It’s been a tough few years for the travel industry, thanks to Covid. But with the pandemic increasingly behind us, what is in store for 2023?
If you are a travel marketer, what trends do you need to be aware of for the coming year? Which insights could help to influence your campaigns, and ensure you are promoting trips that consumers want to buy, and using messaging they can relate to?
To help you, we’ve researched the biggest predicted travel trends for 2023, with the help of booking.com. Here are five you need to be aware of.
1) Off-grid holidays
Perhaps unsurprisingly after many weeks (and even months) of lockdowns trapped in our homes and towns, many people are craving a complete escape with off-grid trips. This can be everything from rural retreats and treks, to wilderness survival schools and self-sufficient accommodation.
But while we may say we want a natural, ‘off grid’ experience, it seems that many of us still want to be able to stay connected in some way, as 53% say that having a phone and internet connection is “non-negotiable”.
2) Exotic trips
Similarly, many of us are yearning for something more exotic than the familiar sights and sounds we’ve lived with over the past two years. A significant 47% of UK travellers say they want to experience a completely different culture in 2023, and 24% are searching for lesser-known cities and experiences.
So if you are promoting breaks, make sure you emphasise what makes them unique, and highlight any traditions, cuisine, immersive adventures and anything else that will make the trip memorable and exciting.
3) Wellness getaways
It’s been a tough few years for pretty much everyone, so again, it’s no surprise to see that wellness getaways will be seeing a surge in popularity in 2023. So much so that 29% of people say they are looking for silent retreats, and 33% are considering trips that focus on mental health, transformative health or that help with significant life events like menopause or pregnancy.
Even if someone doesn’t want a full-on wellness getaway, they’ll still look for properties and resorts with facilities such as spas, gyms, gardens and pools they can unwind in. So you may want to focus on these when planning your campaign.
4) Business retreats
After spending more than enough hours on Zoom, we’re all keen to build face-to-face relationships again, and that means more business travel. And not just for work; it’s predicted that in 2023 we’ll see a rise in destination business retreats with a focus on team building and corporate recreation.
5) Budget breaks
With the cost of living rising and so much economic uncertainty, it’s easy to assume that people won’t be spending money on holidays, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
As many as 44% of UK travellers say that going on holiday is still a top priority, even if they need to opt for more budget-conscious breaks. So it looks like trips that are cheaper or offer more value for money are likely to be popular with many next year.
How to improve the performance of your travel campaigns in 2023
Covid isn’t the only thing that has impacted travel campaigns in recent years. The gradual death of the third party cookie has made it harder to run targeted, relevant campaigns that are accurately attributed.
But it doesn’t need to be difficult. To run a successful programmatic campaign you just need three things:
- To be able to build lots of interesting audiences (using DMP)
- To have inventory opportunities to deliver against those audiences (using DSP)
- To deliver a relevant message within those inventory opportunities (using DCO)
With a single programmatic partner like Crimtan, you can run full lifecycle campaigns that find new customers and nurture them through to purchase with highly relevant, consented ads – using our own in-house technology.
You’ll know exactly where someone is in their consideration journey, and what kind of trip or experience they are looking for, and be able to reach them with a multi-channel campaign that is much more likely to convert.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help you book more holidays in 2023 – whatever the trends – get in touch now and we’d be happy to help.