Recruiting new travelers is essential for growing your business — but “new” is a relative term. Tour operators must ask themselves if the travelers they’re looking to reach are new to group travel, a new demographic (such as younger travelers) or simply new to their business. Or they may be trying to reach a combination of all three.
The strategy for recruiting each type of new traveler varies. Here are five tips for bringing in new customers to your travel family.
Appeal to the First-Timer
People who are new to group travel — or to travel in general — are going to have a lot of questions about what it’s like to go on one of your trips. They might be wondering if the trip will suit them and their interests, if they’re going to get along with other travelers or how active the trip will be. To appeal to infrequent travelers, you’ll have to answer some of their most pressing questions. Create content designed to show them what a typical day on one of your trips is like, who they’ll be traveling with and the physical demands of the trip. This can ease any apprehension they may feel about booking their first trip with your organization.
Consider Demographics
To recruit new travelers, you’ll have to catch their attention. If you’re trying to expand your appeal to a new demographic, such as reaching Gen Z travelers or broadening your appeal to solo women travelers, you’ll need to consider how factors like age and gender affect their perception of your brand. This will tell you where and how you should be attempting to reach them; which social media platforms they use, what media they consume, and what details about the trip matter to them all vary based on demographics. Younger travelers might care more about the trip fitting into their budget and making strong friendships, while older travelers may care more about comfort and ticking off big experiences. Email marketing campaigns might be better for travelers who are Gen X and older, while marketing texts might be a better way to reach millennials and younger.
Look Within a Niche
Recruiting travelers with niche interests instantly eliminates one of the biggest misgivings people have about group travel because it ensures everyone in the group will already have a shared interest. It’s also a great way to recruit multiple travelers at a time. Whether that niche is a physical place that they have a connection to, like a college or church, or an interest they share, like bird-watching or bourbon, you can tailor your content to appeal specifically to them. The use of hashtags and location tags on social media can be a great way to target them; paid social media marketing and targeted digital or print marketing campaigns can work well, too.
Prioritize Referrals
Referrals are one of your strongest tools for bringing in new travelers because people trust people they know. But you can’t just incentivize the travelers who are being referred; you also need to incentivize your current travelers to refer their friends to you. Offering promotional deals (like $100 off for every referral who books a trip) can incentivize them to spread the word. Other bonuses like merch, special shout-outs and free travel add-ons can be a great way to reward your existing travelers for bringing in new customers.
Offer Proof
Anyone can say they plan and lead great trips, but travelers who are on the fence are going to be looking for proof to back up these claims. This proof should come in multiple forms to be persuasive and should appear in every form of media that you own, from your website to your social media channels. Use photography and videos of your trips to show travelers some of the incredible sights and experiences they’ll be sure to have. You can also use testimonials from other travelers. Video testimonials from your travelers are especially powerful. And here’s a tip: Don’t wait until after the trip is done to ask for them. Record your travelers during the trip and ask them how they feel during or immediately after the trip’s best experiences to get a real take displaying their real emotions.
