The Travel Industry and Social Media
The time of year where one starts planning his or her respective vacations is upon us. Well, most of us. I am sure most of us, especially those of in the MENA region, find it especially challenging to find deals and flights, and ideas on where to go. Those in the travel industry seem to not have gotten the hang on Social Media, and just how useful and beneficial it could be for them.
Spending most of our lives on the internet, and most of that time on Social Media Networks, a few questions come to mind as of late when trying to find someplace to go on vacation, the major one being: Where on earth ARE the travel companies, airlines, and Ministries of Tourism?
Imagine just how many potential customers a travel agency, be it an online agency or not, could reach just by having an online presence; constantly tweeting with followers, and updating their Facebook pages with travel information, or having contest and competition applications as incentive!
The same can be said for major airlines and Ministries of Tourism. They definitely need to jump on the bandwagon. Offering packages or deals to those social media addicts, the travel industry can tap into those frequent flyers and those business travellers that spend most of their nights in hotels. Two Swedish companies are already reaping the benefits of Social Media by actively answering questions from customers on their Facebook pages as well as using Twitter to distribute promotions.
There are a few good cases from the travel industry in Europe, which seems to be one of the industries that are most actively embracing social media. However, the MENA region could easily take note and promote their services even better, and more effectively. Don’t you think?
