Table of contents 5. Innovations and Trend 37 1. Introduction 2 5.1 Technology Enhanced Experiences 38 2. Social Media 5 5.2 Augmented Reality 41 2.1 Social Networking Behaviour 6 5.3 Gamification and Participative Consumer Interaction 43 2.2 Social Networking Patterns 9 5.4 Performance and Monitoring 45 2.3 Social Media in Travel and Tourism 11 3. Mobile 14 3.1 Mobile and Smartphones 17 3.2 Tablets 18 3.3 Mobile Ready Web 20 3.4 Mobile Apps 21 3.5 Mobile across the travel cycle 22 4. Consumer Behaviour 22 4.1 Consumer Trends 23 4.2 Geographic Trends 26 4.3 Demographic Trends 27 4.4 Search Behaviour 31
Industry Trends Report locate the most up-to-date reports and statistics, a range of search engines and Introduction professional research databases have been consulted, including: Digital technologies have a disruptive impact on the tourism system, and in ‣ Major search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Bing) todays hyper connected market place, destinations face key challenges ‣ Scientific Databases (e.g. Sciencedirect, EBSCO Host) pertaining their strategic competitiveness. In particular, mobile technologies and social media act as a catalyst of change for consumer behaviour. Given the pace ‣ Market Research Databases (e.g. Euromonitor, Passport) of change, tourism boards need to harness the opportunities of digital ‣ National Federal Statistics Offices technologies, in order to meet consumers’ changing demands and needs. Non Governmental Organisations (e.g. UNWTO, World Bank, World Therefore, this Industry Trends Report examines four key trends in the digital ‣ Economic Forum) landscape and highlights their impact for the German National Tourism Board. These key areas include: In total 115 sources have been consulted to compile this trends report. When available, only the most recent statistics (2013 & 2014) have been included. ‣ Social Media
‣ Mobile
‣ Consumer Behaviour
‣ Trends and Innovations Finally, this report concludes with a summary of the country specific insights, highlighting the major digital and consumer trends, as well as outlining marketing opportunities and challenges that arise for GNTB. These are of elevated importance for the marketing of Germany as a travel destination, as the five focus markets range among the top 20 source markets of Germany, and represent a total of 35% of overnight stays by foreign tourists in Germany in 2012 (DeStatis, 2013).
This trend report is based on a systematic review of the latest industry research available on digital technologies, tourism and consumer behaviour. In order to
Industry Trends Report Social Media
4 2. Social Media 2.1 Social Networking Behaviour
Social media is no longer in its infancy, and has developed in recent years into one of the main online activities. Particularly in combination with mobile internet devices, social media has established itself as an integral component of everyday lives of many consumers.
Across the globe, social networking communities are used to share information as well as engage and interact with people, communities and brands. The dramatic growth of social media platforms also exerts a noticeable impact on the travel and tourism domain. Social media is becoming more important for consumers when planning and enjoying their trips. In both, travel specific but also generic (non-travel) social networks, travellers are exchanging more intensely than ever their holiday experiences, photos, ideas and opinions; as well as reviews and recommendations on countless travel related activities and services.
Therefore, the upcoming section is set out to provide an examination of the rising trends with regards to social networking, the underlying consumer patterns and travel specific trends. This will provide valuable insights into the potential that leveraging social media offers for contemporary tourism organisations. Mediabistro (2014)
In Western European countries and the US, social media has reached mass maturity. Social networking is predominantly centred around a number of key platforms, which are spreading progressively within other regions of the world though. In addition, a growing trend towards image based, visually driven social
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Industry Trends Report media services (e.g. Pinterest, Instagram) that are particularly strong in specific In general, it is unsurprising that younger demographics are more likely to use niche segments, can be noted. In developing nations such as China and India, social media. In Western European markets (e.g. GER, BE, NE, F, UK) social social media is still growing continuously, as adoption rates are significantly media is used widely among young adults (18-29). Particularly UK, France and lower. However, the differences in adoption rates not only exist between the Netherlands have a high social media affinity in this demographic. In countries, but social networking usage differs also significantly between age contrast, countries such as the UK, Spain and Poland are characterised by high groups. levels of social media adoption across all age groups; a factor that underpins the importance of social as a direct consumer channel in European source markets.
Similarly, overseas markets such as the US and Russia feature a high affinity 18-29 30-49 50+ towards social media, across all demographic age groups. On the other hand Country in % in % in % this shows that apart from the aforementioned countries the majority of consumers in the age range of 30+ in oversea markets, do not engage with Belgium 74 45 9 social media. This snapshot however, does not reflect a trend that will prevail. Brazil 62 43 12 Following longitudinal studies of adult’s media consumption by Ofcom (2013),
China 61 26 8 trust in social media – and therefore adoption rates of these channels – are continuously growing. France 81 47 17 However, age and origin are not the only significant determinants of social media Germany 69 42 16 adoption. The third major factor influencing social media usage is the education India 12 3 1 level. Namely, the higher the education level the more likely consumers are to make use of social media. Following representative consumer research in 18 Japan 71 41 10 countries across the globe, there exist significant, double-digit differences Mexico 63 29 7 between those with a college degree and those without a college degree in
Netherlands 80 46 16 terms of social media adoption (Pew, 2013).
Poland 82 53 8 In conclusion, social media plays a prevalent role in Western source markets, and its importance and adoption rates are likely to increase in the near future. Russia 84 59 20 Thus, social media represents a highly adopted and important channel to gain Spain 91 58 24 direct access to important target segments.
UK 94 66 22
US 80 59 28 Social media users by country and age (Pew, 2012)
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Industry Trends Report usage of tablets is significantly more developed in Asia than in any other region of the world.
The high adoption of mobile technologies for using social media in Asian markets might be attributable to the fact that these devices are manufactured in the region; and that Asian societies (e.g. Japan, South Korea) feature an above average affinity for new technologies. On the other hand, the prevalence of mobile phone for social media access in Africa are largely due to the setup of the digital infrastructure on the continent, where landline broadband connections are partially underdeveloped (ITU, 2013).
Access of social media by type of device (adapted from Nielsen, 2013)
When it come to accessing social content, a significant shift towards mobile devices can be noted. Although the desktop computer is still the primary device used by consumers to access social media, the past years saw a significant increase of social media usage through tablets and mobiles. This development is particularly driven by the availability of social media apps. Nielsen (2013) reports that the total amount of time each user spends on social media via a desktop computer declined between 2011 and 2012 by 5%. During the same time frame it increased for mobile app users by 24%. This suggests that the engagement levels with social media content are higher when accessing it via an Regional breakdown of social media access by type of device (adapted from Nielsen, 2013) application on a mobile device.
However, significant differences can be noted between regions, when it comes This opens up ample opportunities for contemporary tourism businesses to to the preferred devices for accessing social media content. Particularly in Asian engage with major Asian source markets (e.g. China, Japan) through mobile and African markets, access via the mobile phones is prominent. In addition, the driven or optimised social media technologies.
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Industry Trends Report Moreover, social media is increasingly used through mobile devices, because purchase decision making differs between different product categories. Across consumers engage more often in multiple media consumption. That is, social the globe, social media has the potential to particularly influence consumers’ media is used while consuming other media, for instance when watching entertainment and home electronics purchase decisions. However, also travel, television (i.e. Yahoo, 2013). Thereby, social media assumes an even more leisure, restaurants, culture and entertainment – all representing topics that are central position in consumers’ decision making journeys, as they offer the highly relevant for many tourist destinations – are product categories, where potential to amplify the engagement between brands and consumers consumers (partially) base their purchase decision on content from social media significantly. services (cf. Nielsen, 2012; Text 100, 2013).
2.2 Social Networking Patterns With users from different demographics and across the world engaging in social media, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of their activities and usage patterns. It is no surprise that globally, sharing content on social media is driven by the need to feel connected to peers. Regarding the subjects discussed on social media, research across 20 different countries (Pew, 2012) established that the most frequently discussed topic on social media platforms evolve around some core themes, namely music/movies, community issues, sports and to a lesser extend politics.
