%
purchase travel online
65%
of travelers desire post-purchase engagement from brands
64%
of shoppers discover products online
64%
74%
are influenced by recommendations from friends and family when deciding which travel option to book
38% use Messenger5 to chat with friends about trips
84%
purchase travel online
56%
of travelers desire post-purchase engagement from brands
68%
of shoppers discover products online
68%
87%
are influenced by recommendations from friends and family when deciding which travel option to book
42% use Messenger5 to chat with friends about trips
73%
purchase travel online
59%
of travelers desire post-purchase engagement from brands
How do travelers research and evaluate travel options?
Discovering a new airline or holiday destination is just the beginning of the leisure traveler’s journey to booking a perfect trip. Next, travelers weigh their options, and in this evaluation phase conversations and recommendations become more important across all the categories surveyed, whether they happen in-person or online. In fact, we found that over 70% of travelers across all categories6 considered recommendations from friends and family influential on their booking decisions.
Online channels play a particularly important role when it comes to research.
of leisure travelers who purchased trip experiences say they evaluate travel options online
of leisure travelers looking at flights say that online channels play a role in their evaluation of options
looking for accommodations say they evaluate travel options online
While researching online, leisure travelers turn to social platforms not only for vacation inspiration, but also to share their own travel experiences with friends and family. We found that 53% of travelers who say they use Facebook weekly check out family and friends’ vacation pictures. And 38% of active Instagrammers7 head to the app to discover travel photos and videos from influencers, celebrities and brands. Seeing other people’s experiences with travel brands at vacation spots ultimately plays into their decision to book.
How many leisure travelers use the Facebook family of apps8 for travel-related activities9
use Facebook
use Messenger
use Instagram
use WhatsApp
How do travelers book their vacations?
Our study revealed that 90% of leisure travelers book flights online, with the most common reasons for them doing so being convenience and speed. We found that 21% of travelers looking for flights and accommodations10 book on mobile. And those ages 18–34 are over 1.5x more likely than those 35 and over to do so for trip experiences.
Leisure travelers also showed a strong desire for better, easier mobile experiences. In fact, 86% of travelers who book on mobile agree that it’s important for booking to be as easy and convenient as possible.
Why post-purchase engagement matters
Across all categories, travelers seek post-purchase engagement from brands, but the type of communication they value the most differs across the categories. What’s unique for travelers is that engagement from brands post-purchase can happen before the vacation begins. This ongoing engagement can take the form of live updates, helpful tips and discounts via messaging apps. When it comes to flights, 65% of travelers want post-purchase engagement, with real-time updates ranked as most important.
Top 3 types of engagement leisure travelers seek from brands based on their purchase:
Flight
Accommodations
Trip ExperiencesSend live updates
Offer discounts
Offer discounts
Offer discounts
Provide helpful tips
Provide helpful tips
Provide helpful tips
Send live updates
Send live updates
With mobile devices making it so easy to get online anytime, anywhere, it’s no surprise that people continue to share their experiences, relive memories and stay connected (even when their trip has come to an end). And with 52% of people relying on past experiences when evaluating flights and accommodations, travel marketers have reason to incentivize existing customers to share their travel experiences with their network of friends and family beyond the trip. This ongoing social sharing also offers a prime opportunity for brands to stay front of mind post-purchase, especially as 58% of leisure travelers have a set of go-to travel brands they stay loyal to.
Download our infographic to see how the path to purchase comes to life for air travelers in the Unites States.
What it means for marketers
Meet your consumers where they already are.
We’ve seen that the Facebook family of apps is the top online channel for travelers ages 18–34 to discover travel destinations, so ensure you meet them where they are to be part of their consideration set.
Allow your consumers to customize their trip.
Give travelers the option to tailor their experiences to their individual needs, especially for flights and trip experiences. Highlight personalized packages and product differentiation to help move people from decisions based solely on price to those based on the full value of the travel experience.
Remove friction from your consumer's shopping journey.
Engage with your consumers on the platforms and channels most relevant to their day-to-day lives and create a seamless experience as they move across desktop and mobile.
