Do-it-yourself tourist? Certainly yes, but increasingly digital
How has our travel customer journey, i.e., the process of buying a trip, changed, and how has tourism supply adapted in the times of the Coronavirus?
Raise your hand if any of you still turn to an agency to plan a trip of a few days or a long one. Well, yes, you are definitely not the only one today who is increasingly using your smartphone to decide from the comfort of your home where to go, when to leave and especially to choose from the best deals on the web.
But how has our approach to planning a trip changed during this period?
The year 2020 has certainly revolutionized the way most people get inspired to choose their vacations. Many people, in fact, had to postpone their trip and especially there are those who saw their flights cancelled, chasing refunds and vouchers. All of this made even the most optimistic among the
travelers
.
2021? It certainly got better. After the upward trend in the administration of the much-hyped vaccines, there was also an injection of a nice dose of optimism, and people were more likely to move. Due-thirds of global travelers (66 percent) and 7 in 10 Italians (72 percent) think they are more likely to travel in the current year (research data here).
If it is true then that 23.5 million Italians designated the Belpaese as their favorite destination, making a real boom in the summer period, it must also be said that the desire for a vacation, if on the one hand it turned out to be almost an obligation, on the other hand it led, due to Covid-19, to choose a reservation
last-minute if not even last-second.
Habitual travelers, on the other hand, decided to move less this year, and the decrease in their budget was also a major influence.
How are the big tourism companies behaving today in this severe period of crisis?
Obviously, these companies react by changing the offer and making it always diverse and attractive, with promotions attractive sent through the most common marketing levers (newsletters in the first place), but also and above all, through social channels, to which we are all subscribed today.
The parole is to make those who decide to book a trip feel comfortable by following two basic rules: attention to health first and foremost, both in terms of means of transportation than of accommodation facilities. Today, in fact, both transportation companies that hotels must ensure the use of PPE, individual. Travelers wish that staff and other tourists wear masks, that there are temperature controls, and that all hygiene protocols are followed.
The other regolden throat, regarding the travel customer journey (i.e., the travel buying process), è security, viz. loss of money is the biggest concernne for potential travelers. Lhe flexibility in the purchase of a trip is crucial today: the potential buyer wishes to have the option of canceling the reservation in a totally freeucts.
Last but not least, another decisive element is clarity: the traveler wants to have information that is transparent and readily available on the subject of refunds, cancellations and reservation changes.
The big challenge for Italian tourism companies will be, starting this year, to support local tourism by making a perfect mix of local beauty, hospitality and pleasure of staying digital. It is clear then that the last step not to be ignored at the stage of the customer journey consists of establishing the trust relationship that should be included in the intermediate period between booking and stay: only in this way will the customer remain completely satisfied.
The offline and the skill of practitioners therefore have the final say.
Davide Donnarumma