Travel Marketing Pros Plan to Increase Mobile Spending in 2012

According to an annual survey, travel marketing pros plan to increase their mobile efforts in 2012. This study included airlines, agents, tour operators, hotels, tourist boards, car rental, rail, travel insurance, publishing and cruise companies. It found that, while 20% of travel companies will keep mobile spending the same, 54% will be raising the bar. Here are some additional quick stats from the research:

Upcoming Priorities:

  • 83% of travel marketing professionals report they are increasing overall digital marketing spend
  • The biggest priority in content development for nearly a third of them is driving conversions (32%) and attracting search traffic (27%)
  • Building brand is a top priority for their content by 16% in 2012

Mobile Apps:

  • 79% of travel marketing professionals plan to develop iPhone apps in 2012
  • Nearly half of the travel marketing companies already have an iPhone app
  • Another 30% of companies will support the platform
  • 39% already have an iPad app; 36% will support one in 2012
  • Only 35% of travel marketers currently support Android smartphones; 33% plan to

Although mobile spending is projected to grow in 2012, it is still only the third most popular are for growth plans for travel marketing investments. Even more likely to see greater investment dollars include social media marketing (65%) and brand content (55%).