q3 2016 global travel insights - travel’s direct demand …€¦ · · 2017-05-17sojern.com /...
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SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 3
Table of Contents
04. Looking Back
06. Outbound Quarterly Search Trends Global Travel TrendsNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeMiddle East & AfricaAsia-Pacific
12. Looking Forward
14. North AmericaQ4 Search Trends December Travel Preview
18. Latin AmericaQ4 Search Trends December Travel Preview
22. EuropeQ4 Search Trends December Travel Preview
25. Middle East & AfricaQ4 Search Trends December Travel Preview
28. Asia-PacificQ4 Search Trends December Travel Preview
31. Glossary & Methodology
Sojern is the travel industry’s leading performance marketing engine. Through our Sojern Travel Platform and billions of traveler intent signals across online and mobile channels, we put more heads in beds, travelers in seats and tourists in towns for our clients worldwide.
GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS
Sojern analyzed travel behavior worldwide in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Asia-Pacific in order to understand travel intent for Q3 and beyond.
Using search and booking behavior data provided by major airlines, online travel agents (OTAs), meta-search and other travel service providers, we offer travel marketers insights to help plan more effective and strategic campaigns.
Interested in learning more about your market’s travel trends? Connect with us: www.sojern.com/get-started/.
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 5
Looking Back To understand global travel patterns for July, August, and September we looked back at Q3 search and booking data. Summer travel had a few surprises in store, including:
Greece fell off the list of top 10 searched countries in Q4. The destination made the list in Q3 but not Q4, perhaps due to summer vacationers heading to alternative spots, like Mexico.
July has more searching than booking. Being the middle of summer, many travelers might be enjoying their vacations, or planning fall getaways, rather than booking.
For Latin American travelers, Mexico City is new to the list of top searched destinations.1 Replacing Los Angeles, which was on the list in Q2 but not Q3, Latin American travelers looked to stay more locally this summer.
Europeans looked for more last-minute travel. There was a notable shift in lead time for European travelers. Last quarter, for instance, 42% of European travelers looked 60+ days out, but this quarter only 31% did the same. Trips of 0 to 7 days jumped up from 15% to 20% this quarter.
1 Google. “Travel Trends 2016: Data Reveals Hot Spots and New Consumer Insights”
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 7
What were the global travel trends for the quarter?
What were the quarterly outbound search trends for North America?
New York City
Miami
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Chicago
Top 5 Destinations Party Size
Lead Time
Trip Duration
1 TRAVELER
2 TRAVELERS
3+ TRAVELERS74%
18%
7%
60+ Days30 to 59 Days22 to 29 Days15 to 21 Days8 to 14 Days0 to 7 Days
20% 33%9% 7%21% 11%
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days 43%
32%
10%
14%
Top 10 Countries Searched and Booked
United States
Spain
Italy
United Kingdom
Mexico
Germany
France
Portugal
Russia
Thailand
Switzerland
Netherlands
SEARCHED BOOKED BOTH
Share of Q3 Search and Booking Volumes by Month
SEARCHED BOOKED
SeptemberAugust July
33% 34%34% 32% 33% 34%
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 9
What were the quarterly outbound search trends for Europe?
What were the quarterly outbound search trends for Latin America?
London
Barcelona
Paris
New York City
Palma De Mallorca
Top 5 Destinations Party Size
Lead Time
Trip Duration
1 TRAVELER
2 TRAVELERS
3+ TRAVELERS66%
22%
12%
60+ Days30 to 59 Days22 to 29 Days15 to 21 Days8 to 14 Days0 to 7 Days
21% 31%9% 8%20% 11%
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days 37%
27%
11%
26%
Miami
Mexico City
Cancun
New York City
Madrid
Top 5 Destinations Party Size
Lead Time
Trip Duration
1 TRAVELER
2 TRAVELERS
3+ TRAVELERS73%
19%
8%
60+ Days30 to 59 Days22 to 29 Days15 to 21 Days8 to 14 Days0 to 7 Days
17% 48%7% 6%15% 8%
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days 24%
19%
12%
45%
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 11
What were the quarterly outbound search trends for Asia-Pacific?
What were the quarterly outbound search trends for the Middle East & Africa?
Bangkok
Singapore
Tokyo
London
Hong Kong
Top 5 Destinations Party Size
Lead Time
Trip Duration
1 TRAVELER
2 TRAVELERS
3+ TRAVELERS72%
18%
10%
60+ Days30 to 59 Days22 to 29 Days15 to 21 Days8 to 14 Days0 to 7 Days
18% 41%8% 6%17% 10%
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days 35%
27%
12%
26%
London
Istanbul
Paris
Amsterdam
Bangkok/New York City
Top 5 Destinations Party Size
Lead Time
Trip Duration
1 TRAVELER
2 TRAVELERS
3+ TRAVELERS75%
14%
12%
60+ Days30 to 59 Days22 to 29 Days15 to 21 Days8 to 14 Days0 to 7 Days
19% 21%10% 7%28% 14%
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days 27%
27%
14%
32%
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 13
Looking Forward Q4 is traditionally one of the busiest times for the travel industry, with people taking to the skies to visit families or enjoy vacations. In our Look Forward section, we analyze searches made by region for the month of December to understand how early planners are beginning to shape this holiday season, including:
• What destinations are European families searching for long-haul getaways
• How much farther North Americans are traveling in December
• Which days look to be the busiest for departures
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 15
What are the Q4 search trends for North America?
