I’m presently attending TBEX Europe 2023 (a convention for journey bloggers and content material creators) in Kalamata, Greece, and have simply been on the Luxurious Tourism Panel speaking about ‘Attracting the luxurious traveller’, an occasion chaired by Anton Diaz with fellow panellists Shouq AlShirazi and Christos Balogiannis. For reference for anybody attending (and certainly anybody who wasn’t there however is !), the next weblog submit covers among the matters we mentioned, and among the solutions I gave (and possibly even raises some factors that I didn’t get to make in our 50-minute panel!).
How do you attain luxurious travellers?
Earlier than answering this query, we have to recognise there are various various kinds of luxurious traveller and it’s not essentially a ‘one dimension matches all’ reply to the query. There are lots of completely different sides to luxurious journey. It’s subsequently vital to know who your target market is, what they’re desirous about, and what motivates them to journey.
However with that stated, after all, there may be the mainstream conventional media – the nationwide press and luxurious journey print magazines: Conde Nast Traveller, Journey + Leisure, and so forth, in addition to different area of interest print publications (eg. Yachting, Golf Journal) or extra excessive finish publications that you simply may not encounter a lot (eg. Elite Traveler which is typically obtainable on non-public jets).
While print protection is nice, it gained’t come as a shock to those who I favour on-line advertising and marketing, and most print publications these days embrace on-line media additionally. I feel you’ll be able to higher tailor your attain on-line, and get significantly better trackable worth. Your individual web site must be your first port of name with regards to reaching luxurious travellers however you’ll be able to solid the web wider via the assorted social media channels. I personally favour Fb and Twitter for my readers, however something that’s visible (and helps with that preliminary eye-catching ‘hook’) and reaches your goal market ought to serve you nicely in the event you make investments time in your viewers.
If your individual web site or social channels should not that nicely established, or if you wish to look past the attain of your individual viewers, then collaborations with area of interest influencers whose focus in on excessive finish journey (and whose viewers consists of luxurious travellers) may be helpful and allow you to increase your attain to new potential prospects.
Utilizing paid promoting channels, corresponding to Google AdWords, to focus on luxurious vacationers who’re trying to find high-end experiences may be rewarding. The entire sale worth of a luxurious vacation is invariably excessive so it’s value experimenting on this space to search out out what works for you.
Attending luxurious journey occasions also needs to not be missed. There are lots of of them and, while they don’t seem to be normally geared in direction of shoppers, they nonetheless present a fantastic alternative to community inside the business and construct long-lasting relationships, study new issues and maintain up to the mark with adjustments within the business.
Final however in no way least, phrase of mouth – probably essentially the most highly effective advertising and marketing software we now have at our disposal – shouldn’t be under-estimated. Luxurious travellers will usually depend on suggestions from family and friends, in addition to utilise on-line critiques to make journey choices, so it’s crucial within the luxurious journey business to surpass all expectations with a purpose to make sure you generate the proper outcomes. Encouraging happy shoppers to share their constructive experiences and testimonials on-line is sonething you may also do, but it surely must be performed with sensitivity.
What kind of media content material most appeals to luxurious travellers?
I might say it relies upon at what stage of the reserving journey they’re desirous about. If they’re simply on the lookout for inspiration, then the previous adage of ‘an image says a thousand phrases’ is one which springs to thoughts. And I’ve even heard folks declare that if an image says a thousand phrases, then a video says a million (primarily based, I feel, on a one minute video shot at 30 frames per second which, in concept, would imply 1.8 million phrases, if one image is one thousand!). However you get the purpose… visible content material is essential to inspiring folks. And with luxurious journey, the standard of this visible content material is actually, actually vital. That little snapshot or taster that you simply give folks wants to present an air of exclusivity if you’d like it to enchantment to luxurious travellers.
However while top quality pictures and quick movies are vital for that preliminary ‘kerb enchantment’ to seize the eye of luxurious travellers, I might argue that longer kind content material (eg. articles, weblog posts, longer movies and so forth) is a crucial step in direction of changing that preliminary curiosity right into a reserving.
Luxurious travellers will invariably need extra element upon getting whet their urge for food for a visit. This longer kind content material may be in a storytelling kind or a extra informational type, and it must be borne in thoughts that what appeals will once more differ from one luxurious traveller to a different. Some is perhaps desirous about wellbeing and spas, others in tradition, others in procuring, and so forth. Within the case of A Luxurious Journey Weblog, lodging (not simply lodges, but additionally excessive finish unique use properties), locations and meals all characteristic very strongly.
What do luxurious travellers search for in a vacation spot?
Luxurious vacationers are on the lookout for distinctive, unique and personalised journey experiences, however once more there may be variations from one luxurious traveller to a different. Take someplace like Marbella in Andalusia, as an example – it’s a spot the place celebrities and luxurious travellers not solely search exclusivity, however additionally they wish to be seen. It’s a kind of locations the place picture is every little thing and the place some – notably celebrities – will usually wish to indulge within the glamour and extravagance of all of it, completely happy to be seen within the metropolis’s key places. Distinction that with close by Sotogrande which is equally unique, if no more so, however the place privateness is paramount, and other people don’t wish to be seen. These are two very unique locations which might be very shut to at least one one other, that each enchantment to luxurious travellers, however every to a really completely different kind of excessive finish traveller.