Social media influence on purchase decisions (adapted from Nielsen, 2012)
Especially social media can play an important role in influencing the tipping point towards a particular purchase decision. Thus, over the past years the influence of social media on purchase decisions has been growing across all regions, albeit at varying levels. However, the impact of social media on consumers’
Popular topics on social media (based on Pew, 2012b) 8
Industry Trends Report Against the background of the increasing proliferation of internet enabled mobile business/ destination during the early stages of the travel cycle, and thereby devices, users also engage more frequently in sharing information, opinions Types of commercial posts shared on social media and experiences in real-time. Following the GlobalWebIndex (2012), real time information sharing on live events has increased between 2011 and 2012 by Pictures of items I'm interested in 51% 20%. In addition, it is reported that sharing opinions and experiences with peers Items I've purchased 37% when travelling is developing into one of the most popular themes in this regard. Coupons via mobile ad 29% In parallel, the number of active users on social media services that are largely Sales via Email 28% based on real time information sharing and interaction (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, Videos 18%
Path, etc) has been growing progressively. Adapted from JWire (2013) Interpersonal engagement however, is only a subarea of consumers‘ overall encourage customer endorsement. social media engagement. Increasingly, consumers engage with brands through social media. On the one side, consumers can interact directly with Engagement in social networks is increasingly location and context driven. brands and businesses through dedicated social media profiles (e.g. fan page, That is, through the proliferation of GPS enabled mobile devices, many apps and twitter profile, etc). On the other side, consumers can engage with brands by social mobile services can incorporate the users location in order to offer spreading branded messages through their own networks. Thus by sharing relevant information. At the same time, content that is produced by users of commercially relevant content with their own social networks, consumers social networks (e.g. a photo shared on Twitter) can be location tagged. In help businesses to create numerous ‘personally endorsed’ touch-points with particular check-ins are an increasingly popular form of combining the other consumers. advantages of social networking with location based information.
In this regard, commercially relevant content ranges from product pictures, Location-based information opens up unprecedented opportunities for coupons, vouchers, or videos. Most interestingly, sharing visual information tourism providers and destinations. Firstly, it allows to target consumers at during the inspiration and consideration phase (i.e. ‘Pictures of items I’m specific locations, and thereby enhances the relevancy and effectiveness of interested in’) is the most frequently undertaken commercial brand engagement marketing campaigns. Although it has not become mainstream yet, Instagram activity by consumers. This offers new opportunities for tourism organisations is a prime example of the new opportunities arising for the tourism sector from in the quests of marketing their products and services, by leveraging location based services. The network proves to be increasingly popular among consumer endorsement through visually driven social networks. In particular travellers, and since October 2013 a limited program to test location based the likes of Pinterest, Instagram, Vine and other picture based social networks advertisement on the app has been launched. Starwood Hotel & Resorts represent ample opportunities for increasing consumer engagement with the officially introduced location based campaigns on Instagram in January 2014 to the travel sector (cf. Skift, 2014).
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Industry Trends Report Secondly, location tagged information allows businesses to filter social media 2.3 Social Media in Travel and Tourism content by a particular destination, thereby enabling a DMO for instance to focus exclusively on content that was shared by travellers while they are in the Travellers make use of social media at all stages of the travel cycle (from destination. This provides new opportunities with regards to offering enhanced dreaming and inspiration stage to post vacation experience sharing). Although digital customer service, for instance by giving tourists pro-active the usage patterns differ based on socio-demographic as well as geographic recommendations while they are in the destination or collecting valuable insights factors, social networks shape and influence progressively the interaction and customer feedback in order to assess and improve service quality levels. patterns at various stages of the holiday process. Drilling down to social media as a point of influence, it is noticeable that APAC travellers stand out in terms of their use of social media platforms to inform their leisure travel decisions. Particularly interesting is the fact that in China, Internet
Users of geo location services Pew (2013)
Social media influence across the travel cycle (Text100, 2013)
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Industry Trends Report and travel reviews have a greater impact on initial decision of vacation represent an influential tool to increase awareness for destination, in destination (at 71% and 69% respectively) than in Europe and US. particular when attempting to continue to grow the share of Asian source markets. With regards to demographic differences in the usage of social media The proliferation of using social media as a tool for gathering travel inspiration as a tool in the travel planning phase, the Travel & Tourism Digital Index 2012 among Asian consumers is also reflected in the breakdown by travel (Text100, 2013) indicates that travellers within the 25-34 age range are most components as shown in the diagram below. likely to use social networks to get ideas and inspiration for their travel plans. The EMEA markets, make relatively little use of social media as a tool for Many travellers take their holiday time as an escape from the digital world, due gaining travel inspiration. However, it is noticeable that across the globe, social to the ubiquitous presence of information and communication technologies in media is primarily used for getting inspiration about the destination choice. This consumers every day life. This trend, which has also been dubbed Digital Detox trend provides an interesting insight, as it indicates that social media channels is sought by approximately a quarter of all travellers. Another barrier to the usage of social media during vacations abroad is the availability of affordable WiFi connections. Recent studies confirm (WTM, 2013), almost half of the respondents would be persuaded to be more involved with social media abroad if they had free WiFi. 21% stated they would use social networks while on vacation to share their experiences with their friends and family.
Given the forthcoming abolishment of roaming chargers by the European Commission, as well as the fact that destinations are more often offering free WiF (e.g. supported by apps like Youth-Hotspots Germany), social media usage during holidays continues to grow.
Taking a closer look at the type of social media activities that travellers would usually undertake during a trip it can be noted that the behaviour is no different to the one after the trip (BI, 2013). The most popular activity is sharing self-made videos and photos, with almost half of all respondents doing so both during and after their vacations. This is followed by sharing blog posts or news stories, done by around a quarter of respondents, as well as a similar proportion ‘liking’ the location on social networks. Interestingly, there is no difference between mid or Social media activity at the travel stage (Text100, 2013) post-vacation behaviour.
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Industry Trends Report Travellers who create content online after returning from their trip are a by the organisation, is regarded a driver of motivation for generating user valuable source for tourism organisations, as they act as testimonials for an content. otherwise intangible product and thereby fuel other peoples’ inspiration and dreaming stage. When social media was still in its infancy, one of the founding principles of user-generated content was the fact that it is a product of sheer intrinsic motivation. Thus, it was not in an organisation’s intention to extensively motivate users - e.g. through monetary incentives – to produce favourable
Motivation for contributing to social media after the trip (Digital Travel Index, 2013) Leisure travellers who have used social media for travel inspiration (eMarketer, 2013) content. A closer examination of the reasons for creating online content on social media sites after a trip, reveals that the picture has somewhat changed. While the main motivational drivers is entertaining and engaging with friends and family, a considerable amount of people could be persuaded to generate content by providing them discounts and loyalty points. Also mere recognition
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Industry Trends Report Mobile
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Industry Trends Report 3. Mobile Global penetration of mobile subscriptions
The rise of the Internet and the WWW in the 1990s has brought about a Central & Eastern Europe 132% technical revolution, which has fundamentally transformed global economies. In Western Europe 128% particular the tourism industry has been affected through the changes caused Latin America 114% by the “network of all networks”. In recent days we are witnessing a second big Middle East 109% North America 103% technological revolution, namely the rise of mobile technologies. The growing APAC excl. China & India 100% adoption of smartphones and tablet devices by travellers, in combination with China 84% 3G and 4G network coverage, the elimination of roaming charges in the EU, and Africa 71% major destinations gradually providing free Wi-Fi access to tourists; are al factors India 56% that have a disruptive impact on the tourism industry. Therefore, the following Global 90% chapter will examine in-depth the rising trend of mobile devices and how it will Adapted from Ericsson (2013) impact the tourism domain in general. Mobile internet users account increasingly for a substantial part of the overall global mobile subscriptions. The number of mobile broadband subscriptions has grown year-on-year by around 45%, reaching an estimated total of around 3.1 Mobile and Smartphones 2.1 billion world wide (ITU, 2013). Following forecasts by Ericsson (2013), the Our world is becoming more mobile, as the number of mobile phone number of global mobile internet subscriptions will reach a total of 4.5 billion in subscriptions is growing constantly. Following the International 2018, which will establish mobile devices as the primary way to access the Telecommunication Union (2013) by the end of 2013 there will be 6.8 billion internet. In addition, population coverage of the world’s mobile internet networks mobile cellular subscriptions, which equals a mobile penetration of 90%. is on the rise, as more WCDM/HSPA (i.e. 3G Internet) and LTE (i.e. 4G Internet) However, the actual number of subscribers is around 4.5 billion, since many base stations are being deployed. By 2018, 85% of the worlds population will people have more than one mobile subscription. The global sales of mobile have 3G internet access and over 60% will have 4G high speed internet on phones has been rising simultaneously, mainly driven by purchases in emerging their mobile devices. The third generation of mobile networks (i.e. 3G also economies where – unlike in developed countries – mobile phone adoption has known as WCDM/HSPA) provides coverage of mobile internet, with peak not yet reached a saturation point. From a global perspective, mobile phone sales are not focused primarily on smartphones, but include as well feature phones, i.e. devices without an operating system.
