Unleashing the power_of_social_media_on_travel

Unleashing the Power of Social
Media on Travel

February 2011

Travel and Tourism: Social Media

© Euromonitor International

Introduction
The Rise of Social Media
Social Media and Travellers
Social Media and Travel Players
A New Landscape for Travel Retail
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Go Mobile
Opportunities and Future Outlook

2


Introduction


Scope
• This briefing on the global trends for Travel and Tourism covers the following areas:

Travel and Tourism

Travel
accommodation

Transportation

Car rental

Social Media

Travel retail

Tourist
attractions

Health and
wellness
tourism

Disclaimer

Learn More

Much of the information in this briefing is of a statistical
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accuracy and reliability, Euromonitor International cannot be
held responsible for omissions or errors

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3

Introduction



Key findings
The Web 2.0

The development of Web 2.0 functionalities marked a turning point for the World
Wide Web. In only five years social media have become an important part of people’s
everyday life.

Social media are a global
phenomenon

Social media grow on the back of the global internet. The main adopters are the
young, but usage is spreading in more mature markets. Up to two thirds of internet
users in developed economies use social media and this is growing.

Social media types

Social media include different types from social networks which are based on
interaction among members (eg Facebook) to repositories of content (eg YouTube
and Flickr) to specialist social media (eg TripAdvisor and Thorn Tree for travel).

The importance of travel
reviews

Social media are important for travellers who use them to collect information before
the trip, but also to share travel stories and write reviews after the trip. Reviews
written by travellers are becoming increasingly important for the travel industry.

Social media to engage
customers

Travel players such as tourism promotion boards, hotels, airlines and travel retailers
are increasingly making use of social media to communicate with their customers
also creating online communities in order to engage customers with their brands.

The new travel retail
landscape

Today the internet is a key place where travel decisions are taken. Social media
represent the social element of this new travel retail landscape where travellers can
interact with their peers and with travel companies in order to make their choices.

A customer service tool

Social media marketing is not based on a “click and buy” model like search engine
advertising but it is rather focused on brand awareness and customer loyalty. It has
more to do with customer service and public relations than with advertising.

The ultimate frontier of
marketing

In a way social media represent the ultimate frontier of marketing as they allow
companies to monitor customer needs and respond to them in real time. The next
five years will see marketing departments make a more systematic use of them.
4



Introduction

5




The Web 2.0 phenomenon
Web 2.0

Social Media Types

• Web 2.0, the second generation of the World Wide Web,

• Social media include different types of websites allowing

indicates the move away from static web-pages in which
content is entirely created centrally to dynamic usercreated content and online social networking.
• Web 2.0 encompasses a number of behavioural trends:
the sharing of information; self-publishing; the creation
and uploading of photos, audio and video files; and
making new friends online.
• Web 2.0 technologies permit one-to-many
communications, in addition to peer-to-peer. It is this
characteristic that makes it so efficient as a means of
advertising.

users to interact with them posting and sharing content:
1. Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace,
Twitter, LinkedIn and Orkut;
2. Repositories for content which can then be shared
such as YouTube and Flickr;
3. Other types including forums, message boards,
podcasts, social bookmarking sites like delicious and
social news sites like Digg or Reddit.

Top Social Media Worldwide October 2010
Rank Site

Unique
visitors
(million)

Page views
(million)

Has
adverts?

Social media offer “social proof”
that users are doing the acceptable thing:

1

Facebook

590

690,000

Yes

2

YouTube

490

77,000

Yes

“We will use the actions of others to decide on
proper behaviour for ourselves, especially when
we view those others as similar to ourselves.”

3

Twitter

110

6,400

Yes

4

MySpace

61

7,100

Yes

5

Flickr

46

1,900

Yes

Influence by Robert Cialdini (2007)

6

LinkedIn

45

2,500

Yes

7

Orkut

37

5,400

Yes

Source: Doubleclick by Google
Note: Monthly data
6




From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

Web 1.0

Web 2.0

website

website

user

user

user

user

user

user

7




Dynamics of social networks
Six degrees of separation

A “power-law” relationship

• Clusters of “friends” are linked by less strong

• There is a “power-law” relationship between the number

“acquaintance” connections. Individuals even in a
large network are only four to eight “friends of friends”
away from any other member of the overall network.
• Some people in a cluster have many loose
acquaintances; they are disproportionately important
to overall network connectivity, despite the lack of
strength in the connections.
• Similarly, some people have multiple diverse interests
and are so members of multiple clusters.
• Identifying and targeting these individuals can help the
success of a social media campaign.

of members in a network and their potential interaction.
• For example, the number of peer-to-peer messages that
can be sent in a network of 10 people is 90. However, in
a network of 20 (ie twice the number of members), 380
messages can be sent (ie a multiple of 4.2).
• The dedication of network members is another important
factor; the hours members spend interacting can vary.
• However, a user may not trust all his/her network equally.
They will accept advice from those most like themselves,
or those that can offer the most relevant advice (the
opinion leaders in that field).

The Importance of Scale

The Importance of Acquaintances

800

20,000

600

15,000
400

10,000

Members

1000

25,000
Interactions

30,000

200

5,000
0

0
x1
Members

x2

x3

x4

x5

Potential P2P interactions
8




Social media penetration
The US is the largest market, but Europe is also growing rapidly
• By absolute size of audience the US is by far the largest user of social media.
• However, use of the internet to visit social media sites has increased in most countries over 2008-2010.
• The greatest increase in usage is in Italy and France where usage doubled between 2008 and 2010.
• Two thirds of Italians now use social media via the internet, more than in the UK or the US.
• Almost 80% of Facebook users are now outside the US.
• In Japan, social media have suffered competition from social communications via mobile phones (sms and email).

This situation may change in the near future following the launch of mobile social media applications.

