This document discusses travel trends in Europe and strategies for appealing to European travelers. It provides data from surveys of travelers in the UK, Germany, France and Spain on their travel behaviors and perceptions of destinations in the Middle East. Some key findings include that while many Europeans have not visited the region, most would consider returning or recommending it to others. The document also outlines the shift to mobile platforms and the need for travel companies and destinations to have a strong mobile presence. It provides case studies on successful Travelzoo campaigns to destinations in the Middle East that drove room nights and passenger bookings.
2. 2www.travelzoo.com 2
+ Arabian Travel Market survey findings
+ European travel trends
+ Information sources and the impact of mobile
+ Channel selection and case studies
AGENDA
3. 3www.travelzoo.com
27 million subscribers worldwide
6.9 million European subscribers
1.6 million global Facebook likes
Over 3m app downloads
108 million unique visitors
worldwide
TRAVELZOO
A leading publisher of travel, entertainment and local deals.
Website statistics
About Travelzoo
Social and mobileAudience
25 offices in 11 countries and 3 continents
NASDAQ listed: TZOO
Founded in 1998
4. 4www.travelzoo.com 4
Tailored solutions
Our cohesive mix of advertising
solutions stimulates and captures
demand through email, search
and online channels
A quality audience
We deliver an affluent and
enthusiastic audience who
respond to deals with
incremental purchases
A trusted process
We spend 1000+ hours each
week researching, checking and
validating deals to ensure reliable
content for our subscribers and
the best ROI for our advertisers
THE TRAVELZOO PROCESS
5. 5www.travelzoo.com 5
WE TARGET EVERY GEOGRAPHIC LEVEL
LOCAL
Local Deals
DRIVE MARKET
Travelzoo Getaways & NewsflashTM
COUNTRY WIDE
Top 20® & NewsflashTM
GLOBAL
Top 20® & NewsflashTM
27 million subscribers worldwide
6. 6www.travelzoo.com
ARABIAN TRAVEL SURVEY
Source: Travelzoo EU Survey April 2014; Surveys administered by Travelzoo Sales Operations department using Question Pro survey tool.
Sample picked at random. No incentives, n=3,440
7. 7www.travelzoo.com
HOW MANY HAVE BEEN TO THE REGION FOR A HOLIDAY
OR BREAK?
38%
45%
30% 31%
63%
55%
70% 71%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
UK DE FR ES
Yes
No
14. 14www.travelzoo.com
AND THESE ARE THE REASONS WHY…
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Cultural
differences
Language barrier Climate Safety Unsure what it has
to offer
Too expensive Lack of appeal
UK DE FR ES
15. 15www.travelzoo.com
WHERE WOULD YOU CONSIDER GOING TO IN THE
FUTURE?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Abu Dhabi Bahrain Dubai Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Oman Qatar
UK DE FR ES
18. 18www.travelzoo.com
WHAT DO CONSUMERS WANT/EXPECT FROM A HOLIDAY
IN THE REGION?
5%
12%
19%
19%
22%
25%
54%
54%
3%
13%
24%
42%
34%
18%
63%
75%
7.17%
7.17%
7.17%
29.32%
14.66%
14.66%
28.99%
58.31%
2.97%
8.05%
7.63%
22.46%
9.32%
11.44%
16.53%
49.58%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Sporting events (ie. Grand Prix/World Cup)
Water-sports ie diving in the Red Sea
A shopping experience
Desert safari
A city break
A twin-centre break using a Middle-Eastern destination
as a stopover
A sun, sea and sand experience
A cultural experience (ie. visiting historic sites)
ES FR DE UK
19. 19www.travelzoo.com
WHAT IS THEIR TOP WINTER SUN HOLIDAY
DESTINATION?