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Industry Trends Report 92% 86% 0.83
0.6 0.55 % population coverage 0.1 App Coverage Requirements (Ericsson, 2013b)
GSM 3G 4G/LTE GSM 3G 4G/LTE deliver a very good user experience, which enables higher quality video 2012 2018 streaming or even video conferencing. Coverage by network technology (based on Ericsson, 2013) Europe in general is at the forefront of upgrading their mobile base station to the download rates ranging from 1 Mbps to 42 Mbps. The fourth generation (i.e. 4G newest level. In European source markets as well as the US, 3G and increasingly also known as LTE) can already provide peak download rates of 100 Mbps, but 4G mobile network coverage is proliferating. This opens up ample opportunities it is predicted that with innovation in mobile devices, download levels will reach for tourism businesses to incorporate mobile technologies into their digital up to 1Gbps (i.e. 1024 Mbps), which is beyond the requirements for app strategy. Network speeds in Europe are sufficient for interaction with potential coverage. consumers through video and social media content (ITU, 2013). However, if businesses were to target overseas markets in Asia (i.e. China, India) or Eastern App coverage describes the proportion of a networks’s coverage that has Europe (i.e. Poland, Russia) via mobile channels, they will face limitations sufficient performance to run a particular app at an acceptable level. Thus from a regarding the multimedia content that can be incorporated, as network speeds users perspective it describes the areas in which apps can be run at an are not yet developed to similar standards as in Western Europe or North acceptable quality level, so that they deliver satisfying experiences. Different America (Adobe, 2013). applications have varying demands on the network requirements. For simple web browsing, email and instant messaging 100kbps is sufficient. Download A further factor that has to be taken into consideration when incorporating speeds of 1 Mbps are sufficient for audio and video streaming as well as social mobile apps into the digital strategy mix are mobile operating systems. In the media with multi media content embedded. Download speeds of 10Mbps smartphone market, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are dominating the
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Industry Trends Report global market. Other operating systems (i.e. Symbian, Windows, Blackberry) Internet users in Europe and North America are much more likely to browse the have no great significance in terms of consumer reach (IDG, 2012). On a country level slight variations can be noted. For instance Apple’s iOS is slightly more prominent in most western markets, whereas Android has generally greater market shares in Asia. Nevertheless, Android and Apple largely dominate the major touristic source markets in terms of mobile operating systems.
Global traffic share by device (Adobe, 2013)
Internet using a tablet, especially in UK the adoption rates are above average. In contrast, in Asian countries, such as Japan and China, smartphones remain the preferred mobile device for Internet usage. In Japan this is attributable to the advanced smartphone capabilities that have existed for years, whereas in China it is mainly due to the relatively high costs of tablets.
Marketshare of operating systems in selected countries (Adobe, 2013) In summary, tablet adoption is a trend that needs to be seriously considered by marketers. A smartphone optimised site is not the same than a tablet 3.2 Tablets optimised website and moreover, consumers use their various mobile devices differently. The rising importance of tablets in general but in the tourism sector in particular Whereas mobile phones are often used for gathering quick information, or is well established. Research consistently indicates that they are increasingly fulfilling simple tasks (e.g. navigation, checking train times, etc), tablets are often adopted by consumers when engaging in retail and e-commerce activities, particularly in the travel and hospitality sector (Adobe, 2013; cf. Chapter 4.1 Consumer Behaviour).
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Industry Trends Report used for in-depth information searches and purchasing high-involvement Todays fast-paced mobile web-users are accustomed to locating information products. Therefore, marketers need to take the usage patterns into account they need instantly. Therefore, the speed with which websites load is one of the when designing apps for tablets, in order to to get the best out the devices most critical factors when it comes to mobile readiness of online presences. advantages over phones (i.e. higher resolution, larger screen size, better Studies confirm that the majority of web users expect a website to load in interactivity, etc). three seconds, otherwise they tend to look for the information elsewhere (NMM, Mobile traffic share by country 2013). At the same time, a clear, easy-to-navigate page layout is crucial, as approximately two third of website users would divert to a different source when 12.2% UK 7.4% information cannot be located immediately on the site. On the other hand, when 9.1% website design for mobile sites is tackled correctly and meets user expectations, US 7.4% 67% would be willing to engage in e-commerce activities (Google, 2012). 8.7% Canada Following research studies, speed and display quality are considered by users 6.8% the prime determinants of a successful mobile experience (Adobe, 2013b; 7.7% Australia 7.8% Eptica, 2013; Ofcom 2013b). This reflects that mobile web users are more task 7.4% oriented. Thus simplifying the journey and prioritising consumers main goals Japan 9.2% should be the guiding design principle of mobile ready websites. In this regard, it 6.1% is important to strip mobile sites from complex procedures and to provide users France 3.6% with key information as quickly as possible. In addition, users expect from a 5.7% mobile site that it is adapted to the screen size and incorporates unique and Germany 4.3% personally relevant features (Adobe, 2013b). 3.1% China 5.9% Against this background. the development of a mobile responsive website is particularly critical for e-commerce in travel and tourism. Firstly, travellers show Adobe (2013) different web navigation patterns on mobile devices. That is, in a travel context, tablet and smartphone users go directly to familiar sites (46%) or sites they had previously used (49 percent), more often than they used search 3.3 Mobile Ready Web engines (merely 15%) (MarketingLand, 2012). Secondly, one in three mobile travel searchers want to complete a transaction within the same day (SEW, 2012). In addition, more recent technological developments, like HTML5 offer
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Industry Trends Report ample opportunities to develop richer and more focussed user experiences. has its own rules as to what it includes in the App Store and what it doesn’t. Mark-up technologies allow information to be stored locally on a smartphone, Android, Windows et al will have their own restrictions too. thereby making a mobile site less dependent on the availability of WiFi. 3.5 Mobile across the travel cycle 3.4 Mobile Apps The important role of mobile during the early stages of the travel cycle has been Mobile apps are a popular way to extend the mobile strategy. The mobile app confirmed widely (cf. JWire, 2013; IAB, 2013; WTM, 2013). Above all, market has been growing relentlessly ever since Apple launched the App Store consumers’ tendency to use multiple devices, has brought about a situation in in July 2008. Thus the popularity of mobile apps on smartphones is central to recent years, where more than one in two consumers in the US and western user experiences on high end devices. Research from comScore (2012) Europe use mobile devices at some stage of their travel research (Telmetrics, suggests that consumers spend on average 80% of their time on apps, as 2013). Simultaneously, the volume of mobile bookings is rising continuously. opposed to 20% of time spent on mobile web browsing. Especially travel According to WTMs latest global trends report (WTM, 2013), mobile travel related apps are in high demand, as they are more frequently integrated into bookings are becoming significant on a world wide basis. It is estimated that by the travel plans of mobile users. It is reported that 60% of smartphone users 2017 the mobile channel is expected to account for over 30% of online travel have downloaded travel-related apps and 45% of those intend to use the apps values sales (WTM, 2013). Nevertheless, the biggest challenge to mobile to help with their travel planning (Travelport, 2012). Moreover, 55% of travel- commerce is the relatively high degree of perceived risk and uncertainty by related apps are purchased within the 3 days immediately preceding departure consumers across the globe. Latest research confirms that approximately eight or while being in the destination. in ten consumers cite usability and security concerns as the primary reasons for not using check-in and booking services on their mobile phones when travelling However, the decision to develop an app should be carefully weighted against (SITA, 2013). the related challenges and down-sides. Firstly mobile devices don’t have an infinite amount of space for apps. Users can’t have an app for everything, so Moreover, mobile will gain importance as a customer relationship tool. Due to they will prioritise downloading those which are most useful. Secondly, the mobile nature of travel, smartphones and tablets are expected to become promotion within app stores is notoriously difficult. It is a flooded marketplace one of the key customer touch-points within the next five years. Above all where apps are ranked by popularity and unless consumers know whether to personalised, mobile concierge services and customer assistance and feedback search for yours, you may not be found. Consequently, acquiring or servicing solutions are an area where significant growth is expected. Account manager of customers via apps is also a challenge. Thirdly, app platforms all have their real-time enabled social channels will determine the perceived service levels own unique idiosyncrasies. Apple, for example, takes 50% of app revenue and significantly.
