April does what he wants, and we notice it. At the time of writing this article, thunderstorms and hail are raging, even though it is the middle of April. It does not surprise us that various media also reported this week that international holiday bookings for the May holidays are going very well. But even after the May holidays, we see the bright rays of sunshine breaking through in the travel world and we see a wanderlust Netherlands moving towards the summer.
By: Nick Brandts and Marc van der Hulst (Google)
Search volumes in Q1 grow compared to last year, especially on transport
At the beginning of this year, Euromonitor predicted global growth of 16% in 2024 in their “Top trends for 2024” report. The ANVR also expects a strong 2024 in a press release. With Q1 behind us, we see that expectation at least fulfilled in the number of searches within the travel categories. We can draw a number of conclusions:
- The total search volume of travel-related searches in Q1 of 2024 shows a similar pattern to pre-covid (2019). This return to the traditional seasonal pattern makes consumer behavior more predictable for travel providers.
- Furthermore, we see an increase in search volumes compared to last year of about 8%. All categories within the travel category are growing, but especially categories related to transport (flying, car rental, bus & rail) are growing faster than average. Consumers seem to want to book their transport in advance to avoid higher future prices in the future.
- The total number of clicks on travel-related ads is growing less rapidly than the number of searches. It seems that consumers are taking more time to research and compare the options before they proceed to book. Presumably this has to do with increased prices (due to increased fuel prices and inflation, among other things). For marketers, it’s important to identify the early signals that lead to bookings.
Interesting period with demand for both spring and summer
In the period between early booking and last minute, we traditionally see a mix of signals. During this period, we still see healthy interest in the summer holidays. In a survey at the beginning of the year, about 50% of Dutch people indicated that they would book their summer holidays before the end of February. The other half is therefore orienting and booking between February and the summer holidays. In March, the search volume for the search term ‘summer vacation’ was 10% higher than in 2023, indicating that the interest is there. In addition, we see a lot of interest in (short) holidays in the spring period, such as last Easter, the May holidays, Ascension Day and Pentecost. This interest is very last minute, as evidenced by clicks in the hotel category, where about half of all clicks occur within one month of departure. The peaks in volume for these types of short trips in the spring vary greatly from market to market. In the Netherlands, after Easter, Ascension Day and Pentecost are especially popular.
Relevant advertising with the help of AI
In addition to the mix of interest for different travel periods, we know that about 15%(!) of all searches are new and unique. This makes it even more difficult for marketers to reach the right traveler. A few tips on how to increase your success during this period: 1. Stay up to date with developments in search behaviour
Make sure you are aware of the latest trends in search behavior. You can find a lot of information in Google’s (free) Destinations Insights tool. Such as new popular destinations or growth in search volumes at traditional summer holiday destinations. For example, London was the most searched city for flights from the Netherlands in March, followed by Barcelona and Lisbon. Furthermore, the United Kingdom is the largest in searches for accommodations in the Netherlands, followed by Germany and the US. Useful for planning your inbound campaigns.
2. Optimize your campaigns using the latest technology
In the dynamic travel industry, it’s essential to stay on top of the latest developments. With constantly changing search behavior (of which 15% of the searches are new, i.e. unknown), you can use some help. With the help of AI and machine learning, the platforms within Google are being further developed to help with this. Like Performance Max and Broad Match.
Performance Max automates bids and creatives based on personalized insights, allowing you to manage your campaigns more efficiently and drive better results. The tool helps you find new audiences on new channels (such as Youtube, Discovery and Gmail ads) with potential customers. It’s proven to be successful alongside your regular Google Ads campaign, and the tool helps you optimize your budget across platforms. In addition, the tool helps you target specific audiences, such as potential travelers who are looking for flights to a certain destination or who are interested in a certain type of hotel.
With the help of Broad Match , you can expand your reach by matching relevant queries with your keywords, even if there are small differences in the wording. This ensures that you reach more potential customers who are looking for what you have to offer on search terms that you wouldn’t otherwise use in your campaign. You can find Broad Match recommendations under the “Recommendations” tab in your Google Ads account and you can set up an experiment with one click and test the feature.
3. Ad creatives are super important
With both the summer holidays and the various spring holidays just around the corner, there are many opportunities on the street for those who know how to influence the purchase decision. Segment by audiences and adjust your messaging and assets accordingly. Use these in multiple formats in different funnels, for example via YouTube to achieve both the short-term (sales) and the longer-term (awareness) marketing objectives. Also think of the new tool Demand Gen , which has the strength of reaching new prospects. These are the target groups that are still in the exploration phase of their holiday.
We hope that this will provide good tools to make this challenging, but promising season a success.
