The days of generic, one-size-fits-all travel marketing are over. Today, catering to specific tourism niches is the perfect way to attract the right guests and gain those all-important direct bookings.
NB: This is an article from GuestRevu
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In today’s evolving travel landscape, understanding the diverse needs and preferences of travellers is crucial for hotels to attract and retain loyal guests.
1. The Adventure Seeker
A growing segment of travellers aren’t going on holiday for relaxation – they’re looking for an action-packed itinerary and full adventure experiences, often the more thrilling the better. These adventure-seekers are drawn to destinations that offer outdoor activities like hiking, biking, climbing, and water sports, and are often also on the lookout for off-the-beaten-track cultural experiences, immersive excursions and going where no traveller has gone before.
A quick and easy way to cater to this 406.12 billion dollar market is by partnering with local adventure activity providers. If you’ve got the resources, it’s not too difficult to dip your toe in the adventure pool by providing gear rentals or offering guided tours to local sites.
To earn more bookings from these adrenaline-hungry adventurers, you need to make an intentional effort to communicate the activities available around your hotel, and, ideally, that your team can handle all of their excursion bookings and arrange their itineraries.
You don’t necessarily need to have all the activities on-site, but a few complimentary amenities (like secure storage for guests’ own equipment, or pre-packed breakfasts for ultra-early risers) and clear messaging that emphasises your amenities, proximity to natural sites and relevant add-ons are what will make your hotel a desirable option for these adventure-loving guests.
2. The Wellness Traveller
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) defines wellness tourism as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing”. These wellness seekers are looking to improve their health and wellbeing during their next vacation. An article by researchers at Łódź University found that the post-COVID wellness tourism sector represents one of the fastest-growing tourism market segments globally. In addition to this sector’s rapid growth, wellness travellers tend to spend much more per trip than travellers from other tourism sectors, even though they tend to travel solo or in pairs.
Covering such a broad spectrum of activities and amenities, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what attracts wellness travellers. Some seek hotels with spa facilities, fitness centres, healthy dining options, and opportunities for meditation or yoga. But the market is expanding rapidly and changing as guests experiment with what it means to be “well” – some of the newer wellness offerings include sleep tourism, vegan retreats and in-room fitness offerings.
Gearing up for wellness guests doesn’t have to include a complete overhaul of your hotel – sometimes just adding healthy or vegan options to your menu or providing guests with unique amenities that enhance the inherent wellness of a relaxing holiday can attract this segment without costing your property a significant outlay. This article explores some of the ways you might already be positioned to tap into the wellness travel market.
If you want to make this segment a core target market, you can offer wellness retreats in-house or collaborate with local wellness experts to offer specialised treatments, workshops, or retreats from your property.
Whatever wellness avenue you choose to pursue, make sure that the holistic, relaxing and uplifting benefits are clearly communicated through your property’s marketing efforts and take centre stage on your website.