Social Media Penetration % of Internet Users 2008/2010
70

66

62

58

60

%

50

64

54

50

33

40

40

34

33

32

27

30
20
10
0
UK

France

Germany
2008

Italy

US

Japan

2010

Source: Ofcom International Communications Market Report 2010
Base: Internet users aged 18+
9




Demographic segmentation
Highest popularity among the younger generations
• Social media are especially popular in the 18-24 years age segment where they reach a penetration among internet

users of around 80% in most developed economies, with the exception of Japan.
• Penetration is however still significant in the age range 55-64 years reaching between 30% and 45% of internet
users in developed countries, with the exception of Japan.

Social Media Penetration % of Internet Users by Age 2010
100
90
80

% of users

70

86

81

77

73

81

79 78
70

64

60

62
54

48

50

65

45

44 42

64

62

60

54

49

48

44
41

35

40

30

30

40
25

23

20

13

10
0
UK

France
18-24

Germany
25-34

35-44

Italy
45-54

US

Japan

55-64

Base: Internet users aged 18+
10




Internet and broadband penetration
Internet Users 2010
Million people

UK

People online

39.1

France Germany

Italy

US

Japan

44.9

25.7

195.0

59.5

France Germany

Italy

US

Japan

44.9

Broadband Penetration by Type 2010
% of households

UK

Fixed broadband connection

70

69

62

49

71

64

Mobile broadband connection (3G)

16

7

3

16

30

19

France Germany

Italy

US

Japan

Internet Access through Mobile Devices 2010
% of internet users
Smartphone
Tablet

UK
29

26

18

23

27

43

3

2

2

3

3

4

11



Introduction

12




Use of social media by travellers

Before the
trip

During the
trip

After the
trip

• Collecting information and suggestions
• Choosing destinations and suppliers
• Booking online or offline

• Collecting information locally
• Keeping in touch with friends, other travellers and locals
• On-site booking online or offline (also through smartphones)

• Share travel stories and experiences
• Write hotel and destination reviews
• Upload photos and videos

13




Role of social media for leisure travellers
Typical Social Networking Site

Travel Social Media

You

Destination

Friends

People who’ve
been there
(travellers)

Acquaintances

You

Focus on the destination

Importance of opinion leaders

• Social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn are

• These travellers are opinion leaders for travelling to the

•

•

•

•

based on strong links (eg “friends”).
However, travel social media are based more on
looser acquaintances and wider communities of
interest.
The emphasis of generalist social networks such as
Facebook is on you and your friends; but the emphasis
of travel social media is the destination.
Your friends may not have gone to the destination
either.
Frequent travellers to one or more destinations
become gurus on a travel site.

destination they are specialists on and their role is
particularly important.
• A typical social networker will go to Facebook everyday
and spend an hour online. The majority of use of travel
social media will be episodic, perhaps even task-driven
(eg “find a summer holiday”).
• For this reason, leisure travellers are more willing to
accept advice from strangers.
• For the same reason, specialist social media in travel
and tourism are more trusted by people to collect
information and take decisions concerning their trips.
14




Beyond Facebook - specialist social media in travel
Details
Site
Cosmo- Set up in 2007, Cosmotourist is a travel
“meeting place” where tips and reviews are
tourist
written and where questions can be posed to
others who have already travelled to
destinations around the world. 400,000 users.
Dopplr Service for international travellers via mobile
phone and computer. Dopplr members share
personal and business travel plans privately
with their networks. Acquired by Nokia in
September 2009. Usage fell from 39,000
unique users to 29,000 in July 2009.
Driven by a proprietary map, Driftr is a userDriftr
generated content site “for travellers, by
travellers”, providing photos and reviews.
Epic Trip A multimedia travel search engine and social
media providing reviews of destinations,
attractions, and hotels; comparison shop for
the lowest hotel rates; meet like-minded
travellers.
Everytrail For geo-tagged user-generated travel
content; interactive maps including route
photos.
geojoey A Google maps mashup, geojoey provides a
full-screen map with personal URL against
which users can plot journeys, post photos
and videos.
here or Rate community travel experiences and add
there
own comment.
iloho
Established online travel communities where
users can vote on user submitted stories.

Site
Lonely
Planet
Thorn Tree
Matador

Details
Where the Lonely Planet travel community
exchange travel advice, hints and tips.

Matador Travel is a social media for
passionate travellers, associated with
glimpse.com.
myTripBook myTripBook is a travel diary and forward
planner that you can keep private, share with
friends or have open to all.
TravBuddy Find travel buddies, record travel experiences
in travel blogs, or share travel tips and
reviews.
TravelPost A community “built by travel enthusiasts for
travel enthusiasts”; reviews, photos and blogs.
TripAdvisor TripAdvisor claims to be the largest travel site
offering advice from real travellers, a wide
variety of travel choices and planning
features.
TripConnect Founded in 2004 in New York City,
TripConnect offers travel advice from friends
or people with similar interests, and from
established and relevant information sources.
TripSay
Users can share trip experiences and connect
with travelling friends to exchange insider tips.
TripWolf
Social travel guide and trip planner based
around a community of locals and travel
gurus.
Virtual
A travel community where 1.2 million
Tourist
registered members from more than 220
countries share real travel advice and
experiences.
15




Empowering consumers
Key for brand image and customer service
• Major brand owners are using social media to enhance their customer service.
• Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin America, Marriott, Starwood, Travelocity, Expedia, and Hertz all have staff
•
•
•
•

specifically tasked with reacting to social media messages.
The power of social media means good and bad news about a brand and service can be transmitted to all
corners of the world in hours, forcing big brands to manage the process.
A dissatisfied customer was once likely to tell up to 100 people, but if a complaint goes viral, it could now reach
millions.
Complaining on TripAdvisor, Facebook or Twitter is more effective than complaining in a traditional way; more
people can overhear how the company treats you. And the threat of a bad review can give you leverage.
However, the ease with which a bad review can be posted, or a Twitter complaint made, opens this embryonic
customer service system to abuse. The threat of a bad review can also be perceived as blackmail.

