Summer is fast approaching in the northern hemisphere and for many, so is a well-earned holiday. But where to go? Today’s traveller is spoilt for choice. New air and ground connections and fast developing tourism infrastructure is bringing countless destinations closer to the traveller. For Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) in the travel inspiration business, the competition for visitors is greater than ever.
DMOs have in the past been bound by data such as visitor numbers only after the year is complete, as reported in Amadeus’ recent paper ‘Smart decisions for smart destinations using big data’. But this has meant DMOs have been less able to take proactive decisions to attract travellers. To do so, DMOs need to know what potential visitors want, which rival destinations they compete with and how to get ahead of travel trends.
The latest product suite from Amadeus’ Travel Intelligence division, Destination Insight, aims to put DMOs in the know with analysis of up-to-date travel data, removing some of the guesswork often involved when making key marketing decisions. By analysing billions of up-to-date global air travel transactions in near real time, the suite can reveal hidden opportunities for DMOs to boost their destinations’ growth. DMOs can for example run relevant analyses of traveller searches and bookings to measure, adjust and build more effective campaigns. They can also view bookings to their destination versus competitors to understand who they are most closely competing with and quickly develop strategies in response to market developments.
Steven Valcke, Business Intelligence, Marketing at Visit Flanders said: “It’s becoming increasingly necessary for DMOs to be flexible in their strategies. Thanks to Amadeus Destination Insight, the way we use data has changed significantly. We can monitor, on a weekly basis, the impact of factors such as currency changes on traveller demand in our target source markets and adjust campaigns in response. Having this kind of detailed data allows us to be more responsive to developments.”
Destination Insight is flexible and scalable, and can be used by both emerging and mature DMOs, whether they are monitoring travel at city, country or region levels. Destination Insight has two modules, Top View, and Navigator, which can be used together to maximise actionable insights and equip DMOs to compete for traveller attention in the right place at the right time.
Top View grants DMOs a comprehensive picture of their performance with the ability to benchmark versus other destinations. They can easily gain insights into searches and bookings, when travellers are going there or how long they’re staying for. The module can also help pinpoint origin markets in need of attention to grow visitors. Navigator provides travel agency booking data that can improve DMOs’ response to external factors such as currency fluctuations or weather. For instance, discovering that an unusually warm period contributed to an unexpected spike in bookings could aid in managing future travel demand.
Pascal Clement, Head of Travel Intelligence, Amadeus, added: “One of the most game-changing aspects of big data is that it enables organisations to look into the future and anticipate the needs of customers. Destinations that can understand today’s travellers through data, and respond with targeted, effective campaigns will be well-placed to capitalise on changing traveller preferences”.
