SOCIAL media will evolve into the key revenue generating channel for the global travel industry over the next five years at the expense of pay-per-click advertising, it was revealed in the World Travel Market 2011 Industry Report.
More than 1,000 buyers from WTM’s Meridian Club and exhibitors took part in the survey, with 80 per cent saying their businesses use social media.
By 2016 half of the travel industry will be using social media as a way of generating revenue and bookings. Currently more than one fifth (22 per cent) use social media as revenue generating tool with a further 27 per cent planning to do so over the next five years.
Interestingly, half of the travel industry using social media does not invest in any PPC advertising on search engines, while a further 20 per cent admit to reducing their spend on search engines such as Google and Yahoo! because of social media.
The findings shows a sea-change in the marketing spend of the travel and tourism industry. Since the internet became such a major booking channel in the late 1990s travel companies have been paying every increasing amounts of money to secure top position in the paid for listing of the search engines.
Looking ahead over the next five years, nearly half (47 per cent) the total sample said that social media would become more important than PPC, with 37 per cent saying that social media will grow but remain behind PPC in importance.
Only 15 per cent thought social media had in fact reached a tipping point will be less popular in 2016 than it is today.
When asked to rank five different marketing channels, social media came out top for today and for 2016, gaining strength during the timeframe. Currently, blogs/ consumer reviews are more important than mobile, although these will swap places and strengthen by 2016. Pay per click and video are fourth and fifth this year and will keep the same positions for 2016, with both categories becoming weaker.