A majority (56%) of travel marketers responding to a survey said they are booking directly because of clearer cancelation or refund policies, coupled with their frustrating experiences navigating online travel agency (OTA) reimbursements for cancelled trips.

Sojern, a leading provider of digital travel marketing solutions, has published a new report titled, “How Travel Marketers Are Activating Digital Advertising in 2021.” Worldwide Business Research (WBR) Insights surveyed senior decision makers in Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and Middle East and Africa who own the marketing budget for a hotel, attraction or tourism brand.

These 300 travel marketers shared key challenges faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led them to test new solutions, innovate with new messaging, and generally do more with less.

“The last 18-months have been quite the rollercoaster for travel marketers navigating the global pandemic, but one thing is clear: travel marketers are more focused than ever before on effectively and efficiently spending precious resources to drive a business return,” said Noreen Henry, Chief Revenue Officer, Sojern.

“In this environment you need to be agile, data-driven and optimistic—travel is coming back and it’s a great time to take part in that recovery.”

Key findings the survey:

• 56 percent agree that the current environment is ideal for direct response campaigns.

• 88 percent have increased or kept their digital advertising strategy budget the same since Covid-19.

• 87 percent tightened spending on brand campaigns and increased spending on performance campaigns in 2020.

• 84 percent rated machine learning and artificial intelligence as top priority for personalisation across channels.

Consumers are eager to travel, and with the increasingly widespread administration of Covid-19 vaccines, the hard hit travel, media, and entertainment industries are all expected to rebound in 2021.

The upward swing is already under way, with a surge in domestic and regional tourism, as newly vaccinated consumers exercise the option to travel within their own borders. – TradeArabia News Service

Copyright 2021 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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