Advantages

Disadvantages

• Complaints can be magnified by the lens of

• Complaining may be too easy; it risks petty or

the social network
• Everyone is listening, including executives in
the companies receiving the complaint
• Response times can be very quick
• A bad review can be a trigger for change,
helping the supplier with poor service to
recognise its deficiencies

mischievous complaints, or threats of
blackmail
• Beyond real people “trying it on”, some
complaints may be injected into the system by
travel companies or their competitors
• It is difficult for social media to assess which
reviews are genuine

16




Case study: TripAdvisor
World's largest travel site
• TripAdvisor offers advice from other travellers and a

•

•

•

•

•

wide variety of travel choices and planning features
(including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and
TripAdvisor Trip Friends) with links to booking tools.
TripAdvisor websites make up what is claimed to be
the largest travel community in the world:
• 14 million unique monthly visitors;
• 20 million members in 26 countries, including
China;
• Over 40 million reviews and opinions.
TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor
Media Group are operating companies of Expedia
Inc.
However, TripAdvisor does not advertise only the
offer of Expedia companies (such as Expedia,
Hotels.com and Venere.com), but also of other
companies such as Priceline/Booking.com,
Lastminute and Orbitz.
TripAdvisor is one of the most powerful websites in
the travel industry and its reviews are also used by
hotel companies to measure customer satisfaction.
In December 2010, TripAdvisor launched an
integration with Facebook which allows users to: see
information on their Facebook friends’ trips; read their
reviews before others; and share TripAdvisor reviews
with them.

TripAdvisor Users by Country October 2010
Rank Name

Unique users

% of total

1

US

6,000,000

42.9

2

UK

2,200,000

15.7

3

Italy

1,200,000

8.6

4

Canada

820,000

5.9

5

Spain

690,000

4.9

Others

3,090,000

22.1

TOTAL

14,000,000

100.0

Source: Doubleclick by Google data
Note: Monthly data

17




Hospitality sites and home exchange
Hospitality Sites

Home Exchange

• Websites such as CouchSurfing.com and

• Home exchange consists in spending holidays in other

•

•

•

•

HospitalityClub.org have already been around for 10
years but have enjoyed a real boom over 2008-2010.
Their mission is to put in contact travellers with people
living in the places they visit. Travellers can ask locals
for free hospitality but also just to meet them for a
drink.
Free hospitality is an important element of this type of
travelling, especially in times of economic downturn.
Saving money however is not the main goal of
hospitality tourism; intercultural exchange is more
important.
Travellers are able to see how locals live, discovering a
country and its culture from within and making their
experience richer.
CouchSurfers are not hotel guests, sightseeing on their
own all day and getting back home late at night; instead
they spend time with their hosts, sharing with them their
travel and life experiences.

•
•

•
•

people’s houses while they stay at yours. This is made
possible by companies such as HomeExchange,
Intervac and HomeLink.
Members pay a small annual fee to get access to this
service via the internet.
This type of tourism started over 50 years ago through
printed directories, but it has increased dramatically
since the advent of the internet.
The opportunity to benefit from a low cost holiday plays
an important role in its growing popularity.
Home exchange also benefits from the desire of
travellers to have a more authentic travel experience, in
the local community.

The community is the product
Hospitality and home exchange networks are travelrelated communities, not only exchanging hospitality
but allowing a different way to travel.
18



Introduction

19




How social media works for travel players

Travel Players

Distribute

Upload

information

photos/videos

Promote
brands/
products

Sell

Receive

travel services

feedback

Social Media

Upload

Share

Write

Ask

Book

photos/videos

experiences

reviews

questions

travel services

Travellers
20




Social media and tourism promotion boards
Tourism promotion boards are increasingly using social
media to distribute tourist information, videos and photos,
keep in touch with travellers and receive feedback.

Brazil
• The Brazilian tourism board created a successful

YouTube channel to distribute videos about the
country’s most important tourist destinations and
attractions, as well as testimonials from people talking
about Brazil.

Australia
• The Australia tourism board created the

www.nothinglikeaustralia.com website where travellers
to the country can share their experiences and readers
can vote the most useful ones.

Spain
• Turespaña, the Spanish tourism board, created two

specific websites to upload photos of trips to Spain and
ask any questions about tourism to Spain. It is also
possible to share travel experiences on its Facebook
page.

National Tourism Boards‟ Popularity on Selected
Social Media 2010
Tourism board
Australia
New Zealand
Spain
Croatia
Thailand
Jamaica
South Africa
Iceland
Ireland

Facebook, Twitter, WAYN followers
966,581
282,945
265,125
173,968
114,649
102,647
78,502
54,914
45,411

Source: WAYN
Note: Data for November 2010

France
• Atout France, the French tourism board, created

Facebook pages for each of the countries where it has
offices in order to send travel news to Francophiles all
over the world and receive their feedback.

21




Social media and hotels
Hotel companies are present in social media such as
Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor in order to distribute
information to customers, receive feedback and answer
questions.

Hotels‟ Popularity on Facebook 2010
Hotel

Facebook likes”

Hilton Hotels

98,396

Best Western

65,067

Starwood Hotels

51,467

Accor Group

22,203

Global Hyatt

22,163

Marriott International (inc Courtyard)

19,190

Hyatt

InterContinental Hotels Group

17,533

• Hyatt Hotels launched a Twitter account in 2009 and

Wyndham Hotel Group

Accor
• In 2010, Accor entered a partnership with TripAdvisor.

According to this agreement all Accor customers after
their stay are sent an email inviting them to post a
review which will be published on both Accorhotels.com
and TripAdvisor websites. Reviews are available for all
Accor Group’s brands and countries.

staff based in Omaha, Australia and Mumbai respond to
requests and questions “within an hour”, fielding all
kinds of queries. The Twitter account has 12,000
followers.

joie de vivre
• joie de vivre hotels use Twitter to send an exclusive deal

to around 10,000 followers.

6,912

Source: Facebook, December 2010

Marriott
• Marriott is targeting members with large Facebook

and Twitter followings to help spread positive
messages about its SpringHill Suites chain in return for
free stays and other incentives.

22




Social media and airlines
Airlines maintain a presence on social media to push
special fares as well as to respond to customer queries.
Some airlines also sell tickets directly through Facebook,
while Lufthansa created a website to post travel stories.

Lufthansa
• Lufthansa created the www.lufthansawefly.com website

where travellers can share their travel stories and win
free trips.

easyJet
• easyJet was the first airline to give users the

opportunity to book their flight on Facebook. However,
the booking process is then re-directed to the easyJet
website.

Delta
• Since summer 2010 Delta passengers have been able

to buy tickets on Delta's Facebook page using the
“Book a Trip” tab. They can also let their Facebook
friends know of their booking. In this case the whole
reservation process is completed within Facebook.

Airlines‟ Popularity on Facebook 2010
Airline
Lufthansa
Air France-KLM
American Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Ryanair
easyJet
Qantas
British Airways
Delta Airlines

Facebook “likes”
150,309
132,123
99,794
81,083
67,517
55,383
35,259
17,357
4,707

Source: Facebook, December 2010

Southwest
• Southwest has three staff dedicated to monitoring and
responding to queries made through social media
channels.

23




Social media and travel retailers
Travel retailers are typically using
social media to communicate last
minute deals and other offers,
engage customers with their brands
and receive their feedback. Some
have also added Web 2.0
functionalities to their websites.

Expedia

Thomas Cook

TUI Travel

• Thomas Cook is present on Twitter,

• TUI Travel appointed social media

•

•

• Expedia Inc is the owner of

TripAdvisor, the most influential
website for the hotel sector.
However, the company has not fully
exploited this competitive
advantage, allowing TripAdvisor’s
users to book reviewed hotels not
only through the Expedia,
Hotels.com and Venere.com
brands, but also through its main
competitors in exchange for a
commission.

•

•

Facebook and YouTube.
Thomas Cook uses Twitter to keep
its followers up to date with news,
offers, and website features.
The official Thomas Cook Facebook
site has 671 members – its airline
on the other hand has 14,854
“likes”. The main incentive is to hear
about offers and deals first.
YouTube carries an official Thomas
Cook YouTube channel containing
holiday videos.
The company encourages
customers to rate and review their
Thomas Cook holiday on
thomascook.com.

agency NixonMcInnes to create a
social media strategy for its First
Choice brand.
• TUI hopes its social media activity,
aimed primarily at families, will
increase customer engagement and
brand consideration.

Booking.com
• Specialist online travel agencies in

hotel bookings such as
Priceline/Booking.com, Hotels.com,
Venere.com and HotelClub, all
integrated in their websites a Web
2.0 functionality allowing their
customers to leave a grade and
review for the hotels where they
stayed.

24




Case study: Florida’s response to BP oil spill disaster
The disaster

The response

• The BP oil spill which took place on 20 April 2010 in the

• Visit Florida decided to use social media of various kinds

Gulf of Mexico was the largest accidental marine oil spill
in the history of the petroleum industry.
• Florida has the longest coastline in the US (1,350 miles)
and its economy is heavily influenced by tourism; one
million jobs are linked to the industry.
• Florida was in the global news for months as oil washed
up on its beaches; oil leaked until July 2010.

as part of its strategy to respond to the disaster.
• On the basis of its crisis management plan, Visit Florida
invited residents to share their recent photos of Florida’s
locations on a new website page called Florida Live.
• The site was populated by videos, photos and live
Google map-based Twitter feeds.
• Visit Florida released a 31-second video on YouTube
encouraging visitors to check the Florida Live site for
real-time updates on beach conditions.

The challenge

The outcome

• The risk was that tourists would believe the worst and

• According to Visit Florida figures, tourist arrivals to

change their travel plans, or if they came, they would
stay away from beach areas.
• The global news coverage was focused on the worstaffected areas. This could inaccurately paint the whole
of Florida with the same brush.
• Hotels reported inquiries dropping off during May, and
occupancy rates were 30% down on the year.
• Florida needed to increase the information available to
potential travellers so they could make travel decisions.

Florida rose by 0.6% to 18.9 million in Q3 2010, in
particular foreign tourist arrivals grew by over 17%
driven by 23% growth in arrivals from Canada.
• It is generally recognised by the industry that Visit
Florida’s response through social media significantly
helped mitigate the impact of the oil spill on tourism.
• The idea to let Florida residents post photos, videos and
comments on a website was especially effective due to
travellers trusting more information posted by their peers
than from a tourism promotion board or state authority.
25



Introduction

26




Traditional travel distribution model

Consumers

Supplier
High street travel agents

Before the internet revolution
Prior to the internet, travel retail services were sold:
1. Directly by suppliers through call centres or in their offices/outlets;
2. Through high street travel agents which played the key role in travel distribution.

27




New multi-channel model

Supplier’s
website

Affiliate
websites

Search
engines
Social media
Consumers

Supplier
Online travel agents
High street travel agents
After the internet revolution

The advent of the internet marked a revolution in travel retail. Its main effects were:
• Strong increase in direct sales through travel suppliers’ websites;
• Key role played by online travel agents;
• Gradual move by traditional travel retailers towards online sales;
• Changing role for travel agents increasingly acting as travel consultants and/or specialising in niche products;
• Important role for search engines to promote travel services;
• Important role for specialist travel websites to promote travel services;
• Increasing importance of social media to promote travel services as well as a customer service tool.
28




Increase in independent travellers
• Advent of the internet
• Deregulation of air travel and LCCs growth
• Adoption of internet by LCCs to save on travel agency costs
• Growth of online travel agencies
• Increase of independent travellers

Independent travel growing for over a decade
• Post-deregulation, the airline industry in Europe saw a rise in the size and quality of LCCs (low cost carriers).
• LCCs were quick to adopt the internet as a method of booking, removing agency costs.
• Agents were “disintermediated” from LCCs purchases, as more scheduled air travel purchases are made direct.
• Online travel agencies grew at the expense of offline agencies.
• A wide choice of tourism products can now be booked on the internet including hotels, flights, car rental, attractions,

holiday packages etc.
• The rise of independent travel drove a need for reviews and advice which is satisfied by social media.
29




Independent travel: A more rewarding experience
• Information
gathering and
choice is part
of the holiday

• Control over
itinerary and
activities
Flexibility
and control

Feeling of
involvement

Risk

Value for
money

• More risk –
likely to involve
travel agent

• Not price alone,
affordable
indulgence

Independent travel is inherently rewarding to many
• Tourists like the control it gives them over their itinerary.
• Being so involved in the fact-finding process gives traveller a sense that the holidays start earlier.
• Although the vacation is typically based around low cost air travel, the tourist has the choice of spending more on a

nice hotel, restaurant, activity etc, so the holiday is value for money, rather than cheap.
• Travel agents step in where the itinerary becomes exceptionally complex, or where perceived risk is high (eg
destinations where disease may be an issue).
30




Continuous growth for online sales
Steady growth for online sales
• Online sales of travel products are especially significant in the air sector where they represented of total worldwide
•
•
•
•
•
•

sales in 2010.
The importance of online bookings is steadily growing also in the hotel sector where they will reach 20% of total
worldwide sales by 2015.
Online sales are less developed for other transportation where they accounted for 5% in 2010.
Still room for the traditional channel
Although its share is gradually declining, the traditional distribution channel is expected to continue to play an
important role in the travel industry in the next five years.
More expensive business and international travel will continue to be booked through non-internet channels.
Online sales will be less significant in developing countries due to lower internet penetration.

Global Online Sales as % of Total Sales by Category 1999-2015
50%
40%
Car rental
Air

30%

Other transportation
20%

Travel retail products
Hotels

10%
0%
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
31



Introduction

32




How social media marketing works
Company

Global social
media

National social
media

Travel social
media

Target group

Word of
mouth

Opinion
leaders

Online
communities

Press
coverage

Viral
marketing

• The promises of social media marketing are:

1.
2.

To engage consumers with brands and products and get their feedback about them;
To reach a selected target of consumers at minimum cost thanks to the multiplier effect generated by interaction
among users.
• The role of opinion leaders and word of mouth is key for social media marketing.
• Social media marketing is different from search engine advertising which is based on a “click and buy” model. Brand
awareness, engagement of users and building customer loyalty are more important for social media.
• The maximum effect is reached when a campaign “goes viral”.
33




Social media as marketing tools
• As a contribution to this global briefing, Amadeus sees social media and social interaction driving some key trends.

“Real time”
brands

The anticipatory brand that is always in 2-way conversations with customers and
partners is more likely to succeed

Social
marketplace

Brands will take more advantage of the virtual marketplace by creating products and
services that have a social disposition

Customers as
an asset

Money, time and skills will be lavished on monitoring customers before, during and after
their travel experiences and identifying points where expectations are met or are not

Customer
loyalty

Social media will allow companies to move from engaging members to communities, with
new currencies of recognition and relationship status with individuals

Tailored
services

Operators will be able to proactively target customers’ desires from extreme sports
to the snacks they find in the hotel fridge on arrival

Source: Amadeus

34




Which type: global, national or specialist?
A global success
• Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and

other global social media are gaining
ground worldwide and rank among
the most visited websites of many
countries.
• According to Nielsen in 2010,
Facebook was one of the two most
visited websites in the US, the UK,
France, Italy and Spain.
• YouTube was one of the seven most
visited websites in the US, the UK,
Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

National networking significant
• Local social networking sites generate more traffic than global ones in Brazil, China, Japan, the Netherlands and
•
•
•
•
•
•

Russia.
Asia Pacific’s biggest economies have successfully developed local sites such as Mixi (Japan), Qzone, 51.com and
RenRen (China), Cyworld (South Korea) and Friendster (Asia Pacific).
Of the top 10 social networking sites, the Brazilian Orkut.com is the largest regional player. The Russian sites
Vkontakte.ru and Odnoklassriki.ru and the Dutch site Hyves are also significant.
Important national social networks exist also in France (Skyrock and Viadeo) and Spain (Tuenti).
Target with specialist sites
For travel services, specific travel-related social media sites also play a very important role as they allow advertisers
to reach an even more targeted audience, which is key for advertisers.
In Italy, Turistipercaso.it, a specialist travel social media site where users share their travel stories and tips, is a
favourite choice for travel and tourism advertisers.
35




Case study: Facebook
Key facts
• The company was founded in February 2004, but was not

available to non-college students until autumn 2006.
• Facebook employs more than 2,000 people and has offices
in the US, Europe, Australia, Japan and Canada.
• It is also possible to create different adverts which

Advertising on Facebook

will be seen by different target groups.
• It is possible to advertise a brand or product, but also
advertising.
the company Facebook page created to engage
• Within its user base of almost 600 million people, advertisers
customers, receive their feedback, gain their loyalty
can target the consumer segment they are interested in,
and get them to share it with friends.
selecting it on the basis of several criteria including location,
age, interests, sex, language, relationship status, education • Facebook offers the possibility to create an online
community of users around advertisers’ offers and
etc.
products.
Facebook Users by Country October 2010
• Facebook’s ability to generate profits is often
debated. Advertising on Facebook can be useful and
Rank Country
Unique users, „000 % of total
effective for travel and tourism companies. However,
they need to be aware that their investment will not
1
US
130,000
22.0
translate into a rise in sales in the short term, but
2
UK
28,000
4.7
rather in the possibility to engage customers with
3
Italy
25,000
4.2
their brands and gain their loyalty in the medium and
long term.
4
France
23,000
3.9
• Facebook is considered a key player in social media

5

Germany

21,000

3.6

Others

363,000

61.5

TOTAL

590,000

100.0

Source: Doubleclick by Google

Social plugins
• Companies can make their websites more social

adding Facebook social plugins to them such as the
Like button, the Login button, the Comments plugin
and the Activity Feed.
36




Viral marketing
What is it?
• Viral marketing describes the deliberate use of social

media to distribute content quickly, cheaply and
effectively.
• Viral marketing mimics the way “word of mouth”
advertising works; users actively recommend the
content to their closest friends, who then pass it on.
• However, it is not the same as word of mouth, which
decays over time, while viral marketing broadcasts and
therefore compounds the message.
• Successful viral marketing can lead to an explosion in
awareness. If one person passes it to two friends, who
then look at the material and pass it on, and so on,
awareness of the content will be exponential.

Company

But...
• Deliberately creating content of sufficient appeal that

others will want to recommend it to their friends is
difficult. Many viral campaigns use humour or heavy
promotion to achieve recommendations; this can
sometimes miss the underlying point of the campaign.
• Campaigns can misfire. The nature of viral marketing is
that once it starts, the originators of the material are no
longer in control. The promotion may even prompt an
active recommendation against the product or service.
• Forecasting success or popularity can be difficult. Oversubscription to a promotion can lead to disappointment,
high costs or both.

Tips for a successful viral campaign
1. It is in the right place at the right time to find an
audience that shares its values.
2. It must be quickly and easily digested and inspire
an instinctive “wow, I like it” reaction.
3. It is easily shared, copied or linked to, and sending
it on must be somehow rewarding.
4. Videos, pictures and jokes circulate quickest, hence
the popularity of YouTube to share viral content.
37




Case study: YouTube
Your video on the web

Advertising on YouTube

• Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the world's most

• YouTube offers advertisers a way to promote their

popular online video community.
• YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video
clips on its site and across the internet through websites,
mobile devices, blogs and email.
• YouTube has numerous partnership deals with content
providers such as CBS, BBC, Universal Music Group,
Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, NBA, The
Sundance Channel, among others.
• YouTube was acquired by Google in November 2006.

YouTube Users by Country October 2010

•

•

•

Unique users, „000

% of total

US

97,000

19.8

2

Japan

38,000

7.8

3

Germany

23,000

4.7

4

Brazil

21,000

4.3

5

UK

19,000

3.9

Others

292,000

59.6

TOTAL

490,000

100.0

Rank

Country

1

•

•

content to the YouTube community as well as to
associate themselves with content being watched by
their target audience.
YouTube offers analytic tools to help advertisers
understand their audience and derive general
business intelligence and a number of charged-for
services.
Promoted videos allow advertisers to promote their
videos among their consumer target through an
auction-based marketplace.
Display and linear adverts include traditional branded
display, linear adverts, and video overlay adverts.
Brand channels give companies the possibility to
create a specific channel personalised with their look
and feel where customers can be informed about
new products and activities and leave their feedback.
They are aimed at creating relationships with
customers and at strengthening customer loyalty.
Engagement programmes and contests consist of
sponsored video-based thematic experiences able to
engage the company target market.

Source: Doubleclick by Google data

38




Social media tracking
How to demonstrate success?

Search engines vs social media

• Warning: there is no easy way to effectively track social

• Return on investment for advertising spending on

media success, despite the use of social media tracking
tools.
• Proving return on investment (ROI) via social media is
not as easy as demonstrating it when using online
search engine advertising.
• The reason for this is that while search engine and
other online advertising aims at a sale, social media
advertising is more focused on brand awareness and
customer service.

search engines is very easy to measure thanks to
effective tracking tools such as Google Analytics.
• On the other hand, in spite of the existence of several
monitoring tools such as the ones listed in the following
slide, measuring the impact of social media advertising
is difficult due to the impossibility to identify the impact
of the different factors, and evaluation is often of a
rather qualitative nature.
• Investments in both these channels will be increasingly
included in marketing plans serving different aims:
increasing short-term sales in the case of search
engine advertising; and strengthening brand awareness
and customer loyalty in the case of social media
marketing.

An extension of public relations (PR)?
• In many ways social media marketing is an extension of

public relations, as much as it is a new form of
advertising. Part of the value of a social media
impression is in being talked about, including on TV,
radio and in traditional press.
• In a study with Facebook, Nielsen calls this effect
“earned media” (Advertising Effectiveness: Nielsen
2010).
• Social media advertising uses some PR-influenced
methodologies for determining value for money.

39




Monitoring tools
SM Monitoring Tool

Clients in Tourism, Hospitality and Travel

Asomo (Socialware)

Wyndham Hotels, Ramada, Days Inn, Hawthorn, Wingate,
Travelodge, Knights Inn, Macrotel, Canary Islands
Tourism Department, Air France-KLM, and others.

Clarabridge Social Media Analysis (Clarabridge)

Choice Hotels, Marriott International, Expedia, Gaylord
Hotels, United Airlines, and others.

CharterGuard Social Media Monitoring (Lodging
Interactive)

Claremont Resort, Boston Harbour Hotel, Hershey Hotel,
and others.

Converseon Tools/Conversation Miner (Converseon)

Hilton Hotels, and others.

