PR in the travel and tourism industry: shaping a favorable image

First, let’s look at how PR (short for “public relations”) can help the tourism and travel industry. 

What is travel and tourism PR?

As the name suggests, PR professionals manage communications and relationships between organizations and their audiences – also known as stakeholders. 

Every individual or company that you hope to reach can be considered a stakeholder:

• customers
• employees
• investors
• media
• and others. 

We’ll take a look at how this is done shortly. For now, let’s identify the benefits of using PR in this industry.

No discussion of PR in the travel and tourism industry is complete without a summary of the industry itself.  Did you know that travel and tourism are among the world’s largest economic sectors?

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the industry supports 1 in 10 jobs (319 million) worldwide and generates 10.4% of the global GDP. In 2018, the Travel and Tourism industry experienced a 3.9% growth, compared to 3.2% for the global economy as a whole.

We at Sherlock Communications were curious about these findings, and commissioned a survey, conducted by Toluna Insights, which revealed that the majority of Latin Americans state that informative content from destinations and travel brands (e.g. posts in travel blogs and trade publications) can influence their decision when planning a trip.

This may seem obvious, but  obtaining concrete proof of this behavior is a huge step. Along with advertising and marketing, public relations consultancies play an important role in:

• promoting and shaping favorable brand images
• sparking a desire to travel
• persuading consumers to purchase tourism-related products and services
• increasing engagement with target audiences
• and more.

Public relations can effortlessly provide greater connections with audiences in the travel and tourism industry, by communicating key messages through the right channels at the right time, at a  relatively low cost when compared to advertising campaigns.

To succeed in a highly competitive market, several tools should be taken into consideration. Here are some of the actions which a public relations agency can help carry out, to leverage your business objectives in your market of choice.

Following the explosive growth of information technology in the last decade, the internet has become the channel most used by travelers to book their trips.

According to our research, Brazil and Argentina are the leading countries in Latin America for engaging with online content. We also discovered  that:

• 56% of Brazilians said their travel plans could be influenced by an article or photo shared by a friend on social media. 33% would be swayed by an influencer posting a photo or video online.
• In Argentina, 30% of travelers said they are influenced by content shared by their friends and people they know, while 18% of Argentines would consider tips from travel influencers.

What can we learn from this? As the online trend accelerates, aligning a strategic social media plan with your PR campaign can help raise awareness for tourism industry brands all over Latin America.

In addition to investing in a strong social media presence, tourism industry brands need to make sure their website is available and updated to anyone interested in learning more about them.

PR agencies can adapt your content and landing pages for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, and provide information in the native language of your target market.

The secret to brand awareness? People’s opinions matter. 

Leverage recommendations from influencers, individuals and media outlets. Their trustworthiness plays an important role in Latin American travelers’ decision to purchase a trip, product or service. 

A strategic PR campaign can help your company build a complete press kit containing information on every detail, making it easier to proactively answer incoming media inquiries, interviews and comment opportunities.

Why not offer your stakeholders a once-in-a-lifetime experience? Inviting journalists and influencers on press trips is another great way to generate and shape a positive image of a destination, experience, attraction, product or service, and a first-hand story to share with key audiences.

By all means draw on your own network, but remember: a PR agency is in touch with key stakeholders all the time. A major aspect of a PR agency like ours is cultivating positive relationships with journalists, bloggers, and influencers, and generating positive media coverage through press releases, media events and social media.

The tourism and travel industry relies heavily on media coverage to promote its destinations, attractions and services. If you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind – and you don’t want that!

Travelers worldwide have more and more autonomy when it comes to planning and personalizing their trips, but travel agencies still have an important role to play in helping to organize their trips. One recent study shows that 46% of Uruguayans prefer to leave the country with a full package established by their travel agent, for example.

As tourism professionals promote their destinations, experiences, products and services, it’s important to include special materials in Latin American PR strategies, such as Spanish and Portuguese-language content about tourist products, services, and advice.

Professional organization and attendance at events and fairs is another recommended tool for furthering brands’ PR objectives. 

Events organized by third parties, such as fairs and exhibitions, are a significant opportunity to make direct contact with potential consumers.

Hosting an event is another effective and low-budget option for achieving specific and timely results among target audiences. 

Seize the opportunity to draw attention to your brand during major travel events in Latin America, such as ABAV Expo, WTM Latin America, and Fit America Latina.

We live in an online world, and tourism and travel industry customers often turn to word-of-mouth recommendations and reviews before purchasing. PR can help to build a positive brand image by highlighting the unique features, experiences and offerings of a specific destination or travel brand.

The tourism and travel industry isn’t all roses. As with any other company, brands in the sector are vulnerable to crises, such as

• natural disasters
• health pandemics
• a bad review that snowballs out of proportion
• security threats

Our advice is to mitigate the negative impact by managing communications with stakeholders, providing accurate and timely information, and implementing measures to ensure the safety and security of travelers. A PR agency can help with this.

The days of “every man for himself” are long gone. We live in a global world where every action and decision can impact nature or society as a whole. And all eyes are on your brand, at all times. 

Work with PR agencies to raise awareness of the need for sustainable and responsible tourism practices.

Public relations should be an integral part of all tourism and travel companies’ ongoing marketing plans.

Businesses that use their knowledge of their goals, target audiences, and key messages to identify the best tactics and include recommended strategies across multiple platforms and channels have more chances to fully achieve success in Latin America.

So use these 9 travel and tourism industry PR tools and help your company to grow. Final reminder: there is no shame in asking for professional help, and indeed this is highly recommended.