Live streaming and private domain, outbound travel is restarting without stopping

As the epidemic eases, many people are planning to travel abroad. In order to attract tourists, various tourism bureaus have carried out marketing activities such as live broadcasts on major platforms. How are they doing? The author of this article analyzes this, let's take a look.

The tourism industry has finally waited for the spring to come. Fully booked hotels, long queues at scenic spots, crowded night markets, busy streets... large and small tourist "destinations" are preparing to welcome a large number of tourists.

However, through communication with various businesses, destinations, and practitioners in the tourism industry chain, we fully realize that now is far from the time to be blindly optimistic. Behind the rising traffic, there are opportunities and also many new challenges - externally, the information environment is complex, with hidden variables that are difficult to detect in time; trends are changing quickly, making it difficult to see the market clearly; internally, players are dispersed and different, and the business chain is long, making it difficult to go from recovery to growth. Why? What should we do?

This is the first in the "Destination Business" series: "Live streaming and private domain, outbound travel is restarting without stopping". We will also release more analysis and research on topics such as urban cultural tourism, Internet celebrity check-in spots, hotels and homestays, small and medium-sized businesses, OTA platform management methods, outdoor/camping/off-road, etc., hoping to bring inspiration to practitioners.

The entry and exit halls of many cities were crowded, the search volume for air tickets and hotels on major OTA platforms increased several times, Thailand's fancy welcome for Chinese tourists sparked heated discussions, and celebrity bloggers' travel guides were flooding the short video platforms... The popularity of outbound travel, which has been restarted, has skyrocketed.

According to Ctrip's financial report, in the fourth quarter of last year, outbound air tickets and hotel bookings increased by more than 200% and 140% year-on-year respectively, and air ticket bookings on international platforms increased by 80% year-on-year. In the earnings call, Ctrip also shared a set of exciting data: in the first two months of this year, domestic air passenger traffic recovered to about 80% of the same period in 2019, the average revenue per room in the hotel industry has fully recovered in recent weeks, and international air passenger traffic continues to rise.

The demand side is fierce, so how the supply side can meet the demand and do business well has naturally become a top priority.

However, an advertisement can make people place an order for snacks in minutes, but it is difficult for people to quickly decide to travel to a certain country. Outbound travel is inherently a long-chain conversion business. Consumers have a long decision cycle and the final conversion effect is highly uncertain. Moreover, when traveling to foreign countries, consumers want to know a lot of information in advance, from countries to cities, from scenic spots to services, and merchants have to take every detail into consideration.

At the same time, the outbound travel business can no longer completely copy the past model and gameplay. The supply chain of overseas destinations has changed, the domestic online channels are more diverse, the gameplay is more digital, and consumers' consumption mentality and willingness preferences are also very different from before.

Inherent difficulties still exist, and new changes are coming. Rather than looking for solutions, we have to go deeper into the industry to see new trends and new ideas in different roles and links.

1. Tourism bureaus of various countries: focus on both private and live broadcasting, and make marketing activities regular

Outbound tourism followed the policy recovery, and the tourism bureaus of various countries responded and took action the fastest.

Recently, the tourism bureaus of many countries have been busy at major domestic promotion conferences, delivering the latest information to the media and practitioners in the same industry, and also announcing when the promotion plan for domestic consumers will be fully launched and promoted. It can be seen that the tourism bureau is a key role that cannot be ignored in outbound tourism. It not only plays the overall planning, regulation and management functions for B, but also stimulates consumers' interest in the destination for C, thereby helping hotels, scenic spots, airports and other businesses in the industry chain to sell travel-related products.

Since it is To C, there will inevitably be new changes in channel selection, overall strategy and implementation actions.

Trend 1: Multi-channel layout for private domain

For a long time, compared with simple publicity and promotion, it is more important to continuously gather and retain "potential" tourists who want to travel. At this time, "private domain" comes in handy.

Among all the platforms, the one that major tourism bureaus have invested the most in is WeChat, which is also the common choice of many industries and companies.

The New Zealand Tourism Board has made full use of the products and functions on the WeChat platform. The official account and video account respectively output pictures, texts and videos showing natural and cultural landscapes, and occasionally launch live broadcasts that take users directly to scenic spots to experience them. Mini programs have also been developed to be more abundant. In addition to allowing users to check weather, traffic, flight conditions and other information, travel notes of various travel experts are also collected here.

New Zealand Tourism Board official account, video account and mini program

Because it does not involve product sales conversion, the idea of ​​the tourism bureau in doing private domain operations is to "amplify" the content as much as possible, first keep users in the official position, then repeatedly influence the user's mind, and maintain normal communication with content. When users cannot travel yet, they will not forget the destination; when they have travel plans, they will be accelerated to make decisions as soon as possible.

