Here is a great post from the Tnooz web site. While many hotels still are trying to use Social Media to get the guest to book, the reality is that most people, go elsewhere to book.
A sizeable study of leisure trippers in 13 countries around has shed further light on how important social media in two important areas of the travel funnel.
The influence of social media is strong at the points where inspiration for a trip is being sought and at the point where consumers are busily sharing their experiences, but not at the point where money changes – ie. purchasing a flight, hotel, car hire, activity, etc.
The study spoke to 4,600 travelers Australia, China, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK and US who had taken at least one leisure trip in the past 12 months or planned to over the course of the next year.
Headline findings on the social media side of it all:
- Those under the age of 34, 87% use Facebook for travel inspiration.
- Over half also use Twitter, Pinterest and other social media platforms for inspiration.
- Around two-thirds (68%) use their mobile devices to stay in touch with friends and family while on vacation – higher than those taking photos (43%) or checking news sources (20%).
- Over half (52%) post photos and videos during their travels, while 25 percent write reviews.
