In the recent past, the travel and hospitality vertical has been making major headlines. Be it around global airlines increasing fleet sizes or prominent online travel agencies (OTAs) witnessing unprecedented growth, the travel industry is on the verge of revival (if it still needs to be revived).

These facts can be further corroborated by the recent Travel Ebook released by MoEngage, a marketing automation and customer engagement platform, where it is pointed out that in 2022, 900 million tourists traveled internationally.

While developed markets like North America and Europe see a slight uptick, special times like Ramadan season, post Eid summer holidays, the opening of new markets (post-COVID), and inbound travelers in Africa have promoted the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to be the leaders of the pack.

Another factor that can be attributed to the rise in travel in MEA and globally is the adoption of digital channels, be it mobile or website. As a matter of fact, as per the MoEngage’s survey:

  • 50% of customers are expected to increase their digital spending, especially in travel and retail
  • 72% of consumers plan to spend more on domestic travel and 64% on international travel compared to previous years
  • Mobile bookings in Africa accounted for 71% of all bookings made
  • The emergence of contactless payments and options like Buy Now, Pay Later has increased travel confidence by 40% globally.

With this in mind, travel brands will need to revisit and re-strategize their customer engagement plans, as traditional engagement routes like airmiles or simple loyalty points will not witness major traffic.

This ebook also covers stand-out engagement strategies from global and local brands like Booking.com, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines and Holiday Factory. 

Brands looking towards engaging with consumers and building a loyal base, can take a page out of the strategies deployed by the 4 brands mentioned and deploy a platform that enables optimum customer engagement at every step of the customer journey; from registration to referral/loyalty.

To know more about how travel brands can become an engagement benchmark in the industry, download your free copy from here: Link.

Commenting on the relevance of the report, Kunal Badiani, Regional Vice President, MEA, MoEngage, said: “With the surge in travel across the globe, brands will need to start looking at different strategies to not just engage but also retain customers. In such a scenario, using data and focusing on insights-led engagement will prove to be a differentiating factor. Additionally, brands will also need to look towards creating a gamified experience (either online or offline in-store or at events), immersive emailer and social content to build loyalty”.