Social Samosa talks to travel & tourism brands to understand what their summer marketing strategies consisted of, the themes explored and how they're aligning their communication plans with the change in demand of the consumers.
From Madhya Pradesh's iconic 'Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho' campaign, to Amitabh Bachchan taking us on a captivating journey through Gujarat's landmarks in the 'Kuch din toh guzaro Gujarat mein' campaign, travel and tourism advertisements in India have always possessed an extraordinary power to transport us to a realm of nostalgia.
After a slowdown seen during and post the pandemic, summer for the travel industry has been somewhat better. According to OYO’s Summer Vacation Index 2023 this year followed suit with 82% of Indian travellers expressing their intention to embark on summer vacations.
Rajesh Magow
Witnessing a similar uptick, Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip said, “The average nights booked for outbound packages for the summer quarter is 27% higher than last year's corresponding period, and almost 85% higher than the pre-pandemic average.”
Yuvraj Padole
“The summer season contributes significantly to sales in Madhya Pradesh due to increased occupancy in accommodations, higher footfall at tourist sites, and revenue from entry fees and local services,” said Yuvraj Padole, Deputy Director- Events, Marketing and Film Tourism - Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.
As tourists packed their bags to tour this summer, travel brands witnessed a jump in demand and unleashed a marketing blitzkrieg.
Vacation Campaigns
Summer and vacation go hand-in-hand. Experts say that summer is especially important for the travel industry as it's a time for families to go all out and are willing to spend a sizable amount on leisure activities and more.
Travel search engine Kayak’s recent findings revealed that 81% of travellers were planning to go on a trip with their families. This pushed marketers to target families.
Pratik Mazumder, CMO, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts Limited said, "The summer season experiences high demand at our resorts as families with kids plan their holidays to beat the heat and spend quality time with each other."
And in order to connect with this said audience, the brand rolled out their summer campaign targeting kids and families.
A similar pattern was visible in amusement parks’ campaigns as well. Imagicaa was heavy on family time and targeted kids and young adults in their marketing campaigns.
“We recognize that summer provides the ideal opportunity for children and their parents to plan a trip together. Our marketing efforts are tailored to meet the particular requirements and preferences of this target audience,” says Rikant Pittie, Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip.
International Tourism
Apart from the domestic reach, the uptick in international travel was also a pattern visible in the summer of ‘23. This year, with a boost in the travel industry and fuel prices, flight rates surged as well. But despite this hike, ixigo saw an increase in international flights by 20%.
This pattern got transferred into campaigns as well. International brands collaborated with Indian celebrities to connect better.
Abu Dhabi Tourism roped in Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and his father for their latest summer campaign which highlighted the dessert’s vast offerings that can’t be covered in one summer.
Similarly, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism launched their summer campaign starring Indian actor Poonam Dhillon and celebrity couple Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya capturing the destination’s bountiful outdoor and indoor activities.
Dubai was a common name for many Indian travel influencers on social media, and brands were quick to hop on this safari, making Dubai one of the summer destinations of 2023.
The craze for Dubai and the desserts’ scenic beauty wasn’t just limited to celebrity-led campaigns but crossed the digital realm and was present in other brands’ marketing mix as well.
Marketing Trends
Dhimant Bakshi
This summer, some travel brands went all out on digital. Dhimant Bakshi, CEO - ImagicaaWorld Entertainment told Social Samosa that for this year’s summer, the brand’s media mix was largely driven by ATL and Digital, with the latter taking 85% of the share.
Further, according to TAM data, during the 1st quarter of 2023, there were over 950 advertisers and more than 1K brands advertising in the Travel and Tourism category. While the number of video ads of the Travel and Tourism category grew by 2.1 times in the period of Jan- Mar’23 compared to the same period in 2022.
Below are a few more marketing trends that stood out.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing stood at the centre of the digital play for Imagicaa, as the brand used this medium to build brand value, attract consumers and create buzz.
Travel brands relied heavily on influencers to connect with the audience and took advantage of summer travelling trends that populated the social platforms. With a surge in international travel, brands found a niche in Indian travellers through travel bloggers on the internet.
From showcasing the country’s authentic self through these bloggers, brands aimed at making their way into Indian travel enthusiasts' next trip abroad.
Last year, the government of India inaugurated the ‘1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference’ where they stated that the Indian cruise market has the potential to grow 10 folds over the next decade, driven by rising demand and disposable incomes. This trend was well enjoyed by travellers in India and cruise brands showcased their potential via influencer marketing.
Staycations, a trend that picked up post-pandemic, saw a rise among travellers in the country and summer proved to be especially monumental for many such resorts offering staycation services.
As travel content creation picked up in India this year as well, the trend of solo trips continued among creators and audiences alike. Kayak reported a significant increase in searches for single-traveller flights, showing a 36% surge for 2023 compared to the previous year. Travel & tourism brands took notice of the want and included this consumer behaviour in the marketing mix as well, and cleverly placed their products into solo travellers' checklists.
As the skies start to shower in a couple of days' time in Mumbai, Kerala and a few other parts of the country, summer and sunny travels are finally nearing their end. This would also mark the beginning of Monsoon Travel that is a unique industry in itself.
Would you want to know more about monsoon travel? Let us know in the comments below.
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