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Industry Trends Report Consumer Behaviour
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Industry Trends Report As the world’s biggest service sector, the travel and tourism industry is heavily 4. Consumer Behaviour affected by these developments, and will therefore remain at the forefront of technology adoption and innovation (World Economic Forum, 2013). In 2006, the prestigious Time magazine Person of the Year was awarded to “You”. It recognises the millions of people who changed the face of the internet Consumers’ technology behaviour in highly technologically savvy societies and modern consumer culture through the contribution of user generated provide a strong indicator for the direction and shape that ICT take in the future. content. Ever since consumerism changed at a staggering pace, as digital Users in leading technology economies already live in a connected world. This technologies have intruded every last corner of modern life. In this light, the connected world is characterised by: following section is set out to explore the most relevant consumer trends and • users who are adopting new habits rapidly, highlight the impact and implications for the tourism domain in general, as well as for Germany as a tourist destination in particular. The most disruptive • availability of powerful and connected devices, changes and critical developments in consumer behaviour and search behaviour • a shift away from offline contents to content that is produced, are examined under careful consideration of crucial geographic and consumed and stored exclusively online. demographic trends.
4.1 Consumer Trends In 2013 the market for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has been growing relatively stable, and was ultimately unaffected by the financial and banking crises in western economies. This trend is expected to continue as global sales of ICT consumer goods are predicted to grow by 5.1 per cent to a total of € 2.57 trillion. In particular the emerging economies as well as the BRIC countries feature high levels of investments in ICTs. By 2020, the global demand for ICTs is predicted to double, and China is expected to have overtaken Japan as the second largest ICT market after the US. Given that the proliferation of ICTs continues to spread to emerging and developing economies, it is expected that the sector will even further transform the way we live, work, learn, play and consume products.
Customer centric digital revolution (Telefonica, 2012)
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Industry Trends Report These developments lead us towards a digital revolution, of which in 2014 we Consumers navigating to websites through tablets, tend to be more engaged are just witnessing just the beginnings. Consumers are at the very centre of this with the content and at the same time feature a higher readiness to spend revolution, using a range of interconnected and digitally sophisticated devices money. In fact, among all mobile devices, tablet website visits are more in-depth as ‘remote controls’ for their personal life. and feature a far higher number of page views and number of visits. Moreover, purchases carried out via tablets have on average 54% higher spendings per In this regard, consumers are increasingly relying on mobile devices. As outlined purchase than via smartphones, and 21% more than via stationary devices (i.e. in Chapter 3, tablets and smartphones are progressively becoming the first Laptop, Desktop PC) (Adobe, 2013). In summary, consumers shopping choice when accessing information online and engaging in e-commerce behaviour is under constant change and mobile technologies become a activities. Consequently, the share of website visits through mobile devices has grown exponentially over the past years, and it is expected to grow continuously at an even faster rate. This trend is particularly noticeable in the tourism context, Retail where consumers show high involvement across multiple platforms and devices Travel & Hospitality during all stages of their travel. In this regard it is of elevated importance for Tablet tourism organisations to provide fully mobile and tablet ready websites that Automotive Smartphone support consumers efficiently at all relevant stages of the marketing funnel and across multiple screen sizes. Media & Entertainment
Telecom
Financial Services
B2B Tech
0% 3% 6% 9% 12% Global mobile traffic share by country (Adobe, 2013)
major factor in this context.
As shown above, the increasing shift towards mobile commerce is particularly noticeable in the tourism industry. In contrast to other leading industry sectors, consumers world wide rely above averagely on mobile technologies for the
Tablet vs smartphone growth (Adobe, 2013)
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Industry Trends Report information search and purchase of travel products and services. This is a Firstly, the biggest impact stems from travellers’ ability to connect with digital continuing trend, as firstly travellers are above averagely technology savvy , and devices to the internet 24/7, thereby providing them at any point digital access secondly they are often characterised by an average or even above average to touristically relevant information about a destination, as well as a plethora of disposable income (cf. Google, 2013g). Thus, mobile devices are developing other key tourist services (accommodation, transportation, etc). This poses progressively into one of the primary touch-points with both nationals and opportunities and challenges to the tourism industry. On the one hand, travellers international visitors. show higher levels of spontaneity and flexibility; and therefore tourists’ behaviour is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. On the other hand, it offers for The proliferation of mobile devices has led to a fundamental shift in travel tourism service providers the opportunity to sell distressed inventory and behaviour, namely the advent of the always connected traveller. That is, increase tourists’ stays by providing attractive last-minute packages / deals. travellers can nowadays connect to the Internet throughout all stages of the Major travel service providers like Expedia or Orbitz confirm this opportunity and travel process. In particular increasing usage of mobile devices by travellers and note that around 70% of bookings and reservations done within the the last 24 the planned abolishment of roaming charges within the EU will drive tourists hours of the planned stay are coming through smartphones and other mobile reliance on the world wide web, especially in the destination. Thus visitors to devices (BI, 2013). Thus with the Internet in their pockets, travellers will adapt Europe will be more likely to be digitally connected throughout all stages of their to changes in their travel planning instantaneously and be more spontaneous travel. This shift has profound implications for consumers’ behaviour in general, and flexible. which in turn tourism providers have to take into consideration. Secondly, the always connected traveller, has constant access to vast amounts of information on the world wide web, which in turn increases the transparency of product and price related information (ITB, 2013). Thus, the Internet develops into the dominant tool for consumers to plan travel. In fact, leisure, business and affluent travellers rely on digital inputs more than ever before to make decisions. In 2013 a total of 80% of travellers used the internet for researching and planning their trips (Google, 2013g). This impact can be seen at all stages of the marketing funnel (i.e. awareness stage, consideration stage), which in turn brings about a shift in the power relations between consumers and producers of tourism services. Thus, consumers are empowered by the availability of information online, and therefore tourism businesses need to ensure that marketing information provided both online and offline is authentic, relevant and truthful. Tourism businesses that neglect the
Mobile’s impact across the travel life cycle on a variety of devices (Amadeus, 2011)
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Industry Trends Report empowered consumer, run the risk of receiving negative reviews and thereby from friends and family. At the same time, one in two consumers post travel damaging their online reputation. reviews online (WTM, 2012). Consequently, both travellers’ perception of and attitude towards hotels and attractions are largely shaped by other travellers Researched a trip after seeing 43% and locals, who provide reviews and recommendations online. an online ad (awareness stage) 54% It is no surprise that social media has considerable influence on decision making Brainstormed or started thinking 42% about a trip (awareness stage) 48% and travel booking. Nearly one in two travellers who consult social media sources change their original travel plans afterwards, either in terms of hotel Research an upcoming trip 59% (consideration stage) 67% choice, restaurant choice or transportation choice (WTM, 2012). However, more importantly, recently published peer reviewed research confirms (Reza et al., Requested more information 31% related to a trip (consideration stage) 45% 2012) that the influence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networks Read reviews from 42% on travellers is not only limited to individual components of a trip (e.g. choice of other travellers (both) 55% hotel, flight, restaurant, etc), but also extends to a destination’s image, Leisure travellers travellers’ attitudes towards a destination and ultimately their intention and Business travellers decision to travel to a particular destination.
