The Travel Service Decision Funnel | ypartnership Insight
Consumers today are autonomous – both by choice and necessity. They have become more insular with a closely-knit sphere of influence, and this is affecting how they both arrive at and make purchase decisions. Family and friends are essentially tied with traditional media as the places they find ideas and inspiration for making travel plans. Family and friends "win" as a trusted source for insights and advice.
The key sources of information for each phase in the travel decision-making "funnel" include:
- Ideas and inspiration: The American traveler casts a wide net when seeking ideas and inspiration for travel-related decisions, looking to family, friends, television, and a variety of printed media including magazines, guide books and brochures.
- Advice and insight: The range of sources narrows. The personal recommendations of family and friends still top the list, and the Internet grows in influence. The impact of brochures and television drops, revealing their role primarily as awareness-building, not advice-providing.
- Pricing and comparing: The Internet moves to the forefront, as travelers explore a variety of online resources. Online travel agencies such as Expedia or Travelocity are utilized by more than half of travelers for gathering pricing information (56 percent) and impartial comparisons (51 percent). Travel service suppliers' websites (such as airline or hotel pages) are also sources for pricing (51 percent), but less so for comparisons (35 percent). Roughly one-third turn to online search engines (37 percent) or multi-brand online platforms like Amazon and Hotels.com (35 percent) and destination websites (34 percent) for pricing. However, only one out of four travelers uses destination websites for comparison shopping.
- Purchasing: When it comes to purchasing the best deal, the funnel narrows to two main options – booking through an online travel agency (41 percent) or directly via a travel supplier's own web site (38 percent). Less than one in four travelers uses traditional travel agents (23 percent) when booking, followed distantly by multi-brand websites (18 percent) and destination websites (17 percent).
Full response for items noted:
(1) Online Travel Agency such as Expedia.com, Travelocity, com, etc.;
(2) Travel service suppliers' own websites (i.e., airlines, hotels, etc.);
(3) Internet search websites such as Google, Bing.com, etc.;
(4) Multi-brand website (i.e., Amazon, Bluefly, Hotels.com)
For further information on the sources of insight that influence each stage of the travel decision-making funnel as revealed in the Ypartnership/Harrison Group 2011 Portrait of American TravelersTM please visit the Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.
About MMGY Global
MMGY Global is the world's leading integrated marketing firm specializing in the travel, hospitality and lifestyle industries. With operating brands across the world, the award-winning organization maintains a global communications practice in all marketing channels, serving many of the world's premier travel and tourism brands. As a company dedicated to the travel industry, MMGY Global strives to create a connected, inclusive and peaceful world by promoting travel as a cultural bridge of understanding. For more information, visit mmgyglobal.com.