The travel industry is gearing up for another boom season.
After years of pandemic disruptions and the increasing difficulties of the industry’s return, demand has returned to previous levels and 2024 promises to be a great year.
But consumer priorities and preferences have changed. As a result, hospitality and travel organizations have had to ensure that the right staff and skills are available to meet these expectations – and sometimes endure the wrath of customers.
Meanwhile, unpredictable weather and climate patterns are changing travel safety and behaviors, and of course, just like any other industry, AI is changing the game, both internally and externally.
We spoke to communicators from the sky, sea and land to see how they are planning the next travel season, as well as their predictions for the future.
Trend 1: In an age of booming travel, clarity and talent should be top priorities.
The most immediate trend: It’s going to be an incredible travel season in 2024.
Chris Chiames, director of communications for Carnival Cruise Lines, revealed that 2023 was the cruise line’s most successful year and 2024 is expected to surpass it. “The current very strong demand for travel in the summer of 2024 reflects consumer preferences to spend increasingly more on experiences, and that extended families and groups of friends are using travel to spend quality time with people who are important to them. them,” he said.
Similarly, Veronica Cintron, vice president of communications at Tampa International Airport, said this year’s spring break was the busiest in the airport’s history, with nine of the 10 busiest days ever at the airport in March. and April 2024. For communicators in the air travel space, this means communicating clearly around crowds and wait times so that customer expectations are aligned with the experience.
“Having the right staffing levels, especially during these busy periods, and proper training helps ensure we can run a smooth operation that prioritizes customer needs,” she said. The airport has had success holding airport-wide job fairs to help potential talent understand the full range of roles. This includes not just airport employees, but the more than 10,000 employees at airlines, the TSA, car rental companies and more.
Trend #2: Opt for low-cost options to meet the needs of budget-conscious travelers.
But the motivation to spend more on travel doesn’t mean everyone has the budget for it.
The city of Santa Monica, California, has two new luxury hotels opening this season. Lauren Salisbury, senior director of communications for Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, said her organization and the city as a whole are heavily focused on happenings and events, including Pride festivals and its annual Pier 360 Beach Festival, which aims to bring families to its beach. and iconic pier.
The organization is exploring the many reasons people travel to Santa Monica, while adapting its consumer-focused messaging to appeal to consumers who might not typically associate it with low-cost travel.
“As concerns about inflation continue, consumers are increasingly looking to save while they travel,” said Salisbury. To meet this demand, their team has updated their website and marketing materials and is investing in communications that emphasize their free activities and events, as well as ways to make a trip to the city fit into the budget of cash-strapped families.
For Carnival, this means investing in aspects such as options and all-inclusive packages. “While consumer spending on travel is still very strong, people still want value for their money,” said Chiames.
Trend #3: Get personal.
Another way communicators can encourage travel for those on a budget is to make sure consumers know there are vacation options and experiences for everyone, and that means helping people see themselves in those places and removing barriers to entry.
Chiames said Carnival’s three priorities for marketing and external communications express the ways in which travel can be personalized, experiential and multigenerational. “This is ingrained in the way we promote cruises and talk about the Carnival experience – there is something for everyone and multiple ways to have fun, however you define it.”
Influencers – micro- and nano-influencers in particular – have continued to be strong partners for travel organizations in personalizing experiences for potential customers because they are trusted by their niche followers and provide honest, experience-based accounts of different destinations and services. . According to research from Morning Consult, more than half of Millennials and Gen Z use social media to inform their travel decisions, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.
Trend #4: To turn employees into ambassadors, connect their work with purpose.
Many organizations benefit from empowering employees not only to deliver customer experiences, but also to serve as ambassadors for the benefit of both travelers and potential talent.
This means recognition both internally and externally, clear messaging training and policies, and trust to ensure all parties are on the same page.
“You have to give team members a reason to feel connected and passionate about where they work and what they do – a purpose,” said Cintron, noting that Tampa has been named America’s favorite airport by JD Power for two years in a row, and she says it is because of the commitment to customer service that her employees deliver.
The airport infuses a sense of purpose into its employee experience by regularly revisiting its benefits packages, offering learning and development opportunities and finding ways to help employees connect and celebrate. Its newly launched Cultural Intelligence Initiative – affectionately dubbed internally the “People Master Plan” – was developed by employees across the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) to drive innovation and improve the employee experience.
Trend #5: Investing in AI talent and education will prepare travel organizations for the future.
It may come as no surprise that AI is a topic of great excitement and development for travel organizations and their communications teams.
While Chiames said that “AI-generated fake video content will make all of our lives more complicated when it comes to issues and reputation management,” it is also a means of creating better customer service tools and improving internal customer experiences. employees.
Santa Monica Travel and Tourism sees this as an advantage: “AI is quickly proving to be a great tool for helping travelers find amazing things to do and plan vacations,” she said, although she noted that the organization is still in a “exploratory phase”. .”
To unlock this potential on a practical level while protecting the company and its employees, travel communications teams will need to invest in upskilling and talent acquisition, focusing on the next phase of AI generative.
Jess Zafarris is chief content officer at Ragan and PR Daily and an editor, journalist, audience director, game and puzzle creator, and content creator.