Impact of Internet across different stages of the sales funnel (Google, 2013g) Destination image In the context of customer empowerment, the proliferation of social media is a major factor that will exert considerable impact on the tourism industry in general. Especially the globally leading source markets – GER, CH, US, UK – Travel rank among the digitally mature and social media savvy marketplaces Electronic word-of-mouth intention (GlobalWebindex, 2013). Thus, tourism in is becoming increasingly social and travellers are using both generic social media platforms – such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram – as well as travel specific social media – such as TripAdvisor or Wikitravel – to collect, access, share and review information, Attitude towards content and experiences. This has significant implications for consumer destination © SE1 MEDIA behaviour. Firstly social media is considered one of the most trustworthy sources of information. In fact, 70% of consumers report that online reviews are the Against the background that travellers seek authentic and truthful information, second most trusted source of information, only exceeded by recommendations destination markeying organisations and businesses is competing with
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Industry Trends Report individuals to shape and define the destinatiom image. For instance, on According to the World Bank (2013) there are more than 2.4 billion Internet destination pages in the TripAdvisor forum, a few key individuals often contribute users world-wide. While this represents about 34% of the world’s total a considerable amount of the content (i.e. answering questions, linking to further population, it is the top 20 countries that represent over 75% of the world’s information, providing recommendations). Thus the destination image of Internet users. Especially in the developed “western” markets, all age groups particular places is to some extent controlled by individual consumers on take Internet usage for granted and it is very much part of consumers’ every- social networks. day-life.
In developing economies, such as Russia, China and the Arab Gulf States; 4.2 Geographic Trends overall Internet penetration levels are significantly lower. Thus, at the moment traditional offline channels (e.g. travel agents) still play a dominating role in these markets. Nevertheless, as these emerging countries heavily invest into ICTs, more and more consumers will gain access to the Internet, and by 2020 a dramatic increase is predicted (WEF, 2013). This will also translate into changes in consumer behaviour and consequently lead to the growth of online travel. Therefore, tourism businesses that want to tap into these markets are required to supply the relevant digital content in order to target these markets.
In addition to the above outlined trend that Internet usage will increase across countries world-wide, it is forecasted that social media is growing simultaneously. Especially in the emerging markets of the world, social media adoption rates are growing exponentially. In particular the growth in Asia is above average, which is largely attributable to the wide-scale adoption of information and communication technologies by consumers, businesses and governments in China and India. However, to fully exploit the potential of social media for tourism marketing, it is critical to take into account the specific social channels that consumers in these countries prefer (refer to Social Media Chapter).
Internet penetration in 2013 (WorldBank, 2014) 4.3 Demographic Trends
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Industry Trends Report While in general a trend towards internet adoption and mobile connectivity has channels. Although social media usage is significantly higher among younger demographics, research indicates a continuous upwards trend of social media 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+ adoption by older age-groups. The social media adoption rates of 30-49 year olds are lacking on average three years behind the youngest demographics.
Search
Shopping
Social Media
Online Banking
0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Online activities of US & European consumers by age-group (Pew, 2012b)
been noted, gaps and differences of digital technology usage remain, Social media usage by age group (Pew, 2012b) especially between different age-groups.
In western economies, internet adoption for basic usage such as searching Thus, in the upcoming years, with younger demographics progressively falling information and communicating via email has reached mass maturity across into this age group as well as the continuing trends of social media adoption, all age-groups. social media will manifest its status as a mass communication medium for the 30-49 year olds. Although older audiences (50+) are increasingly joining the Trust in the Internet as a reliable and secure medium for shopping as well as for social sphere, it cannot be expected that adoption levels comparable to those carrying out financial transactions is prevalent with the vast majority of age- by younger demographics will be reached in the foreseeable future. groups. Only in the age-group 65+ a significant amount of people do not use the Internet for e-commerce. However, a bigger spread in Internet usage Digital activities should not focus exclusively on social media, especially if behaviour can be seen with regards to the adoption of social media. As different demographics are targeted. Using more traditional approaches in shown below, the older people are, the less likely they are to use social media communicating with older audiences is advisable. These might include email
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Industry Trends Report campaigns or search engine optimisation, given that over 80% of all consumers 4.4 Search Behaviour engage in these online activities. The global search landscape is dominated by the big five search engines: However, given the functionalities and potential of social media (e.g. accessibility, Google, Baidu, Yahoo, Yandex and Microsoft/Bing. Currently, Google is the reach, effectiveness), it plays a central role in travellers’ media consumption leading search engine with an overall market share of 65%, far ahead of its two patterns. In order to maximise the reach and effectiveness of social media closest competitors Baidu (8%) and Yahoo (5%). However, despite Google’s activities it is critical to cater the channels that consumers prefer. A closer look at dominating position in the search engine market, regional differences occur. the growth rates of individual social networks by age group reveals that within In particular in Asian markets the the older demographics (45+), large parts of the increase is generated by the picture is much more diversified. mainstream networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Google+). However, niche Regional search engines like Tencent, networks that provide only one – or very few – core functionalities (e.g. Pinterest SINA or Baidu.com feature higher = collecting and curating pictures) are relatively less sought after. Therefore, for visitor engagement and significantly brand themes that target particularly older demographics, tourism lower bounce-rates, compared to the organisations should prioritise the usage of large social networks such as likes of Google & Co (comScore, Facebook or Google+. 2013). While it is critical for tourism organisations to optimise their websites and content for Google – as the leading search engine – tapping into the potential of Asian source markets requires SEO and SEM for Global search engine landscape (comScore, 2013e) a variety of different international and national search engines.
However, the search engine landscape is under constant change. On the one hand, technologies are becoming more sophisticated, and on the other hand consumers’ search behaviour is becoming more complex. Over the past years we have witnessed a trend towards more detailed and sophisticated user
Growth of social media by age group 2012 – 2013 (Adobe, 2013) searches (Experian, 2013). In essence, the number of searches containing three to five words as well as the ones containing more than five words have
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Industry Trends Report increased significantly. This reflects that consumers accept the Internet as a prime source for information and have an increased expectation that online content is highly relevant and personalised, rather than generic and vague. Moreover, it also shows that consumers are willing to invest time and effort into online searches, in order to locate the content that is most relevant to them. Therefore they adopt detailed in-depth search strategies, which consist of a large number of different terms. The second catalyst of change are major innovations in search engine technologies. Search is becoming increasingly social. In particular social networks like Facebook and GooglePlus fuel this development by incorporating the social graph into the ranking of search results. That is, the judgement of how relevant a certain piece of information is to the user (e.g. the ranking of a website in the organic search engine results of Google) takes amongst other factors the preferences of a users social network into account (comScore, 2013e).
An upcoming innovation that will shake up the search engine landscape is the shift from user initiated searches to auto-serving (suggestion) technologies. Instead of actively searching for information, products or services on the web, auto serving technologies present users with suggestions. Big data, in particular large amounts of consumer data will facilitate the personalisation and relevancy of recommendations and thereby impact fundamentally on search behaviour.
Sophisticated search strategies
Search behaviour Social search trends
Auto-serving technologies 27
Industry Trends Report Pre-trip Experiences and Co-Creation
5. Innovations & Trends Digital technologies now support tourists across all pre-trip activities, ranging The tourism industry is known for residing at the cutting edge of technology from inspiration to preliminary search, information, comparison and booking. adoption. Furthermore, over the recent years, digital technologies have Most interestingly for destination marketing organisations, digital technologies developed into the main driving forces behind marketing and management open up unprecedented opportunities to create virtual pre-trip experiences that innovations in the travel sector. Therefore, an overview of the latest technological provide authentic insights into the destination and support the decision making trends and innovations will provide an understanding of the challenges and process. This in turn allows potential visitors to confirm or disconfirm ideas opportunities that the proliferating technologies open up for tourism service about the destination by proactively engaging a brand or destination. providers in general, and for GNTB in particular. Thus, the following section reviews the most recent and disruptive digital innovations and their application in Remote control tourist: tourism. Visit Melbourne’s campaign enabled 5.1 Technology Enhanced Experiences consumers to co-create their own virtual pre-trip Experiences are the main value proposition of tourism destinations. Through experience: A team of digital technologies tourism experiences are no longer restricted to physical urban explorers could service encounters at the destination. Digital technologies play a critical role in be controlled & tracked in real-time via social mediating and/or creating experiences that can be both physical or virtual. At media. the same time, these experiences might take place at all stages of the travel cycle, namely before, during and after the trip. However, in order to maintain their competitiveness tourism providers are faced with the challenge to market, create and manage meaningful and compelling tourist experiences. The longest scream in the world: Visit Norway co-created with visitors via social Before During After media the longest scream in the world, thereby depicting the manifoldness of Norway as a travel Technology Enhanced Experiences destination.