In addition to WeChat, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu are also channels that tourism bureaus basically have deployed.

Content social platforms use algorithms to recommend content to people who may be interested in it, so the idea of ​​the Tourism Bureau to do private domain is to first use a variety of content to attract traffic, including pictures, short videos, live broadcasts, etc. Secondly, the Tourism Bureau will also conduct irregular interactive activities to maintain the activity and stickiness of private domain users. For example, the Korea Tourism Bureau released a related video as a preview a week before the Jeju Wildfire Festival. Users only need to write down their stories about Jeju to have a chance to win gifts.

Korea Tourism Organization's TikTok account, Dubai Tourism Bureau's Weibo account, Fiji Tourism Bureau's Xiaohongshu account

In addition, the fan group has taken on the task of retaining users for long-term, in-depth communication and influence. Most of the fan groups of tourism bureaus can be entered by users after following the account. From how to apply for a visa, where to buy cheaper air tickets, to how to find a local guide, which local restaurant is more delicious, even if there is no official reply in the group, users will answer and recommend each other. Some local guides and homestay owners are also in the group, and while answering questions, they promote their own business.

Philippine Tourism Board's TikTok homepage and fan group

Trend 2: Cooperate with OTA platforms to conduct special live broadcasts

Unlike content platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, OTA platforms are more vertical platforms, and are the entrances that users come to only when their needs are basically confirmed. Therefore, even if the tourism bureau itself does not sell goods, it will not miss the opportunity to promote them here.

The specific gameplay is mainly to do special live broadcasts. Before the resumption of outbound travel, the tourism bureau cooperated with OTA platforms to broadcast live more to show the local customs and people through "cloud tourism". This is equivalent to creating a more eye-catching and event-based brand marketing gameplay to maintain users' attention to the destination.

SCO ambassadors to China visit Fliggy live streaming room

For example, in January 2022, ambassadors from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Russia successively visited the official live broadcast room of Fliggy to introduce the unique cultural tourism resources of their countries. In April, Fliggy and the Shanghai Office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand launched the "Global Online Tour - Thailand Station" live broadcast, recording the scene of the Songkran Festival in Bangkok.

After the resumption of outbound travel, live streaming has focused more on incentivizing "transactions".

For example, Ctrip released the "Super Global Tour" IP at the end of 2022, announcing that it would promote outbound travel through overseas live broadcasts, hot product lists, etc. On the third day after the entry and exit were opened, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Ctrip launched the first overseas live broadcast, attracting more than 10 million viewers at home and abroad, and the cumulative GMV exceeded 40 million yuan.

Then on January 19, Ctrip launched a live broadcast event in conjunction with the U.S. National Tourism Office and the California Tourism Office, during which a variety of products were sold, including hotel packages, Universal Studios Hollywood, and California Disneyland tickets.

Ctrip, the U.S. National Tourism Administration and the California Tourism Bureau launched a live broadcast

The launch of the special live broadcast event is obviously much faster than the tourism bureau launching a complete China marketing plan on its own.

This is due to the fact that OTA platforms can sense changes in demand first and prepare accordingly, and also because the platforms have strong supply chain capabilities, which can quickly gather travel products related to the destination and arrange attractive discount packages. The choice of OTA platform cooperation by the tourism bureau is both labor-saving and efficient.

Trend 3: Innovation and integration in content marketing

As a role that can plan and manage a country or city's tourism resources, the tourism bureau has outstanding advantages in integrating peer resources, professional media promotion, and brand business cooperation. Therefore, it always has many innovative ideas in content marketing and event hosting. With the further opening of outbound tourism, many of these mature methods can be applied again.

One is to combine film and television with cultural tourism. Movies, TV series or variety shows can make people plant seeds of a country or a city. Checking in at the filming location, arranging travel routes according to the scenes of the film and television dramas, etc., all of which provide a lot of room for marketing.

For example, when La La Land was released in China, it boosted the popularity of Los Angeles, where it was filmed. The Los Angeles Tourism Bureau quickly launched a special content titled "Explore La La Land" on WeChat, and organized media, travel agencies, OTAs and other tourism operators to participate in the film viewing. Previously, Turkey was a frequent destination in popular travel variety shows such as "Flowers and Youth" and "Sisters Over Flowers". The Turkish Tourism Bureau also took advantage of the opportunity to promote it on social platforms, giving a more detailed introduction to the attractions that appeared in the show to further deepen the user impression.

