447 – Dara Busch On How and Why People Are Spending Their Money On Travel And What They Expect

Welcome to The Home Based Travel Agent Show

Show Notes

Dara Busch, Co-CEO and head of the consumer team at 5WPR. 5WPR is the ninth-largest travel public relations company in the world. We have the opportunity to speak with Dara in today’s podcast and discuss their recent investigation and report on consumer spending behavior. Specifically, we talk about how consumers are now spending their money on travel.

Consumers are traveling again. They don’t want to be stuck at home, and they are anxious to get back to their pre-pandemic lives. The number two experience behind dining out is traveling and experiencing new destinations. People are looking for an outdoor experience, an active experience, and not just sitting on a beach. However, for some people, sitting on a beach is still appealing, but that’s not the trend.

Consumers are looking for personal attention when they shop. They want to deal with real people, making shopping a personal experience, a local experience. The pandemic has made people appreciate their local communities, and they want to shop locally. This means that the travel agent should stand on the rooftop and shout that they represent the local community. You do this by participating in community events, the Little League, the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, plus many others.

The trend is toward the local shopping experience, but the expectation of immediate results is a strong trend. People expect, when they shop, to have a product in hand when they leave the store. The traveler will want a trip in hand, a date set, and a ticket in hand when they walk away from a consultation with you.

These are other trends identified in the 5WPR consumer behavior report. Dara and I talk about some other trends in this podcast that you will want to hear.

“I think that travel is back in a big way, and I think it is going to continue to grow.”

“Consumers are really trying to tap into travel agents because they know what the here and now is for places because something that might have been a great destination, a great excursion, or a great place to visit three years ago might be very different today.” “It might have a different feel to it [because of Covid]. “A travel agent is going to help navigate the changing landscape of destinations because Covid has ravaged many places.”

“Do anything you can to be out and around that local community; people know you, people want to work with you, they want to support you locally. And, the more that you shout from the rooftops, meaning the more you connect with local consumers across the board, the better marketing you will ever have.”

“To be able to spend time with a human being who’s going to actually take away all the questions, ‘am I clicking on this right,’ ‘did I book it right,’ and just hand you what you’re dying for, which is a great trip and that is worth its weight in gold.”

“Testimonials are huge! Show that picture of that family zip lining in a remote part of the world.”

Links to Items We Talked About in the Show

5WPR – Dara’s Public Relations Firm

Podcasts Related to This Show

Show 418 – How to Find New Clients for Your Travel Business

Show 182 – Local Travel, A Trend You Can Profit From

The Fine Print

Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz.

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