The thing is countries are not just countries anymore, they’re a brand and so they must be sold like one. It’s a matter of choosing a strength and betting on it. If a country is sunny, sell the sun, if it is green, sell the adventure and the breathtaking nature, and this is exactly what has been done so far, the difference lies in the way it has be sold. It’s mandatory to have a strong presence on social media, to get noticed, to have a site – and a quick one, otherwise it’s a deal breaker – and an app.
The reasons why people travel haven’t changed from generation to generation, but the way they travel has changed dramatically. Travel agencies are long gone and now people are in charge of their own trip planning, but this doesn’t mean they can’t be persuaded into changing their minds.
When it comes to traveling the process must be divided. First people choose their destination and in order to reach a verdict they see images on Google, they see videos on YouTube, they expect the web to give them a real idea about the place, they look for inspiration. That’s why viral promotional videos are a win.
Once the destination is chosen it’s time to book the flight and the hotel. In this phase people search for the best prizes, for the hotels near the city center and, again, images. If you want to target the millennial audience bet on visual content. They like cool places, because they’re eager to post pictures on Instagram. It may sound bizarre, but millennials have a true sense of aesthetics and somehow it improves their experience and that just can’t be ignored.
All of this is not a matter of shifting the way people do business just to please the Millennials, it’s a way to please every other generation and attract the highest number of visitors. Millennials are trend setters, which means they also set travel trends, and the other generations are following them. They post pictures, they have their own blogs, they tweet and write reviews, so it becomes almost impossible not to follow their experiences. So please a Millennial and you’ll be pleasing a baby boomer.