Los Angeles Tourism Bureau, Türkiye Tourism Bureau official account

The second is to follow the changes in consumer preferences and carry out innovative integrated marketing activities.

Pan Zhengzhi, Chief Representative and Executive Director of Singapore Tourism Board Greater China, mentioned that in recent years, the Singapore Tourism Board has been paying attention to the consumption preferences and changes of Chinese consumers, especially the younger generation of consumers. For example, camping, hiking, high-end accommodation, fine food, niche experiences, etc., which are popular among Chinese consumers, can be flexibly used as themes in activities.

Last year, the Singapore Tourism Board held a number of events including the Health and Wellness Festival, Nyonya Cultural Festival, and Food Festival. During the Health and Wellness Festival, it cooperated with Keep to launch interactive games to convey Singapore's health and wellness experience; during the Food Festival, it launched a limited-edition co-branded gift box with Bee Cheng Hiang, a time-honored Singaporean meat jerky brand, and cooperated with Chengdu Boshe Hotel and Guangzhou local tea brand Uncle Qiu; during the spring camping activities, local Singapore KOLs checked in at special camping spots such as Singapore's East Coast Park and Pasir Ris Park and started live broadcasts to take users on "cloud camping".

Food Festival, Health Festival, Nyonya Cultural Festival

Image source: Singapore Tourism Board official account

It can be seen that the Singapore Tourism Board has almost followed the changes in demand and started "normalized" marketing activities. The theme is clear and directly hits consumer preferences. At the same time, it can cooperate with celebrities, KOLs, brands, restaurants, hotels, etc. in both countries, concentrate multiple resources and gameplay, and focus on amplifying the volume of activities.

Although the Tourism Bureau is "official", it does not simply release a few exquisite TVC short films and then end its work. The multi-channel layout of private domains, the skilled use of live broadcasts, direct cooperation with platforms, etc., all reflect sufficient understanding of the changes in the domestic Internet. The innovative and integrated gameplay reflects the insight into the market and consumers. When the activities are implemented, they can already be made quite down-to-earth and friendly.

2. Various businesses: Based on search advertising, cross-platform promotion and promotion

The style of the Tourism Bureau is to "concentrate efforts on major events", emphasizing the need to promote the influence of a country or a city, establish a clear image to be highlighted, and make recommendations from multiple dimensions. However, for downstream businesses such as travel agencies, air and hotel agents, and customized travel companies, they are the ones who really want to do business, so how to motivate consumers to place orders as quickly as possible has become a top priority.

Trend 1: Search advertising has become a basic standard

Regardless of the size of the business or how much money they are willing to invest in marketing, the most labor-saving and efficient way for all businesses is to make themselves seen by those who have clear travel needs. Therefore, as an expression of the user's active willingness, search is the best type of advertising to reach such users.

OTA platforms are the first choice for users to travel, so they are also the must-have for merchants. The core of search advertising here is also very clear: it is to make exclusive display so that users can see you first after searching.

Take Ctrip as an example. Currently, the search advertising of OTA platform is quite mature. The main advertising types can cover various search scenarios in the site, and merchants can choose according to their own goals. Relatively simple and traditional types, such as setting entries in the search box or in the nearby popular searches, users can directly jump to the landing page after clicking; you can also set multiple keywords by yourself, so that the search results page will display your own products at the top, etc.

Relatively more innovative types include Easter eggs that pop up in the form of animations on the search results page, top brand zone cards, etc. These are search ads that are available on almost all Internet platforms. Compared with directly displaying specific products labeled "advertisements", brand zones and Easter eggs can be superimposed with animations, videos and other content, which will attract more attention.

Ctrip Search Advertising Products

Not only search advertising is done on OTA platforms, search engines, which are large and comprehensive traffic portals in the PC era, will still be the choice of some travel agencies.

For example, if you search for "Thailand travel" as a keyword, you will find that the top pages are information about many unknown small and medium-sized businesses, such as Hunan Pinzuan International Travel Agency and Yichang Shengdu International Travel Agency. However, what is special is that the homepages of these travel agencies are made into a "web version of Zhihu" that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing - first set questions, then introduce the itinerary in the answer, and also recommend a tour guide and leave his WeChat account. Compared with the traditional corporate official website style, this page is much more effective in guiding consumers.

An advertisement page that looks very much like the "web version of Zhihu"

Trend 2: Content platforms seed the market, while WeChat pulls out the seeds

Since downstream merchants are quite scattered and their business scales vary greatly, in addition to the "standard" search ads, merchants also focus on which platforms and how to do business. However, because consumers will consult many times before, during and after purchasing products, WeChat is still the platform where merchants ultimately promote conversions.

