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<\/p>\nIf you scroll through the #travel hashtag on Instagram at this very moment, you will find more than 400 million posts showcasing various places, faces, and landmarks from around the world.<\/p>\n
But take a closer look at the grid. None of these photos blatantly present tourist staples like the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Leaning Tower of Pisa, or Great Wall of China. Oftentimes, you may not even know where the person is until you look at the description, geotag, or other elements in the background to help guide your instincts.<\/p>\n
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Navigate to other hashtags such as #travelphotography or #travelblogger and you’ll find even more obscure places and hidden gems you may never have seen before. The implication is clear: more and more travelers are looking for unique travel experiences. They want to find inimitable places and experiences\u2014and this often means searching for local authenticity in a thoroughly globalized market.<\/p>\n
In addition to Google reporting a 41% increase in views of travel-related videos compared to 2017<\/a>, wider search habits are corroborating a growing trend towards locally authentic, off-the-beaten-track experiences. Compared to 2018, searches for “adventure travel” on Pinterest<\/a> (encompassing swimming holes, abandoned amusement parks, and cave diving) are up more than 693%; “surprise destinations” searches have increased more than 192%; and “sustainable travel” has grown more than 56%.<\/p>\n This is encouraging travel brands to expand their experiential offerings beyond just flight and accommodation booking. In 2017, Airbnb<\/a> reported 2,500% growth in experiences booked, with 91% of all reviews for these experiences receiving 5 stars. Indeed, there were 25 times more searches for experiences than homes, prompting Airbnb to expand their experience offerings to 1,000 experience destinations by the end of 2018. Additionally, Airbnb has started to leverage machine learning models<\/a> to optimize their search rankings and personalize the search experience between<\/em> users to cater to their need for a place to stay and things to do.<\/p>\n At this point, it’s easy to see that the digitization of the travel industry has reinvented the customer journey, with airlines, hotel chains, and agencies looking to adapt to these changes with their own form of digital transformation. But there is still much progress to be made.<\/p>\n In a study published by Accenture, 67% of customers want companies to personalize their communications<\/a>\u2014but only 44% of these customers think the communications they receive are good. The same study found that 67% of customers want brands to leverage their past travel information to offer better suggestions and help them make better travel decisions.<\/p>\n Digital disruptors like Airbnb, Uber, Netflix, and Amazon have all revolutionized their respective industries on the age-old premise that the customer is always right. Being able to instantly rent a home, catch a ride, watch a video, and order anything and everything you could possibly need at a moment’s notice has changed our expectations. Travelers are no longer asking how<\/em> to do things or when<\/em> to do things\u2014instead, they are looking at what<\/em> to do and where<\/em> to go.<\/p>\n Customers want personalized experiences, and they want the brands they engage with to help make it happen. They’re even open to sharing some of their data<\/a> if it leads to tailored content that helps them make informed travel decisions. In essence, travel brands have to strike a balance between providing customers with an automated process while also personalizing the journey along the way, much like a GPS assisting a driver.<\/p>\n \n Get exclusive insights into digital Gaps in the delivery of personalized travel experiences<\/h2>\n
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