8%
15%
12%
16%
48%
13%
10%
14%
12%
52%
14%
15%
28%
15%
29%
16%
16%
13%
12%
42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Arabian Peninsula
North Africa
Other
The Balearic Islands
The Canary Islands
ES FR DE UK
23. 23www.travelzoo.com
TRAVEL BEHAVIOR IN SPRING AND SUMMER 2014
+ Germany and the UK lead the recovery in Europe
+ Last year the percentage of adults who took a holiday grew to well over 70%, up 4% YoY
+ Spend increased considerably in 2013 with the average rising to €3,000
+ German travellers are holidaying for longer with 47% over 1 week compared to 39% in the UK
+ The UK are the most frequent travellers (3.5 trips)
+ France, Spain and Italy lag well behind the UK and Germany. Frequency is in decline YoY and
average spend at €2,400
+ International vacations for German and UK travellers is growing significantly. Germany grew from 14%
to 17% and UK from 15% to 17%
+ The majority of German vacations are packages
CONSUMER TRENDS
24. 24www.travelzoo.com
FAMILY TRAVEL IS IMPORTANT AND GROWING FOR
THE UK MARKET
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
DE UK DE UK DE UK DE UK DE UK DE UK
Travel with one adult
or another as a
couple
Travel by yourself Travel with family
including children
(<18 years old)
Travel with friends or
a group of people
Travel with adult
family (no children)
Travel as part of an
organised group/tour
2011
2012
2013
25. 25www.travelzoo.com
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Special event such as a concert
Proximity
Other
Fit with travel dates
Recommendation by friends/family
Affordability of dining/shopping
Price of airline ticket
Available activities (e.g. snorkelling, swimming, gaming)
Appeal of hotel/lodging amenities
Cultural attractions (e.g. museums, historical landmarks)
Price of hotel/lodging
Prior experience (enjoyed a previous trip there)
Climate
GERMAN TRAVELLERS LIKE IT HOT…
Key factors when selecting an international destination
26. 26www.travelzoo.com
…SO DO THE BRITISH BUT THERE ARE OTHER
CONSIDERATIONS
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Proximity
Special event, such as concert or sporting event
Other
Affordability of dining and shopping
Appeal of hotel/ lodging amenities
Fit with travel dates
Recommendation by friends/family
Available activities (e.g., snorkeling,skiiing, gaming)
Price hotel/lodging
Price of airline ticket
Cultural attractions (e.g., museums, historical landmarks)
Prior experience (enjoyed a previous trip there)
Climate
Key factors when selecting an international destination
30. 30www.travelzoo.com
WHICH SOURCES DO UK TRAVELLERS TURN TO?
45%
60%
37%
31%
11% 10%
7% 6%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Tripadvisor Family/friends Online travel
agents
Guide books Traditional
media
Listings and
entertainment
guides
Other Social media
32. 32www.travelzoo.com
* Goldman Sachs
Tablets will play an increasingly important role as worldwide
consumer spending via mobile jumps from $204 billion in 2014 to
$626 billion in 2018, according to Goldman Sachs. 535 million
consumers across the globe will make a purchase via mobile this
year, the firm says.
THE SHIFT TO MOBILE PLATFORMS
34. 34www.travelzoo.com
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2011 2012 2013 2014
Thousands
45%
of total traffic is via
mobile devices
3,000,000+
app downloads
1 sale every 1.5 minutes
on mobile
TRAVELZOO MOBILE
35. 35www.travelzoo.com
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
France 3% 7% 10% 14% 18%
Germany 2% 6% 9% 13% 18%
Italy 1% 4% 9% 14% 20%
Scandinavia 2% 5% 8% 13% 17%
Spain 2% 6% 9% 13% 17%
UK 5% 8% 13% 16% 21%
Total Europe 3% 6% 11% 15% 20%
(Source: Phocuswright EU Consumer)
MOBILE PENETRATION IS GROWING
36. 36www.travelzoo.com
Only 24 of the top 50 UK travel
companies have a mobile
optimized website
Only 26 of top 50 UK travel brands
have an app, 14 are transactional,
3 also have tablet apps
16 of the top 50 UK travel
companies have no mobile
presence at all
Source: IAB – November 4, 2013
ARE TRAVEL COMPANIES EMBRACING THIS?
