With searching and purchasing airline tickets, hotels and package holidays online now firmly entrenched in the mind-set of the modern consumer, marketers are constantly adjusting their advertising strategies to stay competitive and capture more of the market share.



Holidays are being revolutionised by social media, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. HolidayHypermarket, which is part of the TUI travel group and a leading online travel retailer, revealed that more than 100,000 visitors accessed their site from mobile phones in the month of April – with a high probability that users had just seen images of their friends on holiday via social networks like as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest – even influencing variables like choice of destination or resort.

A recent TripAdvisor survey indicated that 38 per cent of travellers post status updates to social networking sites to keep their friends and families back home informed of their travels while they are away. 

But it isn’t just social media that travel firms are game-planning for – the London 2012 Olympic Games are another major factor for holidaymakers to consider.

According to a study carried out by British Airways, more than 40 per cent of those surveyed have already organised their holiday specifically around the London 2012 Games, in order to stay at home and support the athletes. The research also suggests that one in ten Britons have even cancelled their holiday, with 10 per cent not booking a break this year in order to get behind the team. BA went to even greater lengths, campaigning "Don't Fly, Support Team GB".           

As an official Team GB sponsor, this almost seems strangely perverse advertising - to encourage customers away from their product in exchange for a collective branding exercise.

With unique summer 2012 events such as the Queen’s Jubilee, Euro 2012 and then the London Olympics, holidaymakers and the travel industry as a whole are entering new territory. Those going on holiday are choosing unusual times and dates to avoid missing these global events, whilst the travel industry has to be more innovative and creative than ever before to capture people’s attention.

 
Expedia in particular are trying to come to terms with the mobile engagement shift that is currently revolutionising several industries, not just the online travel market. But with flight boarding passes now available to download straight to a smartphone and apps for booking hotels, the marketing environment is altering their targets to become truly mobile.

Andrew Warner, senior marketing director of online travel brand Expedia, says: “Our tests suggest that people read mobile and respond to emails on mobile devices more often in ‘downtime’ during the week - between 7am and 9am and during commuting hours of the evening. This has opened our minds to some interesting tests we could run during these periods, when perhaps people are not being overwhelmed by work emails.”