Tourism is one of the largest industries across the world. In 2019, the American travel and tourism industry alone contributed around 580.7 billion US dollars to the global economy. But with the advent of the pandemic, the sector witnessed a significant downturn.
Now, as the economy opens up, and with people accepting the new normal, it could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
As marketers plan for the upcoming strategy, they should never forget the email campaign is the best to drive growth.
As stated by David Newman, a thought-leader in specialized marketing:
“Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches- at scale.”
This channel is not only popular in the USA but also in Europe. With the government enforcing the GDPR regulation that safeguards the private information of European citizens, email marketers need to be more professional while interacting with their customers.
So, explore the best and effective travel email marketing strategies for your organization. We have some of them to incorporate in your process:
Table of Contents
- Top Travel and Tourism Email Marketing Tactics to Drive Growth
- 1. Designing creative emails
- 2. Building an email list
- 3. Including mesmerizing videos
- 4. Email automation
- 5. Personalizing your email campaign
- 6. Asking about the experience
- 7. Enticing user-generated content
- 8. Demographic segmentation
- 9. Conveying all the information in one go
- 10. Thank You email
- 11. Subject lines
- 12. Newsletters to drive campaign
- Conclusion
Top Travel and Tourism Email Marketing Tactics to Drive Growth
1. Designing creative emails
Look for the creative ideas while designing travel-marketing emails.
An eye-catching visual is all that makes the difference. Travel Hacker emails show the best way, where the marketer could collage all the popular destinations in one email. Along with that, they segregated it on, “wallet friendly,” “top beach,” and “top new year destinations.”
This would meet the needs of all travelers.
2. Building an email list
A right email list could make things easy for you. If you are rebooting your process after a long break, it is time to build a fresh email list. Adopt various techniques such as including a pop-up in the website, creating more landing pages, including the right CTA, among others.
Pop-ups: Let’s understand the fact, visitors have less attention span. So, when they visit your website, you should have the pop-up grabbing their attention. In this, you can ask the email address, name, and other necessary details. The tactic could pull the prospects really interested in your service.
CTA: A personalized CTA on every landing page is an efficient tactic to pull the relevant prospects visiting your website. For example, if a unique visitor checks your blog on “selecting the best mailing service provider,” then you should grab their relevant information at the earliest. This would be the addition of fresh information into your email list.
3. Including mesmerizing videos
66% of travelers watch videos before finalizing the destination.
The statistics should not surprise you!!!
Why shouldn’t they do so?
After all, the leisure travelers look for unique and memorable experiences. Be it the serene beauty, or the authentic scrumptious food of a faraway place. They want the instant escape to rejuvenate themselves. So, as a marketer, if you add the videos that grab their attention, it would be a win-win scenario for both of you.
Embedding a video in the emails is all made easy with the email marketing software like SendX. The step-by-step guide helps users to send the best videos to the recipients.
4. Email automation
Automated emails could make the task easier for marketers in the travel and tourism industry. When you send an instant email to the recipient, they get the good vibes. They start trusting your service and eagerly wait for your upcoming email.
For example, after the customer books for the destination, you can send a follow-up email just before 14 days, 7 days, and so on. You can also share useful information such as the best attractions and the hotels in the town. This could bring the customer closer to your brand.
You can try all the innovative tactics while designing the email and later automate it.
5. Personalizing your email campaign
Personalization would never lose its sheen. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think like a traveler.
Would you read the email where the destination does not match your preferences?
For example, you hate places where the weather is hot and humid while the marketer sends tropical countries destinations. It indeed would not work!!!
Every email marketer in the travel industry should find their customer’s preferences before reaching out to them; otherwise, it would be an utter failure.
6. Asking about the experience
As competition becomes stiff, organizations should stand out by asking their customer’s experience via email. The process significantly improves the relationship with the customer.
Airbnb, the American vacation rental marketplace, offers a unique tourism experience, and the company found with this tactic, they could understand their customer better.
Customers were free to share their experiences. It was observed, the brand received many positive feedbacks.
7. Enticing user-generated content
User-generated content is gradually becoming the lifeline of marketing as it increases the open rate. Customers are more willing to see the experience of their fellow travelers. The primary reason being they value authentic content more than the promotional ones by brands.
Every marketer should look into this and develop content aligned with the interest of the recipients.
8. Demographic segmentation
Segmenting the audience with respect to preferences, interests are very common in an email strategy, but have you tried segmenting based on the demographics?
Yes, segmenting the audience based on demographics really works.
Demographics that include the age-group should also be considered while sending emails, as youngsters prefer mostly adventurous places, compared to elderly people.
9. Conveying all the information in one go
Most of the recipients do not have the time to read the entire email. In such cases, if you collect and collage all the information in a single design, then they would find it exciting.
This example shows how to include all the relevant elements in the email content. You can find the information related to accommodations, destinations, dining, activities, all in a single email.
Don’t you think it would motivate the customer to take the right action?
10. Thank You email
Thanking your customers implies you value them significantly.
Every customer loves that feeling. They are automatically drawn towards your brand.
So, never forget to thank them.
The example here shows the travel company greeting the customer and thanking them with the line,” we are happy to have you part….”
11. Subject lines
A great subject line is the hero of the entire email content. It flashes the essence of the entire email in one go. Some of the best subject lines in the email could be “50% off in the castaways from…,” “stylish stays at your favorite locations,” “pick an island, any island.”
Displaying discounts in the subject line would attract all the customers. Also, the statements such as “stylish stays…” convey that the customer could have a comfortable stay at their favorite location. Secret Escapes, Thomas Cook, and the Expedia team show how to attract customers with some of the best subject lines.
12. Newsletters to drive campaign
Sending newsletters at regular intervals could boost your email marketing campaign. These email campaigns nurture the customer and keep your brand on top of their minds.
You can design the best newsletter by including the refreshing pictures of the countryside or cities.
The Crystal Cruise, the American cruise line, designed the newsletter for its luxury travel customers. It showcased travelers enjoying the services and having a good time, far away from the busy city life.
Besides that, the brand included the content that conveys more information about their service.
Conclusion
Email marketing strategy in travel and tourism companies needs a major facelift. As customers increasingly look for the secure destinations, marketers should also look into this aspect. They have to develop emails that showcase the destination as adventurous but also safe to explore.
The tactics in the blog are some of the effective ones, and you could implement the same to witness exponential results, just by using an email marketing software like SendX (for a free 14-day trial, no credit card required)!!!
