Bigmouthmedia Travel Report reveals leap in online spending

01 Dec 2009

Bigmouthmedia's 2010 Travel Report has revealed that travel companies are set to move the majority of their marketing spend into online advertising in 2010.

Compiled from an extensive survey of bigmouthmedia's travel clients and users of tnooz.com, the in-depth bigmouthmedia 2010 Travel Report reveals that companies intend to increase the proportion of their marketing budgets being spent online, with the 50% share allocated to digital channels in 2009 set to rise to 57% in 2010. As the industry responds to unprecedented economic pressure, a clear majority also intend to significantly increase spending on social media over the next year.

"There can be little doubt that the travel industry now truly appreciates the power and reach of digital marketing, with the proportional spend rocketing upwards from only 38% in 2008. However, with a clear majority of firms indicating that they see engaging with social media as a major challenge, it seems that many in the industry are struggling to develop effective strategies for these emerging channels," said Anneli Ritari, Senior Travel Strategist at bigmouthmedia.

While only 7% of online marketing spend was devoted to social media in 2010, 60% of the travel companies responding said they would be increasing their social media and search engine optimisation budgets next year. Interestingly, however, almost half said that they saw engaging with social media as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry in 2010.

According to the survey, the biggest online marketing opportunity awaiting travel companies in the year ahead is the savings and benefits to be had from driving synergies between the full range of online channels. Perhaps as a result of this, players in key sub-verticals such as travel comparison sites, holiday rental specialists and online agencies now anticipate spending more than 80% of their total marketing budgets online.

While paid search retained the highest portion of online budgets with an average of 37% in 2009, followed by search engine optimisation at 18% and display at 17%, indications for the next year suggest that this pattern is set to change. While overall PPC spend is likely to grow, some 60% said they would either maintain or decrease pay-per-click spending over the next 12 months, instead focusing their efforts on a blend of SEO of Online PR.

"While many of the travel companies surveyed said that the economic climate was the greatest challenge facing the industry, today's difficult financial circumstances have played a major part in driving change. Digital marketing's transparency and measurable ROI makes it an extremely attractive option to companies that need to ensure every penny of their spend is both justifiable and worthwhile," said Ritari.

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