How the spike in travel & entertainment can help your business
Amid the pandemic, some industries (think: ecommerce and telehealth) thrived while others were virtually extinct for 15 months. The travel and entertainment industries were among those hit the hardest during COVID, but we are thrilled to be seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
As vaccination rates rise and lockdown restrictions ease around the world, travel and entertainment demand is returning almost as quickly as it disappeared. Travel Pulse surveyed close to 6,000 people in the US and found that 70% of the participants plan to travel in 2021. Further to that, of the 70% who said they intend to travel, 83% will take two or more domestic trips, and 44% are planning two or more international getaways.1 Similarly, 52% of Europeans plan to travel in the next six months and the majority of Europeans (67%) say they feel safe and relaxed enough to enjoy their trip. Intra-European travel is the top choice as more respondents are willing to take a trip to another European country (40%) than travel domestically (36%), but 52% stated that they are willing to travel by air.2 In short, travel is back.
As the world emerges from quarantine, airlines, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues are poised to benefit from pent-up consumer demand. For companies who are not in this space, fear not. Given the digital era in which we are living, it’s possible for all companies to capitalize on the momentum we are seeing in the travel and entertainment world. In fact, this is exactly how Rokt unlocks success at scale for our customers.
Travel and Entertainment Recovery
The pandemic added unpredictability into our lives and, as a result, many have adopted a “now is the time” mentality prompting them to finally take the indulgent vacation or experience they have been thinking about for years. This desire is nothing new, but now there is a more intense sense of urgency. The appetite for new experiences has gone up over the past year and so has the need for offbeat travel, luxurious holidays, and authentic escapades. Experts are calling this phenomenon “revenge travel”, referring to the retribution against COVID-19, the loss of control, canceled trips, and missed experiences.
According to Econsultancy, travel purchases in the US are up 71% compared to April 2020, and OTA app usage is up 41% compared to January 2020. American Airlines saw nearly three times as many passengers over the July 4 weekend (Thursday-Monday) this year than it did over the holiday last year, and the TSA screened 10.1 million travelers in the same five-day period. This is further proof that travel in the United States is continuing to rebound from pandemic lows and the travel industry is well on its way to recovery.3 The same is true for Europe. In a survey taken in May 2021 Europeans were asked where they planned to travel in the next six months, about 51 percent of respondents indicated that they intended to travel to another European country. Outbound tourists from Central and Eastern Europe were forecast to have the highest growth in 2021. 4
We’ve noticed an incredible surge in the number of transactions across the Rokt platform as well. Transactions in April’21 went up 1191% when compared to 2020, and have even increased 6.4% from where they were in 2019, pre-pandemic. In June 2021 alone we saw over 2.7 million transactions across Travel and Entertainment. We expect to see this upward trend continue across all industries, especially Travel and Entertainment throughout the remainder of 2021.
The Rokt value proposition
Nearly 10 years ago, Rokt recognized that ecommerce confirmation pages were an untapped opportunity for companies and their customers. For businesses, the confirmation page represented an accretive monetization opportunity that would not affect a customer’s journey, or interfere with the purchase process. For consumer’s shopping online, the Transaction Moment ™ offered a unique place for brands to connect with shoppers. Today, Rokt’s exclusive, closed marketplace sits across more than 4.3billion transactions and our machine learning algorithm consistently delivers results for companies and brands looking to optimize
This summer, as plane tickets are purchased, hotels are booked and tickets to live concerts are secured, Rokt’s advertising partners will reap the rewards. In April-June of 2021 alone, Rokt’s platform counted 7.5 million travel and entertainment purchases. This rise in transaction volumes translates to opportunity. The more consumers purchase online, the greater opportunity Rokt advertising partners have to acquire new customers. Rokt’s algorithm intelligently matches shoppers with offers they are most likely to engage with. This means that all verticals can capitalize on the travel and entertainment spike and get in on the action. Rokt works with companies across verticals and industries including Ticketing & Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Retail, Health & Medicine, Beauty, Education, and Technology.
If you are looking to diversify your acquisition strategy from search and social, forge new relationships with net new customers, and capitalize on the travel and entertainment transaction spikes, look no further than Rokt. Request a demo or reach out to solutions@rokt.com today to learn more about how Rokt can help your company soar.
2 https://eturbonews.com/2628800/europeans-want-to-travel-again-in-spring-2021/
3 https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/air-travel-consumer-report-april-2021-numbers
4 https://www.statista.com/topics/3826/outbound-tourism-in-european-countries/
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