Equally, the likes and dislikes of luxurious travellers will differ in different elements. While some may crave a busy and vibrant metropolis expertise, others may go for one thing that’s extra off the overwhelmed path, maybe a vacation spot wealthy in pure scenic magnificence that enables them to attach with nature and benefit from the outside.
Some issues that luxurious travellers search will likely be widespread to all, nevertheless – issues like luxurious lodging and facilities, excessive finish gastronomy, security and safety, and – maybe most of all – impeccable service.
What do luxurious travellers wish to keep away from?
It goes with out saying that luxurious travellers will wish to keep away from poor service and high quality. They wish to keep away from something that falls in need of their expectations, corresponding to below-par lodging, meals or service. In addition they wish to keep away from pointless inconvenience and trouble. Lengthy queues, delays and poor service should not the area of the luxurious traveller. Luxurious travellers will invariably be completely happy to pay a premium to make sure a greater total expertise.
Briefly, luxurious travellers will wish to keep away from what everybody else is doing. Meaning they have a tendency to keep away from crowds and mass tourism, in favour of a extra tailor-made and personalised expertise. In addition they are likely to keep away from locations that is perhaps thought-about unsafe, whether or not that be because of political instability, excessive crime charges or another purpose.
And while luxurious travellers typically don’t thoughts paying extra for a greater expertise, most are savvy sufficient to grasp when they’re being unreasonably overcharged. The savvy luxurious traveller nonetheless desires to keep away from unreasonable prices and expects transparency and worth for his or her cash.
What has been the simplest content material you will have seen to draw luxurious travellers?
I feel it’s vital to emphasize that step one in attracting luxurious travellers is to get your product proper. Whether or not you’re a luxurious resort, a luxurious tour operator, a non-public jet dealer or a luxurious yacht constitution firm, a very powerful factor you are able to do is try to realize the best potential requirements and ranges of service. For those who get this proper, then every little thing else tends to fall into place far more simply. With the proper product, all of the arduous work is completed for you – the constructive critiques are likely to comply with as long as requirements are maintained.
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I do know this from first-hand expertise – we personal a separate small enterprise that specialises in trip rental lodging the place we reside. For the time being, it is only one luxurious riverside house, however we don’t take what we provide without any consideration. We’re all the time striving to supply our friends the very best expertise. Evaluations are vital to us – we’re presently 5/5 on each Airbnb and Tripadvisor, and 9.8 out of 10 on Reserving (OK, in order that imperfection niggles slightly!), however we by no means take this without any consideration. This yr we re-furbished the property to make sure we proceed to supply the best requirements – I imagine you’ll be able to by no means be complacent about your product and should all the time try for the perfect to fulfill the luxurious traveller.
Distinction this with a excessive finish restaurant on the Cote d’Azur that I used to be just lately requested to assessment. While it had lots of 5-star critiques, it additionally had lots of 1-star critiques and, after I delved deeper, widespread issues gave the impression to be one or two overly-aggressive employees, an inconsistent and poorly-communicated costume code (leading to folks being turned away on the door) and diners not being given adequate time to get pleasure from their meals, with the restaurant hurrying friends up with a purpose to attempt to squeeze in a further sitting. While some elements of the product on this occasion are clearly glorious, it was evident that there are nonetheless a number of areas that require enchancment.
With the product proper, the duty actually turns into considered one of consciousness constructing. I don’t assume it’s essential go for the ‘arduous promote’ method with regards to luxurious journey. Comfortable promoting, via slowly constructing and producing consciousness, is all that’s required in case your product is a strong one which stands up for itself. Casting the web additional and gaining extra publicity to a wider viewers, with none arduous promote ways, will likely be rewarded with extra gross sales, notably as soon as on-line critiques and word-of-mouth gathers tempo.
An previous however nice instance of efficient content material that labored nicely by way of interesting to luxurious travellers was Tourism Queenland’s ‘The Finest Job within the World’ marketing campaign. Extremely, it was stated to generate 46,000 mainstream media tales, 230,000 mentions in blogs and vlogs, and even resulted in a BBC documentary, all of the whereas inspiring thousands and thousands of individuals to fall in love with Hamilton Island, a vacation spot which has since attracted A-listers corresponding to Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio.
What do you do in another way to draw luxurious travellers?
One of many issues that we do on A Luxurious Journey Weblog that could be a little completely different is that we permit particular person luxurious journey companies to have their very own house on the positioning, which they’ll use to share editorial content material as a way of producing consciousness for their very own providers. They don’t these accounts to instantly promote, however somewhat to encourage would-be travellers and achieve a following within the course of.
An awesome instance of that is the account for Calvin Cottar, the Proprietor of Cottar’s Twenties Safaris; Calvin makes use of A Luxurious Journey Weblog as a automobile to repeatedly share content material about safaris in Africa, notably Kenya the place he has his personal camp. He has written items on taking kids on a household safari to Kenya, packing ideas to your first African safari and the place and when to witness the Nice Wildebeest Migration, to present just some examples.
One other instance is the account for Sandra Roig, Advertising Supervisor for AB Condo Barcelona, a rental company providing greater than a thousand properties throughout the town, some very luxurious. Quite that simply writing about rental properties (not so thrilling), Sandra offers genuinely helpful content material for guests to the town, protecting every little thing from one of the best locations to have brunch, the place to lease luxurious vehicles, and one of the best Michelin-starred eating places in Barcelona. She has written a couple of hundred articles about Barcelona for A Luxurious Journey Weblog, and little doubt loved the success of many bookings just by offering intensive and helpful journey recommendation.
