How often have you wondered, while browsing through a travel website, what if I could take a virtual trip to my dream destination? I bet, a million times. How does it feel to be on the Kohala Coast in Hawaii or surrounded by Sphinx and Pyramids in Giza? Well, virtual trips do happen; on travel websites. Travel, while you browse or take a tour of the luxury villa before you click on “book now” button.

Travel websites today are taking the users to their favorite destinations before they actually start traveling. With more than 140 million US millennial surfing the net for travel-related information, websites are becoming more impactful with video, navigation, modular layout, and social media options. According to a study by Expedia, about 78% of travelers are influenced by informative content from destinations or travel brands and 46% responded to travel brand ads with informative content.

With a forecasted spending of $198 million in online travel sales in the current year (as per Social Media Today research), travel agencies and booking partners are coming up with innovative and interactive websites (not just informative) to make a traveler’s trip-planning process easier. This means that you can also talk to people who have been there. As per Statista, Package Holiday deals will show the maximum growth potential with a market volume of $3,007m in 2018.

As per Webpage FX, more than 55% of travel content watchers online feel inspired every time they browse through travel posts on social media platforms. According to a Phocuswire report (published in May 2018), travel and tourism brands are spending 61% of their marketing budgets on online channels.

Online travel brands like OTAs allocate 73% of their spending to improved digital resources. More and more companies (travel and tourism operators, travel agencies, booking agents, and travel destination reviewers) are re-inventing their content. They have come to terms with the fact that users need more than just information or booking instructions on their sites.

Travel websites today are re-imagined in the light of the online traveler’s preferences for a more guided approach. Some of the hot trends to follow are:  

Compelling user experience and design: Enrich your content with lively imagery and stories. Incorporate compelling creative and stories to breathe in life into the travel destinations. Thousands of tourists may be traveling to Agra Fort in Delhi or Darjeeling in Bengal. Weave in lively stories of travelers sharing their experiences on the site. Nothing is more compelling than reading through the accounts of a traveler who went for a hitchhiking tour in Spiti Valley or a veteran traveler who spent a quiet weekend in Munnar.  

Interactive websites: According to Statista, revenue in the Online Travel Booking segment will amount to US$5,569m in 2018. The same report further points out that online travel content user will amount to 11.4m by 2022, for Package Holiday segment. Booking portals and promotional channels are tying up with travel resource or social media sites to inspire travelers into faster and better decision making. Travel content owners are tapping the huge market potential of the travel segment and coming up with 360-degree videos. Companies like Idaho are giving users an experience of “try before you go” with 360-degree video sights and sounds.

How lovely it feels to zip line through rainforests of Wayanad or kayak through rapids of the Himalayan terrain. On the contrary, you may also use more traditional video to tell stories of what life is like in off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods the of the northeast. The content should speak for itself, not only through words but spoken words, making it livelier and more interactive than ever. Pixel Solutionz specializes in travel websites that take you to the place of travel, painting a vivid imagery of where you want to be. The hotel pages created by them are simply mindblowing.   

Local wonders do better than cooked up stories How often have you wondered if you could get genuine reviews of the travel destinations? Honestly speaking, we all do. Travel content owners today put up stories of local activities that influence travel plans. Travel stories of wildlife tours in Kerala or biking tours in Assam create an impact, which invented stories of the museums and waterfalls fail to create.

Travelers also like to explore the lesser traveled destinations. Borrow from experiences of real-life hitchhikers or travel bloggers who have explored the unseen nooks and corners of the much-traveled destinations. Genuine stories of travel with brilliant imagery never miss a mark. Like what you just read? Feel free to post me any in the comments.