Study: price remains critical for travel plans
Some things never change: a new study shows that consumers are still primarily influenced by price when deciding on a holiday or vacation trip.
“However, they also have additional information needs that change at each stage of the booking cycle,” says the study carried out for Frommer’s Unlimited, the business-to-business division of Frommer’s.
At the planning stage, images of the accommodation and a written description of the destination proved to be the most important factor in the process, closely followed by information on activities, events and maps.
At the time of booking, three pieces of information ranked as almost equally crucial, with airport and transportation information on a par with pictures of the room and a guide to the city or resort.
During post-booking, a map of the destination was ranked as the most essential item of online content, with travel, weather, events and activities information and local dining also ranked as important.
“Half of all travelers have struggled with poorly constructed, confusing and inaccurate websites that don’t provide them with sufficient images and information,” the study said.
The survey also showed that consumers were frustrated by out-of-date information, hidden fees and misleading descriptions, as well as technology-related issues such as slow downloads and broken links.
“Every statistic we have seen this year shows that people are considering their travel plans for longer and booking closer to departure than ever before. So we feel this research will really help travel providers to understand exactly what content and tools they need to use to influence consumers in a very fast-changing market,” said Joel Brandon Bravo general manager of Frommer’s Unlimited.
See the full survey and commentary at www.frommers.biz/contentsurvey.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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