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Industry Trends Report A number of different technologies come into use to create, deliver and enable allows tourists to discover different places in Stockholm and engage with the these experiences. Social media has become a key tool for enabling customer story of the city. The app has been developed exclusivel for usage on site and co-creation of these experiences. Customers are not only involved in passively therefore focusses exclusively on enhancing the destination experiences, rather consuming the virtual experience, but their active involvement is an integral part than providing planning and pre-trip inspiration support. This app is a real of producing the experience. Hence, the experience is created jointly between example of how technology can extend a destination’s offering digitally and how the DMO and the tourist through a range of digitally mediated interactions. it can drive more meaningful forms of engagement, by enabling customers to enhance their experiences through consumer technology.
On-site technology enhanced experiences
Given the growing competitiveness in the tourism domain, DMOs revert to digital technologies as tools to enhance visitor experiences. Through the usage of different technologies destination offerings can be augmented and extended, thereby creating new and unique experiences in both physical and virtual spaces.
A number of different technologies come into play when tourists are in the destination. Mobile technologies and their ability to access and retrieve Stockholm Sounds smartphone app by VisitStockholm information at any point and time, open up ample opportunities to create highly engaging experiences. Above all smartphone and tablet apps offer a platform for DMOs to deliver digitally enhanced experiences to visitors in an efficient way. Wearable technologies to enhance destination experience
Most recently a trend towards gamification can be noted. In this context, With new technologies being developed, new opportunities emerge for DMOs. gamification refers to the application of the mechanics of gaming (rewards, One of the most buzzing areas of emerging innovations are wearable competition, etc) to non-gaming tourism activities (e.g. a guided tour, brand technologies. Most prominent is the upcoming launch of Google’s Glass, which engagement, etc) to create fully immersive, meaningful experiences. is expected to take place in the latter half of 2014, and will allow consumers to, The Stockholm Sounds app by Visit Stockholm provides an example, in which record, watch and share photos and videos, navigate, search information and latest smartphone technology is used to provide visitors a digitally enhanced perform other tasks through voice control. The virtual information is projected experience in the destination. Through elements of gamification, and by making directly into the immediate field of view for the user. This opens up ample use of augmented reality, location based services and audio recordings; the app opportunities to enhance tourism products.
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Industry Trends Report However, recent research indicates that visibly wearable technology devices are Integration of digital and social technologies into physical service scape met with scepticism among consumers, especially in Europe. In fact, two in The proliferation of interactive, multi-media, stationary technologies create three Europeans are not interested in purchasing wearable technology glasses unprecedented opportunities for engaging with tourists in the destination. New, (Accenture, 2014), for a variety of reasons, including privacy concerns, public technology driven concepts of visitor and tourist information centres will provide attention and aesthetics. fully immersive experiences to visitors at the destination. These new concepts Another promising area of wearable technologies is therefore the development of benefit from the integration of a wide variety of digital media and content into the not visibly wearable technology. In this regard, the advent of tactile navigation physical service-scape. systems, as recently developed by the German start-up company Sensovo (see below), provides an array of use cases and applications in the tourism domain. Above all, it will allow tourists to explore unfamiliar destinations without obstructing hearing or vision. This provides unprecedented experiences in completely unfamiliar environments, also enabling tourists to engage simultaneously in activities that require their hands, hearing and/or vision (e.g. riding bicycle).
VisitBelfast - Tourist Information Centre
Visit Belfast’s new visitor centre, which has been opened to the public in December 2013, is a pioneering effort regarding the usage of digital technology for physical service environments. Due to its innovative approach it can be considered a best practice example in the field.
It features the integration of digital marketing content into the physical service scape, thereby overcoming the boundaries between its virtual and its physical
sensovo.com - Tactile navigation system prototype 30
Industry Trends Report presence. In fact, social media content as well as content from digital marketing European markets ( 5% - 10%). In the rest of the world, adoption rates of campaigns is displayed across screens in the visitor centre. By providing augmented reality are rather marginal at the moment but are expected to grow interactive touch-screens, inspiration and planning of visitors is facilitated in the near future (Layar, 2012). digitally, however still providing tourists the possibility to obtain advice from one Nevertheless, the potential for creating and delivering innovative and unique of the front office staff. Visitors determine the extend to which the information tourism experiences through AR is manifold. Especially given that mobile devices and advice is provided digitally and/or through an actual service encounter. are by far the most popular devices for people to interact with augmented reality, The innovative example of Belfast shows how to integrate technology into the its adoption in the travel sector is catching on. The areas of applications for tourist information environment, thereby transforming the traditional experience, augmented reality in tourism span across the travel cycle, thereby indicating the and provide customers with a holistic immersive technology-enhanced potential impact that this technology will have on travellers and their experience. engagement with brands and destinations.
In the context of information gathering, augmented reality offers great potential 5.2 Augmented Reality for enhancing printed materials, especially for sales brochures. Via AR applications, the content of printed materials can be overlaid with videos, Augmented reality – where virtual objects are layered on top of live camera, real- images and other virtual animations, thereby providing customers an immersive world images and recordings – is an area of technology innovation that is still in retail experience. its infancy. Even though, reliable global market statistics for augmented reality (AR) market size do not exist yet, estimates indicate that the market penetration Virgin Holiday was the first organisation in the travel sector to incorporate this of this technology is highest in the US market (18%), followed by western technology across it branches. Via an iPhone app, the AR feature can be used with brochures as well as a number of other triggers within stores, to deliver Augmented Reality Market Penetration augmented experiences of destinations and other travel products. US 17% Spain 9% Germany 9% Netherlands 6% Japan 6% France 5% UK 5% South Africa 3% Russia 2% Brazil 2% Layar (2012)
Virgin Holiday Augmented Reality Application 31
Industry Trends Report However, the technologically most matured and wide spread AR application with tourism related functionalities constitute AR browsers. AR browser enrich the real-world with interactive virtual information that allows visitors in unfamiliar locations to identify specific points of interest and learn more about their surroundings. In this regard, AR browsers draw information from a variety of external sources (e.g. review websites, wikis, social media, etc.). It is in particular this integration of various external sources, and their visualisation in the AR virtual reconstruction of Berlin Wall Screen capture of AR outdoor game immediate file of view of the consumer, that make it a catalyst of change for tourists’ navigation in unfamiliar environments. Moreover, in combination with The capacity of AR applications to overlay virtual representations of buildings, reviews and recommendations, it facilitates tourists decision making on the spot. sites or any other virtual object onto real world live recordings open up unprecedented opportunities for tourism destinations to develop compelling and highly engaging tourist experiences. The areas of applications range from virtual reconstructions of historic sites, that allow tourists to re-live historic life and events; to location based augmented reality outdoor games that provide tourists a fully immersive experience of the destination.
