Travellers crisscross the globe, they are spending on flights, trains, hotels, food, activities and adventure…They are all after deals and more information to ensure their trip is unforgettable, hence why the majority of these individuals subscribe to receive travel email marketing news, tips and promotions!

Whether it is newsletters, promotional mailers or transactional mailers that support individuals before / during or after their trip, the travel industry provides exciting email opportunities throughout the entire customer life-cycle!

Great images / videos, the emotional nature of travel and a broad range of options for personalisation provide unlimited opportunities for email marketers to get creative with their email marketing designs.

With a click of a ‘send to all’ button, you can reach a wide audience immediately and in today’s ‘mobile world,’ you can land in their hands directly…

According to The Radicati Group, there are 105 billion emails sent every day and by 2020 this number will increase to 246 billion. With these amounts of emails being sent every day and the travel industry being a 7 trillion dollar plus industry, travel companies have found ways to maximise this and their sales by using email marketing to its full potential.

Below are a few tips to captivate travellers, win customers, increase loyalty and give online reservations a boost:

1. Give them a warm welcome:

• As soon as an individual opt in to receive information from you, your company should send them a welcome mailer, encouraging them to get to know your company / brand better.
• These welcome mailers can be automated.
• Experian said: Research shows that welcome emails that are sent in real time have 88% Open Rate and a 29% click through rate, compared to a 52% Open Rate and 12% click through rate when done manually and sent in batches.
• Below are an example of a welcome mailer sent by Fairmont Hotels:

 

 

2. Provide inspiration via email marketing:

• Although there are numerous places to visit, travellers often need some inspiration.
• Create and send emails that showcase exotic places to visit or places that are off the beaten track.
• No matter what destinations you decide on, ensure you use strong images / videos etc. These images will help potential travellers imagining what it would be to sit there or explore that city etc.
• Below is an example of a Flight Centre email. They do a great job inspiring their database to travel, by showcasing great destinations etc.

 

3. Personalisation:

• A personalised email is more relevant to a subscriber, which means they are more likely to open it and click through.
• To personalise emails, you should be capturing information on microsites, booking forms, apps etc.
• Every piece of information about an individual will allow you to customize your marketing to them.
• E.g. Air Canada – with sign up, they ask specific information. Based on this information, the company will send relevant promotional material based on the subscribers needs and preferences.
• You will definitely see a spike in sales, if you send personalised information.

 

4. Holiday gift ideas:

• People are always hunting for the perfect gift, so encourage them to think wider and book a trip with a friend / loved one.
• g. Flight Centre Mother’s Day, suggesting you should book a trip for you and your mother. If people decide to action this, the benefit is, they will book at least 2 tickets instead of only one!

 

5. Limited time deals:

• Although people are still brand loyal, costs are playing an important role when it comes to travelling.
• More and more individuals are looking for a great travel deal.
• Incorporate countdown timers in your email, limited sales offers, last minute deals, Black Friday deals etc. Individuals should want to act immediately, instead of losing out on your offer!
• Give them a chance to take a spontaneous trip, with an offer email offer they can’t resist!

Besides the above tips, you can also encourage individuals to write testimonials to include in an email campaign, or encourage them to join your loyalty programs. When they’ve joined your loyalty program, give these members’ incentives to travel and spend with you, the majority of airlines are doing this. Travellers are also looking for experiences and not just destinations, thus promote activities that are available in certain destinations, sell the experience and the emotion, by incorporating videos, strong photos etc.

The travel industry boats some of the most effective email marketing strategies in the game and are experts at using this medium to win new customers and keep existing ones loyal.

In the travel industry, email marketing is as ‘well-travelled’ as your customer’s wish they were…

 

References:

https://phrasee.co/3-ways-travel-industry-uses-email-marketing-right-1-way-better/

https://optinmonster.com/how-to-nail-travel-industry-email-marketing-to-win-more-customers/

https://litmus.com/blog/10-things-travel-brands-should-know-about-their-subscribers

https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2017/06/10-tips-successful-travel-hospitality-email-marketing-campaigns/