A recent study by Phocuswright has shed light on the growing influence of social media on travel decisions, particularly among younger travelers. According to the report, titled "F is for Funnel: Social Media and the Path to Travel Purchase", two out of three travelers under the age of 55 indicated that social media content played a pivotal role in their decision-making for a recent trip. The study also highlighted that frequent travelers are more likely to use digital tools, including social media, when planning their trips

Some travel providers are already adapting to this shift in how social media is influencing consumers. Earlier this year, GetYourGuide, a leading platform for booking tours and activities, announced the hiring of a full-time content creator specifically for TikTok. Similarly, Klook, a Singapore-based travel activities platform, recently partnered with TikTok to integrate booking capabilities directly into the app, aiming to streamline the user journey from inspiration to sale.

However, there is still skepticism within the industry about the effectiveness of social media in driving actual bookings. Christian Watts, founder of Magpie Travel, expressed doubts on LinkedIn about whether travel companies can successfully tie together the various levels of the sales funnel to achieve conversions. Other suppliers believe the challenge lies in educating themselves on how to effectively use video marketing to drive bookings.

"Video marketing follows the same dreaming, planning, booking, experiencing, and sharing phases of travel." said travel and tourism advisor Peter Syme. "Video needs to be produced for all these phases except experiencing. AI will mean that video has to be produced differently depending on the desired outcome as AI will scrape the video and create itineraries and things to-do lists. Watch for video reviews exploding in the sharing phase." Syme also suggested that Google is likely to integrate booking capability into its owned platform YouTube, which Klook is already working with.

Full story: Social Media Influences More of These Travelers Than Others | TravelPulse