Recent travel trends published by Florida newspaper The Sun Sentinel revealed that, among other things, people may be using their cell phones to book their trips to exotic destinations and may experience new fees in the coming year. Travel agencies may want to advertise the trends below, as it could serve as useful information to people who are planning trips this year.
1) Mobile booking
These days, cell phones are equipped to do virtually anything, from shop online to browse world news to book your next trip. In fact, the president of online booking company Orbitz, Chris Orton, said, “Nearly two-thirds of our mobile hotel bookings are made for a stay within 24 hours, and 21 percent of all Orbitz hotel bookings are now made via mobile devices.” Various apps are available to help making the booking process easier to complete in a matter of minutes.
2) New fees
Most airlines don’t charge to bring a small piece of luggage on board. However, that could change if Airfarewatchdog.com founder George Hobica’s prediction is correct. He sees airline companies like United requiring passengers to pay a fee for carry-on bags, similar to what low-cost carriers Spirit and Allegiant do.
3) Exotic destinations
The Dominican Republic and Colombia may become some of the top destinations of 2013. JetBlue Airways will begin offering flights from Fort Lauderdale to Medellin beginning in June, which will complement service already in place to Bogota. Destination hotspot New Orleans is also expected to be big, partly because the Super Bowl will be hosted there next month.
To help market and publicize these trends, companies that work in the travel or tourism industry may want to consider working with a small business internet marketing firm that can help them take advantage of these trends, which could increase their business.