When you sit down with your travel or tourism business’ marketing team to review your annual online marketing strategy, do you wonder what and where others in your industry are spending?
Two recent articles posted on eMarketer.com (Travel Dives Deep into Digital Advertising, Oct. 2012 and Mobile Ad Spending Still Lags in Canada, May 2013) provide some facts and figures you just might want to review with your team.
These articles (and the reports they summarize) show that while “travel advertisers will dedicate $4.7 billion to digital [advertising] in 2016, nearly double the $2.4 billion they spent in 2011”, the travel industry (like the rest of Canada) is still spending less on mobile.
The travel industry holds an exciting 8.5% share of the overall US digital ad spending (following only media and entertainment) which is up 1.5% since 2013 and projected to rise until 2014/2015 “when it will level off as the market shows its first signs of maturity” (emarketer.com).
Why does this matter to your travel business?
Well, it demonstrates the industry’s “dedication to digital” and is a good indication as to where your competitors will be spending a good-sized chunk of their advertising budgets. Part of your strategic planning should include considering whether or not your business should stake its claim there too.
And what about mobile?
Interestingly, while “smartphone and tablet penetration are rising fast in Canada” (a whopping “47% of internet users in Canada reported using a smartphone” and “tablet usage… more than doubled to 21% of internet users in January 2013”), we’re still spending far less than other economies.
Note: This won’t last.
As per the article, “spending is ramping up, with projections of large annual growth rates through 2017. In 2013, eMarketer projects, spending will grow by 88.6%, reaching CA$251.5 million ($251.5 million)” (emarketer.com).
Insider Insights:
So if we know smartphone and tablet usage is up here in Canada, and we know that Canadian businesses are still not spending as much as other similar economies (that is, “despite the country’s increasing mobile ad investment, Canada’s spending rate of US$20 per mobile internet user in 2013 is just 40% that of the US and the UK” (emarketer.com), doesn’t that imply that it’s a great time to get in on the ground floor and add a solid mobile ad strategy to your internet advertising activities right now?
These stats can seem overwhelming, but both articles and their insights highlight the importance of staying on top of digital media trends as they relate to our ever-changing (and growing!) travel and tourism industry. And we’re here to help you make sense of it all!
Contact Stir Tourism’s team of experienced travel and tourism internet marketing experts today.
We work with businesses in travel, tourism, and hospitality around the globe, planning and implementing world-class online marketing campaigns (that include both digital and mobile advertising). We’ll work with you to create a campaign that will build brand buzz online and – most importantly – increase leads and sales!
And don’t forget to sign-up for our free Travel & Tourism Internet Marketing 101 eBook here for regular insights into online marketing for your business.
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— Stir Solutions (@stirsolutions) August 9, 2013