Using AR technology for the creation and delivery of digitally enhanced tourist experiences could have significant implications for the strategic competitiveness of tourist destinations. The development of relevant AR applications, enables tourism destinations on the one hand to enhance the attractiveness of existing natural and man-made attractions (e.g. historic buildings, etc). It allows to create entirely virtual attractions. This in turn enables destinations with less attractive natural sights to enhance their competitive positing, by developing brand themes based on virtually augmented experiences. Augmented Reality Browser
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Industry Trends Report 5.3 Gamification and Participative Consumer Interaction Rules Interaction The emergence of Generation Y – the demographic loosely defined as those born between 1980 and 2000 – is driving dramatic change in education, structure with the environment technology, media engagement, and most critically in how tourism services are guides with the company experienced and consumed. Generation Y’ers, who are also known as with other customers Millennials, are digital natives. Hence, they live and breathe online, they are with the social network accustomed to cutting edge technology, and most importantly they are enthusiastic virtual gamers. Mechanics Dynamics This generation is coming of age and increasingly becomes one of the the main target audiences, as within the next five years they will form the majority of the points rewards working population world-wide. And they like to be communicated with and levels status experience – above all in their leisure time – the game-like mechanisms that they challenges achievement grew accustomed to. In addition, the appeal of game mechanics extends well virtual goods competition cooperation beyond this key cohort, as older age-groups become digitally savvy and they are often just as keen as the Generation Y to compete with their peers and publish Basic gaming elements their achievements. These key trends are driving the potential power of gamification in the tourism industry Gamified tourist experiences
Gamification is about the integration of gaming dynamics in non-gaming The potential for gamification to transform and enhance the nature of tourist environments. In travel and tourism, the application of gamification refers to the experiences is considerable. Firstly, gaming mechanics (e.g. points, levels) enhancement of tourist experiences (walking tour, discovering a sight, etc) directly align with and satisfy basic human desires such as the need for reward through gaming elements (see graphic Basic gaming elements). The proliferation or status. Secondly, gamification enables tourists to completely immerse into a of digital technologies – above all smartphones and tablets – act as a catalyst of destination and deepen the engagement with certain aspects of a destination change for the delivery of gamified experiences. Mobile internet connections, significantly. Similarly to playing video games, tourists report flow-like social networks, augmented reality, GPS, high resolution displays and touch experiences through gamification, hence the feeling of time is lost, as they are screen technology are some of the key innovations that drive the development of fully engaged and immersed in the experience. This in turn creates strong immersive and engaging gaming experiences for tourists.
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Industry Trends Report emotional memories of a destination, thereby increasing the loyalty and advocacy with a certain tourism product.
In tourism and hospitality first examples that can be found are based on experiences that have been augmented through gamified elements.
Marriott Hotels is a best practice example of the hotel industry, where gamification has been applied to familiarise customers with the Marriott brand, the workings and processes of the hotel industry, and ultimately to recruit potential new staff for job vacancies.
The game which uses location based services, and in which the users have to unlock a series of challenges and puzzles, provides an immersive and highly engaging opportunity for visitors to explore and discover the history of the castle. It is representative of a trend towards enhancing the direct experience of a sight or destination and facilitate education and learning through gamification elements.
The game, which is linked to an individual’s Facebook account, allows consumers to take on the role of a hotel manager at a Marriott hotel. Gamers are rewarded through a number of different elements such as points levels and virtual goods. The game closed after Marriott reached its aim of filling 50,000 vacancies world-wide.
Increasingly however, gamification is applied to enhance the experience while consuming the tourism product. The iTrust Corfe Castle game, developed by the National Trust site in Dorset (UK), can be considered a good practice example for an interactive gaming experience at a historical sight.
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Industry Trends Report 5.4 Performance and Monitoring forum contributions, etc) towards more dynamic, real-time interaction on social networks (e.g. micro-blogging, tweeting opinions on brands, providing customer The rise of social media networks, the wide-spread of mobile internet devices feedback, updating statuses, etc.) (GlobalWebindex, 2012). and the development of context based online services brought about a Given the steady growth in levels of social media conversation revolving about fundamental shift in both marketing practices as well as tourists’ behaviour, brands, companies and destinations, a shift towards monitoring the social media across all stages of the travel cycle. sphere can be noted in the tourism industry. This development is driven by the Consumers engage with tourism brands, destinations and their peers not only availability of social media monitoring tools and applications, which can crawl, before and after the travel through digital channels, but increasingly also while watch and record user-generated content related to specific topics in real-time. travelling. Above all, This in turn enables organisations to organise and structure online The rise of real-time social media in tourism conversations, and to depict how they interconnect with each other. This opens up new opportunities and challenges for the tourism industry. 15 min. or less 20% within a few days Performance measurement: 33% The ability to monitor and measure the structure and flow of conversations 36% across the social sphere, increases an organisation’s ability to monitor and measure the performance of digital and social media marketing campaigns. 64% Monitoring the performance of marketing activities is progressively becoming an less than one hour 22% industry standard, as many tourist boards and other tourism players are shifting their approach to social media and digital customer engagement from a tactical same day Use social 25% to a strategic manner. Above all for public sector institutions it is indispensable to networks when show the accountability for marketing spendings. Against this background social travelling media monitoring opens up unprecedented opportunities for DMOs. When consumers expect an answer from brands FourPillars (2013) after contacting them via social media (Social habit, 2012) In addition, through content and sentiment analysis of tourists’ social media real-time enabled social media1has fuelled this development. Over the past years conversations on a specific destination, DMOs are enabled to measure both the a shift can be noted, away from static forms of social media (e.g. blogging, own brand perception as well as competitors’ brand performance.
1services that allow for interactive real-time communication, particularly through mobile devices; such as Twitter, Facebook, etc
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Industry Trends Report Monitoring
The ability to monitor ones own, but also external social media channel, acts as a game changer for service management practices of tourism firm. On the one hand, tourism firms are increasingly using their social media channels for customer service. On the other hand, social media monitoring allows the detection of customer complaints and potential enquiries on external channels.
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Industry Trends Report Bloom (2013) Social media usage: A focus on Poland. Available from: http:// References www.bloomworldwide.com/blog/explore/do-polish-people-use-social- media-differently-to-the-rest-of-europe/#.UunGjHkeauc
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Euromonitor (2013c) Travel Retail in the UK. Available from: https:// GlobalWebindex (2013) Stream Report: Social Engagement Benchmark 2013. www.portal.euromonitor.com Restricted access, available from: http://www.globalwebindex.net
EuroStat (2013) Internet use and frequency of use by individuals, 2013 (% of GlobalWebindex (2012) Wave 8. Available from: http://www.globalwebindex.net individuals). Available from: http://bit.ly/1lxn2Ip Google (2013) The rise of mobile shoppers. Available from: http:// Eurostat (2013b) Internet users who bought or ordered goods or services for ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-rise-of-mobile-shoppers_infographics.pdf private use over the internet in the past 12 months, 2008 and 2013 (% of internet users). Available from: http://bit.ly/1lxK69Z Google (2013b) Our Mobile Planet: United Kingdom - Understanding the Mobile Consumer. Available from: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/ eWord (2014) Search Market Share. Available from: http://theeword.co.uk/info/ en/ search_engine_market.html Google (2013c) Our Mobile Planet: China - Understanding the Mobile Experian (2013) Digital Trends Report 2013. Available from: http:// Consumer. Available from: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/ www.experian.com.au/assets/resources/white-papers/digital-marketer- en/ report-2013-au.pdf