36www.travelzoo.com
40. 40www.travelzoo.com
CLEAR TRENDS OF SMARTPHONE USAGE
Hotels Restaurants
‘41% of UK travellers research local activities
such as restaurants and shows on their
smartphones’
(Source: Phocuswright EU Consumer)
‘65% of same-day hotel reservations are made
from a smartphone’
(Source: Hotel Marketing.com)
42. 42www.travelzoo.com
1. I know which hotel and place I want
2. I know where I want to go but not where I want to stay
3. I don’t know where I want to go, I just want to go somewhere
4. I'm not even thinking about going anywhere just now
THE WHAT, WHERE AND WHEN
43. 43www.travelzoo.com
The states of leisure consumer
THE FLEXIBLE EUROPEAN TRAVELLER
Search, Metasearch, OTA, GDS, etc.)
Creating demand:
Push Marketing
Travellers don’t
know where they are
going and can be
inspired to visit
(Email marketing,
travel content sites)
Demand Curve
Capturing demand:
Pull Marketing
Travellers have already
selected their destination and
are now shopping for flights
and hotels
100% Capacity
44. 44www.travelzoo.com
The states of leisure consumer
THE FLEXIBLE EUROPEAN TRAVELLER
WORLDLY
50%
are inspired by Travelzoo
deals to take a leisure trip
FLEXIBLE
50%
are totally flexible as
to when they travel
SPONTANEOUS
66%
have no preference as to
which time of year they travel
45. 45www.travelzoo.com 45
A luxury Dubai trip sold over 400 room nights
THE CAMPAIGN
+ £639 for a three night package at
Atlantis, The Palm with return flights,
breakfast, dinner and a room upgrade
THE OBJECTIVES
+ Encourage longer length of stay by
upselling to room nights
+ Expand client base to a new audience of
affluent consumers who are ready to book
CASE STUDY
47. 47www.travelzoo.com 47
A £699 Dubai cruise generated over 100 passengers
THE CAMPAIGN
+ £699 for a seven night cruise to Dubai,
Oman and Abu Dhabi
+ Included return flights, free onboard
spend of £100 and airport transfers
+ Various departures between November
and January
THE OBJECTIVES
+ Upsell to balcony and outside cabins
+ Upgrade passengers to all-inclusive
board
+ Fill capacity on key dates
CASE STUDY
48. 48www.travelzoo.com
THE CAMPAIGN
+ 799 € five night package in new 5-star
hotel Ajman Saray with sea view room,
half board and flights
+ For a one week stay, the package costs
999 € per person
+ Valid for travel in February & March
2014
Emirates: luxury holiday at newly opened 5-star hotel
CASE STUDY
THE OBJECTIVES
+ Increase room occupancy of a new hotel
with plenty of availability
+ Promote the new property
+ Cross-sell one week stay to generate
additional revenue
49. 49www.travelzoo.com
CASE STUDY
OBJECTIVES
+ Brand Abu Dhabi as leading leisure
travel destination
+ Stimulate visits to the destination
+ Support trade partners in each market
REACH
“We have received several enquires for Abu
Dhabi due to Travelzoo’s promotion and there
is an increased interest in Abu Dhabi. We
definitely would like to participate in this
promotion again”
Deputy Managing Director of Orient FlexiPax
ADTA Trade Partner
BRANDING RESULTS
30.1 million in total exposure
+ Users spent 2.13 minutes on page
+ User engagement drove:
2,276+ hour in total viewing time
= 273,120 thirty second TV spots
+ Flight searches increased by 412%
compared to the previous year
+ 406% increase YoY searches for
Abu Dhabi on Travelzoo
TACTICAL FEEDBACK
50. 50www.travelzoo.com
• European travel is on a recovery, especially in the UK and Germany
• There is a growing propensity with the major markets in Europe to visit the region and
return.
• Suppliers and Tourism Boards will have to be innovative and persistent to break through
some of the challenging perceptions that still exist.
• Content marketing, demographic targeting and broader communications directly to the
consumer or via trade partners is essential to gain market share. Word of mouth should
be encouraged and rewarded.
• There are some specific nuances with each of the European markets with how they
travel, what they expect and which sources they refer to for inspiration, advice and
confirmation.
• Mobile footprint is critical to gain share and to differentiate during all phases of the
research and booking process and in-destination.
• There is high fragmentation of distribution within Europe. Suppliers should use them to
attract customers in different states of propensity to travel.
The four states of leisure consumer
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS