Travel Cycle – What determines the trend of future traveling

The travel cycle of potential travelers is determined by the increasing use of technology. The advent of Internet has readily commercialized the tourism industry. Potential tourists seek information from

the social networking websites and various forums to plan their trips. The travel cycle according to a report from the UNWTO is dependent on five phases that has already become a drill for internet users. Asia holds the largest internet users in the world comprising of 45% of the entire population of the world using Internet. China alone encompasses 17% of the Internet users of the planet.

The travel operators, tourism boards, tour agents and every other companies and organizations promoting and trading tourism should be aware of the Travel cycle and abide by the guidelines that will enhance branding and uplift the reach of destinations and hospitality to the would be tourists of the world. The phases of the travel cycle discussed in the report of UNWTO are:

Phase 1: Dreaming

The dreaming phase is mostly catalyzed by the social networking websites. People traveling in their circles post pictures, videos and write blogs on about their trips and draw a lot of attention. This is the part of the cycle that inspires potential business and leisure travelers.

Phase 2: Researching

Once consumers move beyond dreaming and start narrowing down their options, they get deep into the Researching stage where they spend quite a bit of time. Search is the number one planning tool for leisure and unmanaged business travel trips.

Phase 3: Booking

Online bookings continue to rise but there is an impressive growth in mobile bookings for air and hotel that it is even accelerating further in 2013. So, can your consumers find the booking advertisements easily? Are they happy with the accessibility of your website? Booking the trips online also saves a lot of time for these tech savvy consumers and as a brand or a tour operator, you should be proactive enough to provide a delightful consumer experience.

Phase 4: Experiencing

The most important take-away about the Experiencing phase is that people continue to search and book en route to and from their destination and while they are sitting by the pool. Travelers nowadays have a “portable concierge” that they take with them on their trips – whether it is a smart phone, a laptop or a tablet – and they are using these devices frequently throughout their travels – to look up and book excursion opportunities, make restaurant or car service reservations, etc.

Phase 5: Sharing

Overwhelmingly, the trends show that one person’s shared experience becomes another person’s inspiration for dreaming and the cycle begins all over again. Most of travelers read reviews from other travelers and this number continues to grow every time we look at it. So the big question when it comes to sharing is: Are we part of the conversation? Are we engaging with travelers about their experiences?

Lastly, the approach of travel marketers to engage travelers in this cycle and addressing the needful expects a comment. According to our observation, there is an intense, almost obsessive, focus on the booking stage of the cycle. Generally speaking, the early stages of Dreaming or Researching and the Experiencing stages have been under-served and represent major opportunity to influence decisions and build allegiance.

Technological enhancements have created a number of opportunities in the travel industry. Travelers and tourists are highly benefited due to the transparency enforced in the tourism business. Moreover the dawn of social networks, blogs, travel websites, review portals, mobile accessibility have eased the entire dreaming, researching, experiencing and sharing process along with the much needed booking systems.