The American financial crisis heavily impacted local markets, but many other nations also experienced their own recessions. Travel during this time was a rarity because vacations became a luxury. Since bouncing back from such instability, more countries are expecting travel in 2014 will be stronger.
Because the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, and the World Cup in Brazil are on many travelers' minds, traveling overseas is expected to happen more often in comparison to other years, the International Business Times reported.
"We are optimistic when we see people who are not spending in other ways, but who are continuing to travel," Doros Theodorou, commercial director at TripAdvisor, told Euro News. "So, on a travel perspective definitely optimistic and for Europe even more."
TripAdvisor was one of many organizations that attended the World Travel Market exhibition in London recently. Hoteliers, attractions and parks around the world are revving up their internet marketing solutions to draw in visitors in 2014.
Europe has always had a stronger travel culture due to the ease of entering one nation from another, but Chris Fair of Resonance Consultancy listed 2014 traveling trends marketers and travel industry companies should look out for in a webinar reported on in the Travel Market Report.
Overall more interest in traveling
Affluent individuals and senior citizens are known to schedule travel arrangements, but Fair thinks businesses need to pay attention to Millennials, those between ages 18 and 30, as well.
"Millennials are a much more ethnically diverse group than other generations and so are more interested in international travel," Fair said in the online seminar, according to the source.
While Millennials are interested in group activities, senior citizens are looking for "less congested destinations," and affluent individuals in the United States and Asia are expected to "dominate the luxury travel space" for the next seven years.
Excellent customer service
The internet has made it possible for individuals to do their research on just about anything. Reviews on a country, airline and everything in between can be found with a few clicks. Companies that venture into local online marketing will be able to grab the attention of prospective travelers during the early research stages, helping them build an itinerary around the business' location.
Creating an "authentic experience" is becoming increasingly important for all three of these age groups. Organizations that partner with Key Media Solutions will find themselves at a great advantage compared to other companies that have yet to enter the online advertising market.