Guest post by Hannah Madison
As the travel industry begins to flow back to recovery and parts of the world shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic begin to re-open, Google has noted and acted on search trends to introduce “Travel Insights with Google”—a set of tools providing powerful insights into real-time travel demand.
Information needed to continue recovery of travel
As vaccinations continue, global search keywords such as “where to travel,” “can I travel?” and “covid travel restrictions” are near all-time highs as the desire for travel resurges, provided travellers feel safe to do so. Working off customer feedback, Google said in a blog post that it aims to “ensure travel businesses and tourism officials have the information needed to continue recovery.”
Whether you are searching for “ the best restaurants in Tucumcari ”, or “make money in London”, or “best UK entertainment”, you can be sure Google’s algorithms are working tirelessly to bring you the most relevant results.
Travel Insights is a set of tools providing powerful data into real-time travel demand based on global Google Search data. A partnership with Destinations International and Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), Google announced that it has now delivered the product to the travel industry in the U.S., having tested an earlier “Travel Insights with Google in the Asia Pacific” version. The offering consists of materials customised specifically for destination organisations and hospitality marketing professionals.
Tools providing rich data and actionable insights
Travel Insights with Google consists of two free tools providing rich data and actionable insights. The first, Destination Insights, provides a picture of top sources of demand per destination to travel businesses, governments, and tourism boards. This may help users understand where potential travellers may hail from and adjust marketing their campaigns accordingly.
The other tool, Hotel Insights, helps hoteliers analyse search trends, the better to ascertain where interest is highest and therefore focus on attracting new guests by beefing up their digital presence.
Google says that since the company began piloting the tools, it has assisted government tourism officials in places such as Singapore and Indonesia, where questions remain concerning border re-openings.
Expanding globally, Google has also launched localised versions in Spain, France, Italy, Korea, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Croatia, Philippines, Greece, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Don Welsh, President and CEO of Destinations International, said in a statement that the company is determined to deliver relevant and timely data essential for destination organisations around the world. He advocates for an intelligent and proactive response by such organisations on behalf of their communities.
And Robert Gilbert, President and CEO of HSMAI, said that the partnership with Google strengthens industry professionals’ insights into the market, providing more than just information. He believes the insight will inspire marketing riding on the strength of Google expertise on what the modern traveller is searching for.
