Tips for promoting "new normal" trips

Marketing in Malta

Kiri Dulay and head of the PTAs Sheena Whittle recently returned from a four-day trip to Malta organised by the tourism board, with the aim of “showing everyone what it’s like to travel right now and instilling confidence,” says Dulay.

The pair recorded several videos of their experience, which were posted on the PTAs’ main intranet for the agents to then share on their personal Facebook pages, along with accompanying pictures and suggested copy.

Dulay and Whittle also recorded two Facebook Live videos, which were shared on the The Personal Travel Agents at Co-op Travel Facebook page – one focusing on the restaurant experience in St Julian’s Bay in light of Covid-19 and the other recorded live from a beach on Gozo, aimed at reassuring the family market. The videos were also cross-posted live to 43 different PTA Facebook pages.

“Before we went, we gave agents a survey to send to their clients asking ‘if you could go on holiday right now what would you ask restaurant owners and hoteliers?’ We were then able to answer those questions in our live videos,” she explains.

Other videos shared on the PTAs’ intranet included visits to nine different hotels across Malta, highlighting varying star ratings as well as numerous Covid-19 safeguarding measures.

“Our agents were then able to download the videos and share them on their Facebook pages to show customers different aspects such as the pool areas, the buffets and the private beaches,” says Dulay.

The PTAs’ marketing team also ensured that each hotel video had an accompanying holiday offer that agents could post. This resulted in 2020 bookings for Malta being up by 55% year-on-year compared with last year, and up by 45% for 2021, with 60% of the bookings coming directly from the social media activity.

“We had our first Malta booking going out last week, and they booked it there and then while we were out there,” says Dulay. “It’s helped agents to feel confident selling Malta and that’s key,” she adds.

European outlook

Last month, Oasis Travel’s Scott McCabe and a friend took a multi-centre trip to Europe, visiting destinations including Croatia, Germany, Italy and Spain and documenting the journey on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

The campaign, which McCabe dubbed “Scott Spots,” included “rapid-fire” daily posts on Oasis Travel’s Instagram page and on Instagram Stories, as well as to Facebook.

Before moving from one location or destination to the next, McCabe would also post a longer five to 10-minute video on Instagram and Oasis Travel’s Facebook page, offering a summary of the destination’s key talking points, safety measures and travel tips.

The individual videos on Facebook have been particularly well received, with up to 6,600 views.

Like Dulay, McCabe also visited numerous hotels on his trips and recorded videos showing the updated facilities, and interviewing hotel managers about safety protocol.

Many of the hotel videos featured an accompanying competition to win a hotel stay, with the winner announced live on the video.

McCabe is also now working on a vlog-style video for YouTube. The trip has resulted in some good bookings for Oasis Travel, he says.

“The video uploads had a positive impact on our business, both in terms of bookings and social growth. With the content drawing more viewers to our offers and posts, we have seen an increase in demand for holidays to the likes of Dubrovnik, Venice and Berlin.”

He believes the videos have also allowed customers to feel confident making new bookings to other destinations that didn’t feature on his itinerary, such as Greece and Morocco.

“I think people found it useful to see the journey experience, and that hopefully boosted their confidence to travel to other destinations as well,” he says.

To engage with clients and encourage them to book, Oasis Travel plans to send out emails to clients including links to videos and relevant offers, and offering Zoom Q&A sessions with McCabe.

He has also offered feedback to Oasis Travel agents about his trip to help them sell effectively. “I’m going round the different branches to tell everyone about the trip and answer questions to ensure agents are fully prepared,” he says.

The main piece of advice he’d share with agents looking to sell trips in 2020 is to be as up to date with their knowledge as possible. “If a client enquires about a certain destination, the agent has to be able to give the best possible advice about travel to that destination.”