3 Travel Marketing Tips to Help Recession-Proof Your Business
Let’s face it: whenever a recession hits, the tourism industry feels it. Consumers cut down on spending and forego luxuries like dining out and traveling, making it difficult for hospitality brands to stay afloat. Don’t fear — our travel marketing team has compiled tips to help you ride out a potential recession wave and come out on top.
Hotels, spas, cruises, restaurants and other travel-related businesses can still meet sales goals amid a recession. Pivoting your messaging and offerings can make all the difference when it comes to your business’s survival.
Check out these travel marketing tips help you rethink your brand messaging and stay ahead of a potential recession in the year ahead:
1. Focus on Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are seeking experiences they can’t find anywhere else. In their marketing messaging, travel brands can convey how they facilitate once-in-a-lifetime experiences — like joining a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans or kayaking in one of Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent bays.
While consumers are more concerned about their finances during a recession, they also realize they can’t put a price on crossing travel-related items off their bucket lists. Emphasizing the importance of living in the present speaks to consumers’ emotions, especially when travel restrictions were in place not too long ago due to the pandemic.
2. Develop Staycation Packages
Airfare costs have skyrocketed, pricing many consumers out of vacationing in faraway destinations. Hotels, spas and other travel brands can appeal to locals by creating staycation packages that invite consumers to vacation in their own cities. If a hotel has a spa, for example, they might consider offering a spa day package that includes multiple treatments (massages, facials, manicures, etc.) and lunch at their restaurant at a special price.
To really drive home this message in marketing campaigns, hotels can list average airfare prices to popular destinations, and next to each price, include a staycation package similar in price so locals can see just how much more bang they can get for their buck by choosing a staycation instead of flying somewhere else. Every dollar saved counts, especially when consumers are watching their wallets.
Travel Marketing Inspiration: The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has fabulous programs that encourage locals to book hotel stays and restaurant reservations: Miami Hotel Months and Miami Spice, respectively. Check out these programs to help you develop enticing programs of your own!
3. Offer Discounts to Locals
Cruises, hotels and spas may consider offering a small discount to locals to encourage their patronage. In their marketing messaging, travel brands can show locals just how much they appreciate them by telling them they can receive a discount if they book a cruise, room or service by a specified date.
Brands can incorporate content and imagery inspired by their locations to drive home the local angle to connect with target audiences on a deeper level. Chances are, locals will thank these travel brands for these offers as they also support their local economies.
Start Implementing These Travel Marketing Tips to Prepare Your Business for a Potential Recession
We’ve been hearing about a potential recession for years now, so it’s a good idea to put a plan in place in the event a recession does occur. Use these travel marketing tips as a starting point to rethink your offerings and brand messaging. By staying ahead of the game, you’re that much closer to riding out a recession wave and coming out on top.
Have questions, or need help with your travel marketing efforts? Contact us today for a free consultation.