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Industry Trends Report Google (2013d) Our Mobile Planet: Netherlands - Understanding the Mobile InSites (2012) Social media around the world 2012. Available from: http:// Consumer. Available from: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/ www.insites-consulting.com/social-media-around-the-world-2012/ en/ InSites (2012b) Social media report 2012 - Netherlands Insights. Available from: Google (2013e) Our Mobile Planet: Poland - Understanding the Mobile http://www.slideshare.net/IABNederland/social-mediareport- Consumer. Available from: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/ netherlandsinsitesiabnl?from_search=22 en/ Intent HQ (2013) Personalization and Privacy of Social Media. Available from: Google (2013f) Our Mobile Planet: Switzerland - Understanding the Mobile http://intenthq.com/personalization-and-privacy-of-social-media- Consumer. Available from: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/ infographic/ en/ ITB (2013) World Travel Trends Report 2012/2013. Messe Berlin GmbH, G o o g l e ( 2 0 1 3 g ) T h e 2 0 1 3 Tr a v e l e r. A v a i l a b l e f r o m : http:// available from: http://www.itb-berlin.de/media/itbk/itbk_media/itbk_pdf/ www.thinkwithgoogle.com/research-studies/2013-traveler.html WTTR_Report_2013_web.pdf
IAB (2013) Mobile’s role in a conusmer day in the US and China. Available from: JWire (2013) Mobile Audience Insights Report Q2. Available from: http:// http://www.iab.net/media/file/USChinaMobileWebinar081413.pdf jiwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/JiWire_Insights_Q2_2013.pdf
IAB (2013b) Mobile Travel Audit. Available from: http://www.iabuk.net/research/ Layar (2012) Augmented Reality Whitepaper. Available from http:// library/mobile-travel-audit static511.layar.com.s3.amazonaws.com/content_media/174/ Layar_Whitepaper_May23.pdf IAB (2012) Mediascope Europe Ntherlands. Available from: http:// www.iabeurope.eu/files/1213/7223/8114/ MarketingLand (2012) Study: 50 Percent Of Mobile Queries In Travel, MEDIASCOPE_2012_NETHERLANDS_SUMMARY_LAUNCH_PRESENTA Restaurants, Autos Result In A Purchase. Available from: http:// TION.pdf marketingland.com/study-50-percent-of-mobile-queries-in-travel- restaurants-autos-result-in-a-purchase-18404 IAB (2012b) Mediascope Europe - Switzerland. Available from: http:// www.iabeurope.eu/files/1713/7224/3022/ Maritz (2013) Ubiquitous Reviews and Low Participation: Two More Threats to MEDIASCOPE_2012_SWITZERLAND_SUMMARY_LAUNCH_PRESENTA Dedicated Review Sites. Available from: http://www.maritzresearch.com/ TION.pdf ~/media/Files/MaritzResearch/Whitepapers/Ubiquitous-Reviews.pdf
International Telecommunication Union [ITU] (2013) Measuring the Information Maritz (2013) Customer Rating and Reviews Site: An Upcoming Crisis of Society. Available from: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/ Confidence?. Available from: http://www.maritzresearch.com/~/media/ publications/mis2013.aspx
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Industry Trends Report Files/MaritzResearch/Whitepapers/Customer-Rating-and-Reviews- Ofcom (2013) Adults’ media use and attitudes report. Available from: http:// Site_rev.pdf stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/adult-media- lit-13/2013_Adult_ML_Tracker.pdf McKinsey (2013) Cyber boom: Why tablet domination has only just begun. Available from: http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/ Ofcom (2013b) The Consumer Experience of 2012. Available from: http:// client_service/High%20Tech/PDFs/Cyber- stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/consumer-experience/ boom_and_the_domination_of_tablets_April_2012.ashx tce-12/Consumer_Experience_Researc1.pdf mobiThinking (2013) Global mobile statistics 2013 Part A. Available from: http:// Ofcom (2013c) International Communications Market Report 2013. Available mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/a from: stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/cmr13/icmr/ ICMR-2013.pdf NNM - New Media and Marketing (2013) You have three seconds. Capture my attention. Available from: http://www.newmediaandmarketing.com/you- ONS - Office for National Statistics (2013) Statistical bulletin: Internet Access - have-3-seconds-capture-my-attention/ Households and Individuals, 2013. Available from: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ ons/rel/rdit2/internet-access---households-and-individuals/2013/stb- Nielsen (2013) The Social Media Report. Available from: http:// ia-2013.html www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2012/state-of-the-media-the-social- media-report-2012.html OSF - Open Society Foundation (2012) Mapping Digital Media: China. Available from: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping- Nielsen (2013b) The Mobile Consumer - A Global Snapshot. Available from: digital-media-china-20121009.pdf http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports- downloads/2013%20Reports/Mobile-Consumer-Report-2013.pdf Passport (2013) Forthcoming 4G Mobile Broadband to Change China Forever. Available from: https://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/Pages/ Nielsen (2012) How Digital Influences How We Shop Around the World. Available Common/Pdf.aspx/ from: http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports- Forthcoming_4G_Mobile_Broadband_to_Change_China_Forever downloads/2012-Reports/How-Digital-Influences-How-We-Shop-Around- the-World.pdf Passport (2013b) Consumer Lifestyles in Switzerland. Available from: http:// bit.ly/1eq02Vt Nielsen (2012b) The Asian media landscape is turning digital. Available from: http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/au/en/reports/2012/ Passport (2014) Mobile Internet Retailing. Available from: http://bit.ly/1e0d4c1 changing-asian-media-landscape-feb2012.pdf Pew (2013) Who’s Not Online and Why. Available from: http://pewinternet.org/ Nielsen (2012c) Smartphone Market Trends From Abroad. Available from: http:// Reports/2013/Non-internet-users.aspx dk.nielsen.com/site/documents/NielsenonSmartphonesandApps.pdf
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Industry Trends Report Pew (2012) Social Networking Popular across globe. Available from: http:// StatCounter (2014) Global Search Engine Statistics. Available from: http:// www.pewglobal.org/files/2012/12/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Project- gs.statcounter.com Technology-Report-FINAL-December-12-2012.pdf Social Habit (2012) Social media response time. Available from: http:// Pew (2012b) Digital differences. Pew Internet Research Centre, Wahsington DC, socialhabit.com US, available from: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Digital- differences.aspx Telmetrics (2013) Consumers increasingly use mobile devices for research on travel. Available from: http://www.researchscape.com/technology/mobile- PMR (2012) Social media in Poland – over half of Poles use social networking devices-travel-purchase-survey websites. Available from: http://www.research-pmr.com Text100 (2013) Digital Index Travel and Tourism. Available from: http:// Reza, M., Samiei, N., Dini, B., & Yaghoubi, P. (2012). Examining the structural info.text100.com/travel-tourism-digital-index-2012/info.text100.com/ relationships of electronic word of mouth, destination image, tourist travel-tourism-digital-index-2012.html attitude toward destination and travel intention: An integrated approach. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, Vol 1, Nr. 1-2, pp. Thuiswinkl (2013) Ecommerce sales in the Netherlands. Available from: http:// 134-143. ecommercenews.eu/ecommerce-sales-in-the-netherlands-are-up-by-8/
SEW - SearchengineWatch (2012) Mobile Purchase Path Insights for Successful Travelport (2012) Trends and Spending Projections. Available from: http:// Mobile Ad Campaigns. Available from: http://searchenginewatch.com/ www.travelport.com/Travel-Trends/Whitepapers# article/2197334/Mobile-Purchase-Path-Insights-for-Successful-Mobile- Ad-Campaigns-Study University Twente (2012) Trend Survey 2012. Available from: http:// www.utwente.nl/en/newsevents/2012/11/228180/trend-survey-2012-the- SITA (2013) Passenger IT Trends Survey 2013. Available from: http:// dutch-are-online-any-time-any-place www.sita.aero/content/industry-surveys-reports UNWTO (2014) Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. Available from: http:// Skift (2014) Starwood Is the First Travel Brand to Advertise on Instagram. www.unwto.org Available from: http://skift.com/2014/01/23/starwood-is-the-first-travel- brand-to-advertise-on-instagram/ We are Social (2012) Social Digital and Mobile in Asia. Available from: http:// www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/we-are-socials-guide-to-social-digital- SocialBakers (2013) Poland Facebook Statistics. Available from: http:// mobile-in-asia-overview-nov-2011 www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/poland We are Social (2013) Social Digital and Mobile in China. Available from: http:// SocialBakers (2013b) Switzerland Facebook Statistics. Available from: http:// www.slideshare.net/smita_amin/china-2013-social-mobile-report-2013 www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/switzerland
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Industry Trends Report World Bank (2014) Internet users (per 100 people). Available from: http:// data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.P2/countries?display=map
World Economic Forum (2013) Technology Pioneers 2014. Available from http:// www.weforum.org/reports/technology-pioneers-2014
WTM - World Travel Market (2013) Global Trends 2013. Available from: http:// www.wtmlondon.com/files/wtm_global_trends_2013.pdf
Yahoo (2013) Media Senses: Redefining the tablet experience. Restricted a c c e s s , b a c k g ro u n d i n f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e f ro m : http:// uk.advertising.yahoo.com/blogs/ukadvertising/media-senses--redefining- the-tablet-experience-154924503.html
YouGov (2014) Tablet Track. Available from: http://research.yougov.co.uk/ services/tablet-track/
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Industry Trends Report