Review Analyst (Standing Dog Interactive)

Aimbridge Hospitality, Omni Hotels, Rydges Hotels &
Resorts, Crescent Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels
and Resorts, Hostmark Hospitality Group (HHG),
LodgeWorks, Prism Hotels, Hotel Wales, Belmont Hotel,
and others.

Revinate (Revinate)

Trump Hotel, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton
Hotels, InterContinental, Andaz Hotels, White Lodging,
Peabody, Roosevelt Hotel, Hilton Hotels (Austin, Las
Vegas), Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Reidenbach,
and others.

SIM Score - Social Influence Marketing Score (Razorfish) Carnival Cruise Lines, Starwood Hotels, and others.
Source: Ideya Business and Marketing Consultancy, Social Media Monitoring Tools and Services Report
40



Introduction

41




Social media and smartphones
• The uptake of smartphones and tablets to access the internet created new opportunities for social media to offer new
•
•
•
•

functionalities based on the location of the user, thanks to geolocalisation services.
This allowed the development of location-based mobile social media such as Gowalla and Foursquare.
Traditional social media also created new functionalities based on location such as Facebook Places.
Mobile social media applications are opening up the market among small companies to online advertising.
Smartphone penetration is growing rapidly; they are expected to account for 92% of mobile phones in Europe by
2014.

Use of Smartphones to Access Social Media by % of Owners 2010
30

% of owners

25

24

23

22

20

22

US

Japan

18

15

13

10
5
0
UK

France

Germany

Italy

Source: Ofcom International Communications Market Report
42




Demographic segmentation
• Using social media via mobile phone is still a minority activity but is more prevalent among younger age groups.
• 45% of 18-24 year-olds in the UK used their mobile phones for social networking, a similar proportion to France.
• In the US, the percentage of under 25s was less than the UK, France and Japan (at 37%) but the practice was more

evenly spread. 37% of 25-34 year-olds also participated, more than any other country with the exception of the UK.

Use of Smartphones to Access Social Media by Age
by % of Owners 2010
50
45

% owners

40

43
38

39

37 37
31

30

27

26

25

23

21
18

20
10

10

16

16
10

8

16
11

9
5

4

3

21

5

3

4

2

1

0
UK

France

Germany
18-24

25-34

35-44

Italy
45-54

US

Japan

55-64

Source: Ofcom International Communications Market Report
43




Geolocalisation
• Geolocalisation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of the traveller.
• The focus is on where the traveller is, and what services are available locally.
• Geolocalisation is available through GPS technology.
• An interesting application in travel and tourism is for example the possibility for travellers to scan the immediate area

to find available hotel rooms and book them.

Issues
Opportunities
•
•
•
•

Find offers based on location
Maintain relationships when on the move
Capture the “impulse buy”
Use “augmented reality” functions

• Privacy
• Personal safety
• Lack of technological ubiquity (eg
between developed and developing
countries)
• Relevance of marketing offers
44




Mobile social media applications
Foursquare

Gowalla

• Foursquare is a mobile application

• Gowalla is a location-based service

•

•

•
•

Facebook Places
• Facebook Places is a mobile

that makes cities easier to use and
to help users keep up with their
application which allows Facebook
more interesting to explore.
friends, share their favourite places,
users to let their friends know their
and discover the world around them. current location, to get in touch with
It is a friend-finder, a social city
friends who are in their same
guide and a game that challenges
• Users can connect with friends via
users to experience new things, and
iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Palm location and to know about offers in
rewards them for doing so.
smartphones, as well as on the web. commercial activities based in that
location.
Foursquare lets users "check in" to
• Based in Austin, Texas, Gowalla was
a place when they are there, tell
launched in 2009 by Josh Williams • When Facebook users “check in” a
location this is shown on their “Wall”,
friends where they are and track the
and Scott Raymond and is backed
in their friends’ News Feeds and
history of where they have been and
by investors including Greylock
also in the location (bar, cinema,
who they have been there with.
Partners, Alsop Louie Partners and
etc) Facebook page.
Founders Fund.
As of October 2010, Foursquare had
• Facebook users can also tag people
over four million users worldwide.
who are with them.
Foursquare offers considerable
potential for travellers as it allows
them to obtain useful tips from locals
via their smartphones.
Mobility and social interaction at an intersection
Thanks to smartphones and tablets like the iPad, social network services and platforms [...] the
concepts of mobility and social interaction are at an intersection, no business can afford to dismiss
a social strategy as a "nice to have".
Amadeus
45



Introduction

46




SWOT analysis
Truly global

Real-time dialogue

Credibility gap

• The use of social media is

• Social media appear very

• Travel is about the

now truly global.
suitable for use through
smartphones and tablets,
• Brazil, Russia, China and
accompanying people
the Netherlands all have
wherever they are.
local sites more popular
than Facebook.
• This will increase their
importance as sales of
• Where there is broadband,
these devices rise.
there are social media.
• Social media will continue
to grow with internet
adoption.

Strengths
Opportunities

Investment tracking
• To measure return on

destination (and people
investment on social
who have been there) not
media is very difficult.
you and your friends.
• Typically social media
• User-generated content
activities translate into
on generalist social media
brand awareness,
can appear less credible,
customer engagement
while this is not an issue
and customer loyalty
on specialist social media.
rather than into short-term
sales.
• In this respect, search
Weaknesses
engine advertising is
superior.
Threats

Social media on the go

Geolocalisation

Authenticity of content

• Social media give

• A focus on where

• Lack of checks on reviews • Complaints can go viral as

companies the opportunity
of entering into a
conversation with
consumers, get their
feedback in real time,
adjust their offer to meet
consumer preferences.
• They are the ultimate
frontier of marketing.

travellers are, and who
they are, can allow
destinations and local
amenities to promote
themselves at the last
minute and in real time.

Lack of control

may let competitors
easily as promotions and
sabotage supplier ratings.
“good news” stories
• Some customers may use • Social media need active
their ability to give a
management and prompt
review to blackmail travel
response to negative
service providers in order
feedback.
to get discounts.
47




Opportunities for travel players
Tourism
boards

Hotels

Airlines

Travel
retailers

Social
media
Brand
awareness

Promotion

Real- time
sales

Loyalty

Customer
service

Crisis
management

Last- minute
sales

The success of social media is opening up many new opportunities travel players cannot afford to miss:
• Promote brands and destinations in an immediate and informal way;
• Engage customers and gain their loyalty;
• Act on bad feedback to improve service;
• Manage emergency crises;
• Promote deals and new products;
• Promote last-minute and real-time sales.
48




Opportunities by category
Tourism boards

Hotels

• Social media create a buzz:

• Twitter:

• Build a community around an interest in the

• Can help customer service;

destination;
• The community can include comments from frequent
travellers to the destination to help promote it.
• Manage a crisis:
• Social media can be used to manage “downs”, as well
as “ups”; evinced in the Florida case study;
• Provision of real-time information by inhabitants can
contribute positively to offset the focus of mainstream
media on “bad news” stories.

rooms at the last minute.
• Facebook and YouTube:
• Can help build a brand and engage customers with it.
• TripAdvisor:
• Hotels should monitor reviews and act promptly to
correct highlighted issues and communicate well.

Airlines

Travel retailers

• Twitter:
• Can help customer service by answering customers’

questions in real time;
• Can help fill airline seats at the last minute.
• Facebook and YouTube:
• Can help build a community around the airline brand;
• Can help build a market for an airline’s destination.
• Social media can also help push last-minute ancillary
revenue.

• Can help market distressed inventory, eg fill hotel

• Travel retailers need to become better users of social

media tools than anyone else in the marketplace as this
will help them maintain a place in the overall travel value
chain.
• Social media will be key to building brand reputation,
engaging customers and gaining their loyalty.
• Focus will need to be on the company competence, on
its destinations, and on quality of service.
• Social media will also be useful to advertise new
products and current deals/promotions.
49




Future outlook: a more systematic approach
Company

Planning

Global social
media

Communication

National
social media

Monitor

Specialist
social media

Response

Corporate
social media

Users
• Social media importance within marketing strategies is expected to grow significantly over 2010-2015 thanks in part

to their rising penetration in developing countries.
• The arena will also become increasingly segmented, with growth in international generalist sites as well as national,
local, community, corporate and specialist social media.
• Platforms will increase, including growth in access via smartphones, tablets and possibly televisions.
• Companies will need to employ a more systematic approach, carefully planning their presence on social media,
monitoring them, responding swiftly when needed and exploiting their potential.
50




Future outlook: steady expansion ahead
Increasing worldwide penetration

More websites will get social

• Use of social media in travel will inevitably grow:

• The growth of social media will also translate into more

countries. The internet channel will increasingly
penetrate air, hotel and car rental sales (between 10%
and 40% in 2010).
• National and local social media are expected to grow:
• Russia and Brazil are good examples of how language
and custom play an important role for national social
media.

websites adopting social media elements and
functionalities.
• Many companies already allow customers to leave
comments on their websites; this will increasingly be the
case in the future as consumers will increasingly expect
to read unbiased opinion before making a purchase.
• Social media functionalities will also play an increasing
role for search engines; Google Places already includes
consumer feedback on local commercial activities and
uses TripAdvisor reviews.

Facebook vs TripAdvisor

Planning will be critical

• TripAdvisor and other specialist travel sites are never

• The increasing importance of social media in every day

likely to match Facebook in terms of membership.
• Facebook, on the other hand, is never likely to be as
credible and reputable as the travel specialists, in
influencing the final choice of travel provider.
• The two will continue to be tools that do different things
for very good reasons. Travel suppliers (eg hotels and
airlines) will need to be present in both: in specialist
social media where travellers look for information and
advice; and in generalist social networks where people
share their opinions and preferences with friends.

life all over the world, as well as their growing complexity
and segmentation, will make it necessary for companies
to take a much more systematic approach in future.
• It will therefore be increasingly important for companies
to plan carefully all different steps of their social media
presence and activities.
• Planning, tracking and responding quickly will be key
skills required by future social media marketers.

• Broadband penetration will continue in developing

51

Report Definitions



Definitions
Web 2.0
• A term used for the first time in 2004, Web 2.0 refers to the second generation of the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 is

short-hand for the movement away from PC applications and static web pages to online social networking and
dynamic user-created content.
• However, Web 2.0 is not only a description of a set of technologies. It also encompasses a number of behavioural
trends: collaboration; self-publishing; the creation and uploading of audio and video files; and the sharing of photos
and information. Web 2.0 functionalities permit one-to-many communications, in addition to peer-to-peer. Examples
of travel websites with Web 2.0 functionalities are Booking.com, “Lufthansa We Fly” and “Nothing like Australia”
websites which allow travellers to leave feedback about their trip.

Social Media
• Social media are websites allowing users some form of interaction. They include social networking sites but also

websites with Web 2.0 functionalities, which are not based on people being part of a network and owning individual
profiles. For example, YouTube and Flickr are social media which act as repositories for content which can then be
shared. Social media also include forums, message boards, podcasts, social bookmarking and social news sites.

Social Networking Sites
• Social networking sites permit networks of people to generate a dialogue and share content online. Social network

services typically include a profile for each user and a range of possibility to interact with friends and other members
of the network. Examples of social networks include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Orkut, Wayn, Hyves,
Friendster and Mixi.

Viral Marketing
• Viral marketing is the deliberate use of social media to distribute a message, video or other internet content via

personal recommendation. This can take place via email, Facebook “likes”, YouTube “share” etc. “Going viral”
describes the cascading and compounding effect of a successful viral marketing campaign resulting in an
exponential growth of awareness about the object of the campaign.

52



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