BOOMING BLOGS
The influence of the Internet on travel planning continues to grow. According to our 2007 National Leisure Travel MONITORSM, two thirds of active travelers now go exclusively to the Internet to obtain information when planning vacations, and 4 out of 10 now report "regularly reading" visitor critiques and opinions online (more than the 3 out of 10 who report reading critiques and reviews authored by professional journalists!). Most of these user-generated opinions may be found in the growing population of web logs (blogs).
The role of blogs in the evaluation of travel suppliers is one of increasing interest to most travel marketers. Of particular interest is the influence of user-generated reviews on the selection of specific hotels, resorts, attractions and other travel suppliers. Much of this interest is due to the growing incidence of travel-related blog visitation: one quarter of leisure travelers who have used the Internet to obtain information on travel experiences and/or suppliers have visited a "blog" to seek and/or review information about a specific destination or travel supplier during the past twelve months. Nearly one third of those who have consulted a blog for travel planning purposes state they have visited Tripadvisor.com. Other popular sites include Traveller.org, Ysearchblog.com (Yahoo! search blog), Myspace.com, Virtualtourist.com and Lonelyplanet.com as revealed in table appearing below.
| |
2007
% |
| Have Visited To Seek And/Or Review Information About A Destination Or Travel Service Supplier During Past 12 Months* |
25 |
| |
|
| Have Visited:** |
|
| TripAdvisor.com |
32 |
| Traveller.org |
19 |
| Ysearchblog.com (Yahoo! Search Blog) |
17 |
| MySpace.com |
15 |
| VirtualTourist.com |
13 |
| LonelyPlanet.com |
11 |
| Travelblog.org |
8 |
| LiveJournal.com |
3 |
| Xanga.com |
2 |
| Other |
23 |
| *Among those who have used the Internet to obtain travel information for one or more leisure trips during the last 12 months. |
| **Among those who have visited a blog during the last 12 months. Does not equal 100% due to multiple responses. |
These numbers represent a significant increase over the levels recorded just two years ago, thereby underscoring the growing interest consumers have in seeking what they believe to be more "objective" assessments of travel experiences from individuals who can comment with a high degree of ascribed credibility. This type of "conversational marketing" represents a new discipline in marketing science, and the implication for travel service marketers is clear: popular blog content should be monitored regularly to remain abreast of the buzz circulating online and evaluate the potential influence user-generated content may have on future customer behavior.
For more information on the results of the Ypartnership/Yankelovich Inc. National Leisure Travel MONITORSM click here. |
