What Does the Term Digital Tourism Mean?
Digital tourism fuses cutting-edge technology with travel, revolutionising how both tourists and industry insiders view the journey.
The term digital tourism also refers to how you use digital tools. Today, digitalisation is almost mandatory, not just as an optional choice but also to enhance the guest experience and make a lasting positive impression on those staying at your establishment, in addition to increasing guest numbers.
Digital tourism allows the travel experience to start when a guest purchases a ticket, visits the airline’s website, or checks out your accommodation’s Instagram page, and to end when they return home and write a review of their stay. This is why it is crucial to provide a high-quality experience throughout, and fortunately, the necessary technologies are available to you.
The Booking Journey
In the internet age, your potential guests might first encounter your hotel through a social media post or follow one of your profiles. If your content is convincing enough, you could have an advantage when they start planning their next trip. They might come across you while searching for accommodations, check out reviews, visit your website, compare prices on various OTAs, and choose the offer that appeals to them most.
During their stay, they will have dozens of impressions, hopefully positive ones, and will leave with a pleasant experience. Finally, they’ll write a review on the OTA, Google, or your social media page. By nature, you’ll mostly encounter two types of feedback—those who received excellent service and those who were dissatisfied with their stay. These reviews can significantly influence your future booking numbers.
Comments indicating satisfaction build trust with potential guests, while negative reviews might prevent them from booking. However, deleting or hiding unfavourable comments is not the solution. Instead, you need to learn how to manage them.
Digitalisation Is Not Just About Online Room Booking!
The digital component is not only involved in booking or paying for travel and accommodations. The real opportunity lies in the fact that digitalisation touches every phase of the travel experience, following the guest step by step throughout their journey. The correct selection of even the smallest details provides the extra value that makes guests want to return.
Artificial intelligence can also be used to turn customer data into valuable information for hospitality providers. Accommodations can maintain dynamic profiles of their guests, which can help create personalised loyalty programs, offer customised pricing, and provide rewards based on previous purchases and experiences.
A well-thought-out online marketing strategy allows you to rank among the top search results when someone is looking for accommodations in your area online, while quality online content and favourable reviews help ensure that guests choose you.
The Importance of a Digital Strategy for Hotels
Digital transformation can help you achieve several goals:
- Increase revenue and website traffic,
- Reduce operating costs,
- Improve the quality of products and services,
- And enhance the guest experience.
Call or write to us to ensure you don’t miss out on any guests! We can even personally showcase our services and the potential opportunities within your hotel or restaurant!
