How to Increase Sales in the Travel Business? [Skyrocket your sales]

In FY20, the tourism sector accounted for 39 million jobs, which was 8.0% of the total employment in the country. By 2029, it is expected to account for about 53 million jobs. During 2019, the contribution of travel & tourism to GDP was 6.8% of the total economy.

All these stats show how fast the Indian tourism industry is growing.  Not just in India, all over the world, the travel industry is witnessing a boom. However, India still has a lot of potentials to grow, making India one of the best places for travel business owners.

As the Indian tour and travel industry grows and develops rapidly in the post-pandemic world, it is the best time for travel business owners to grab the opportunity and make the most out of it.

To help you expand your travel business, we have a step-by-step guide on how to increase sales in the travel business.

Step 1: Develop a website

The first step in how to increase sales in the travel business is to develop a website for your business. It is essential to have an online presence to reach potential customers in today’s time.

Having an active, well-navigated website informs your potential customers about:

• What products/services do you offer?
• How will it help them?
• Why should they choose you?

Make sure to make your website mobile-friendly. That’s where most people will view your website.

Step 2: Connect with potential customers

If you have a website and social media presence, then there are multiple ways you can easily accomplish this task.

• Start blogging on your website.

Write blogs regarding places one can visit in India. About any special dish, shop, item of one place. Write many blogs and create a separate section for this purpose on your website.

Use keywords in your blogs which direct your potential customers to your website and indirectly to your business. Search for keywords on google related to your blog.

• Posting regularly on your social media page.

You can post about your blog, or you can post photographs of beautiful places in India. Make sure to inform the reader where that photo has been taken.

Step 3: Collaborate with other travel-related businesses

Collaborate with other businesses whose products and services are related to the travel industry but do not overlap with yours directly and, instead, complements them. This is an excellent answer to how to increase sales in the travel business.

For example, if you offer a hostel stay in any city, you can consider a company that offers full trip packages to collaborate with.

Such collaborations will expand your reach and build credibility. They will introduce you to the customers and loyal followers of the brand you are collaborating with and promote sales. Moreover, you generally do not have to pay anything for it as the other business owner also receives similar benefits for their business from you.

In this type of barter system, both parties are benefitted without hurting anyone’s business.

Step 4: Make full use of social media platforms

How to increase sales in the travel business through online marketing and attract potential customers to your website? Social media marketing.

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., are the best place to find your potential customers and connect to them. Many users follow travel bloggers and travel photography pages to explore the place they can visit next.

Some ways to do this are:

• Collaborate with travel bloggers/bloggers/influencers.

These users who specifically post content related to travelling are the ones you should contact for your brand advertisement. They might post a photo, video of your product/service, which will instantly get you lakhs of views on your page.

• Post interesting and engaging content on your page.

It might not necessarily be always about your product/service. Just post content for travel enthusiasts who can follow your page for more of such content.

On social media, your main purpose is to grab the attention of people from all around the country or even the globe.

Step 5: Focus on customers' priority rather than trying to sell the product/service you offer.

While sales are important, it is also important to engage with the audience. The question that arises is how to increase sales in the travel business on social media? A good rule of thumb to follow is the 80/20 rule.

According to this,

• 80% of content should be tailored to engage, communicate and connect with the target audience. You can talk about your products/services indirectly.
• 20%  of content should be a direct and persuasive call to action.

Your main goal, in the beginning, is to get your potential customers to your page as viewers or followers. After that, all you need to do is keep them engaged and give them a reason to view your page regularly.

A good social media marketing tip is to regularly check the algorithms of these platforms, which show the posts which receive the most traction.

Step 6: Post testimonials

Post experience of your previous customers, what they think of your product/service. You can post it as photo or video content. Make sure to ask for permission from your customer before uploading their testimony.

Testimonials are a great way to increase sales in the travel business as it adds credibility to your business, encouraging potential customers to choose you over others.

It is a long shot, but try to ask your customers if they could post such content on their profile as well. While few would accept that, you can ask them to tag your page along with their post and offer incentives like discounts or something else if they tag/post content with you on their profile.

Step 7: Attractive packages and email marketing

The easiest answer to how to increase sales in the travel business is offering attractive packages on products/services to encourage your customers to choose you. You can collaborate with other businesses also to make your package more affordable and beneficial to your customers.

Once the offer package is prepared, you need to send these package details via email to your old customers. Add an inquiry box on your website, and make sure to ask for visitors' emails. This email will later be used for email marketing.

Step 8: Offline marketing

So far, we have discussed online marketing ways as it is the most cost-effective and easiest way to reach your potential customers.

However, you can use your local contacts for marketing as well. Collaborations with local hostel/hotel/restaurant/shop etc. Give them extra incentive to choose you over others.

Conclusion

While the COVID-19 pandemic put the travel industry into a lull, it also brought about a change in the travelling habits of people. The concept of ‘work-cation’ has picked up speed, as compared to earlier when, more often than not, people did not mix the two.

The travel industry is set to make a resounding comeback, are you? The above guide on how to increase sales in the travel business will ensure that you are back with a splash.

Stay updated with new business ideas & business tips with OkCredit blogs in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi & more!
Download OkCredit now & get rid of your bookkeeping hassles.
OkCredit is 100% Made in India.

FAQs

Q. Should I collaborate with a clothing brand for travel business marketing?

Ans. Yes, you can collaborate with a clothing brand as well for this purpose. Just make sure that the clothing brand offers travel clothing also. Otherwise, there is no relevance between your travel business and a fashion clothing brand.

Q. Can I also use Youtube for marketing purposes of my travel business?

Ans. Yes, Youtube is also a great platform for such marketing purposes. You can upload vlogs on our Youtube channel. Also, you can use short reels or videos on your channel and run paid ads on Youtube.

Q. What else can I do to promote my travel business online?

Ans. Besides websites, social media marketing, and youtube, you can also run paid ads on Google. Whenever a user searches for a product/service related to your business, Google will show them a link to your website as an ad.

You can also try to engage in other travel bloggers’ posts by commenting on your views on their blog in the comment section.

Q. On which platforms can I run paid ads?

Ans. You can run paid ads of your packages or your brand on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc. These are best for travel business marketing.