In this way, we can find that although each company’s gameplay may be different, they actually form the same path in the end - promoting products in various ways on content platforms, collecting information on potential consumers, and finally conducting follow-up communication and business conversion on WeChat.

For example, on TikTok, tour guides will directly make short video content, mainly travel guides and travel vlogs with large amounts of information. After the content brings interested users to the homepage, they can let users see and add the WeChat account written in their personal information.

At the same time, the tour guide’s short video content can also include a landing page link for users to leave their phone numbers. However, the phone is not convenient for multiple and in-depth communication with users, and its ultimate purpose is to guide users to add WeChat.

Local tour guide TikTok account

Apart from individual tour guides, travel agencies mainly run information flow advertisements on the Douyin platform. The short video content is a few simple pictures and introductory words. After users click the link below to enter the landing page, they will see the words "WeChat consultation".

At this stage, the ways to guide users to add WeChat are divided into two categories: one is to directly leave the WeChat account and let users copy and search to add it by themselves; the other is to directly jump to the corporate WeChat customer service, and the customer service will then leave a QR code business card to guide users to add.

In contrast, the former requires users to operate across platforms by themselves, and the conversion route is long, which requires that the user's personal travel needs are very clear to be effective. The latter is equivalent to bringing consumers directly to the information retention link, which is a shorter route than the former, and the corporate WeChat account also adds a sense of trust.

Travel agency Douyin information flow advertising, diverting traffic to WeChat communication

Douyin welcomes all kinds of businesses, while Xiaohongshu is more popular with customized travel businesses.

On Xiaohongshu, there are relatively few information flow ads that directly come with consultation links. Most businesses will portray themselves as experienced travel bloggers and output content that is more like personal travel notes. At the same time, businesses will communicate with users more frequently in the comment area, guiding them to send private messages and then add WeChat accounts for in-depth communication.

This idea of ​​attracting traffic is very consistent with the style of Xiaohongshu, which reduces the stiffness of advertising and increases the sense of recommendation, planting grass and interaction. Moreover, customized tours and high-end tour products themselves also require smoother one-to-one communication, and this more friendly approach is obviously more suitable.

Travel agencies and customized travel merchants operate content on Xiaohongshu

Trend 3: Live broadcasts are relatively rare, and the difficulty lies in the back-end link

Although Ctrip introduced live streaming into the travel industry a few years ago, there are still relatively few outbound travel merchants doing live streaming. Ctrip’s live streaming section is almost all about domestic travel, and merchants who broadcast outbound travel products on Douyin mostly focus on Thailand, and the products they sell are also two or three group tours or free travel packages.

It is not difficult to sell travel packages through live broadcasts. The hosts only need to answer questions and do their best to recommend. The really complicated and difficult part actually occurs in the back-end link.

Since travel packages are not products that can be shipped and mailed after placing an order, users can purchase packages directly on the platform, but they still need to contact and communicate with customer service, or call and make an appointment. In fact, this is a one-on-one consultation step that has been postponed, which will affect users' consumption decisions to a certain extent. Moreover, since travel is usually planned very early and changes are easy to occur during the process, the cycle from the purchase of the package to the actual settlement will be quite long, and users are also prone to cancel the refund due to uncertainty.

Merchants also have solutions to the above problems.

First, the live broadcast emphasizes the discount of the package or the limited-time flash sale, using the sense of urgency of the fleeting discount to motivate users to place orders. Secondly, the service of returning the order at any time is emphasized to dispel users' concerns about direct purchase and reduce the difficulty of making decisions when paying thousands of yuan at a time.

Of course, the merchant will clearly write the usage and process on the product page, and customer service will follow up for consultation and communication. This is the most critical step to truly achieve conversion. The key to whether live streaming can play its due role in bringing goods lies here.

Thailand Tour Package Tik Tok Live

It has only been a few months since outbound travel really started, and it will take some time for the supply chain in overseas destinations to recover.

But to sum up the above, there have been many new changes in the outbound travel destination business. In the future, more new trends will inevitably emerge as the industry further recovers, and competition among various businesses will definitely become more intense.

However, the platform side will also pay more attention to outbound travel: OTA platforms have the advantages of more accurate users and closer to the transaction link, and will find breakthroughs in content innovation in the next step; and content platforms will definitely try their best to shorten the path from content to transaction while highlighting the ability of content to promote. For merchants, it means that there will be sufficient traffic, resources, gameplay and dividends in front of them, which is enough to excite the industry.

Author: Lv Yue; Public Account: Deep Echo (ID: deep-echo), global vision, value perspective