Las Vegas
Miami
New York City
Orlando
Los Angeles
Cancun
London
Paris
San Juan
Bangkok
Top 5 Destinations
Party Size
Trip Duration
SHORT-HAUL LONG-HAUL
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days43%
14%
39%
30%
10%
19%
8%
37%
3+ Travelers2 Travelers1 Traveler
10% 10%23% 19%68% 71%
What are the Q4 search trends for North America?
Share of Weekday Travel Departure
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 9% 9% 11% 14% 20% 23% 15%
LONG-HAUL 10% 11% 12% 14% 17% 18% 18%
Share of Weekday Searches
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 11% 16% 18% 18% 14% 13% 10%
LONG-HAUL 11% 16% 18% 17% 15% 13% 10%
HIGH LOW
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 17
Top 10 Destinations for North American Travelers During December by Category
Rank Beach Outdoor/Recreation Urban
1 Miami Orlando Las Vegas
2 Cancun Denver New York City
3 Honolulu Salt Lake City Los Angeles
4 San Juan Reykjavik London
5 Montego Bay Vail Mumbai
6 Bangkok Reno Paris
7 Punta Cana Calgary Delhi
8 Fort Myers Anchorage Chicago
9 Tampa Aspen San Francisco
10 Kahului Bozeman Manila
North American December Travel PreviewSo far, searches for December travel places the busiest days for departures right around Christmas—with most looking to depart again as soon as the festivities are complete. The top destinations promise sun, sand, and not a great deal of change from 2015, with the exception being a shift down for two Caribbean destinations.
WHAT ARE THE BUSIEST DAYS FOR DECEMBER DEPARTURES?
23, 26, 22Canada
23, 22, 26United States
Top Three Departure Dates Searched for in December
This time last year, the most popular days searched for December departures in North America were, in order, December 23, 19, and 18. This year, the most popular searched dates are later in December.
Travel marketers should note these later departure dates, and if interested in getting travelers in earlier, start holiday campaigns sooner.
WHERE ARE PEOPLE LOOKING TO GET AWAY IN DECEMBER?
Top Destinations for North American Travelers 2015 vs 2016
Rank 2015 2016 Rank Change
1 Miami Miami -
2 Cancun Las Vegas +2
3 Orlando Orlando -
4 Las Vegas Cancun -2
5 New York City New York City -
6 Los Angeles Los Angeles -
7 Honolulu Honolulu -
8 San Juan London +1
9 London San Juan -1
10 Mumbai Mumbai -
WHAT KIND OF DECEMBER GETAWAYS ARE NORTH AMERICANS LOOKING TO ENJOY?
Breaking down searches by destination type reveals nuances not seen in a top 10 look. For instance, Denver, Vail, Aspen, and Bozeman are already dominating the 2016 ski season search. Another popular activity is taking in the Northern Lights, which contributes to Iceland and Alaska’s place on the list.
ARE PEOPLE LOOKING TO LOG MORE MILES FOR THE HOLIDAYS?
While it generally holds that trips planned further ahead tend to be trips to far destinations, the holiday season is still special. For example, in August 2016, the US searched for flights averaging 2,000 miles, but in December that average jumps to 3,177 miles, an increase of 59%.
Departures after December are for shorter distances, despite being further in the future. For March 2017, the average distance of searched flights for early planners is 2,925 miles, some 250 miles shorter than December. For marketers, this means travelers are willing to travel further for the holidays.
Average Distance of Travel Intent from North America (mi)
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
Dec ‘16Nov ‘16Oct ‘16Sep ‘16Aug ‘16
CANADA UNITED STATES
FUTURE DEPARTURES
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 19
What are the Q4 search trends for Latin America?
Cancun
Mexico City
Santiago
Bogota
Sao Paulo
Miami
New York
Orlando
Madrid
Los Angeles
Top 5 Destinations
Party Size
Trip Duration
SHORT-HAUL LONG-HAUL
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days28%
15%
29%
23%
15%
19%
29%
44%
3+ Travelers2 Travelers1 Traveler
13% 14%18% 19%69% 67%
What are the Q4 search trends for Latin America?
HIGH LOW
Share of Weekday Travel Departure
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 9% 12% 13% 12% 18% 19% 18%
LONG-HAUL 10% 13% 14% 13% 18% 16% 16%
Share of Weekday Searches
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 11% 17% 17% 17% 14% 13% 10%
LONG-HAUL 12% 17% 17% 16% 14% 14% 10%
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 21
Latin American December Travel PreviewIn order to dig into Latin American travel trends, we focused in on Mexican travelers and investigated what kind of domestic vacations they’re looking to enjoy in December.
In particular, we analyzed the different planning patterns based on two of the most popular destinations: beach destinations and Pueblos Mágicos. According to Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism, Pueblos Mágicos, or Magic Villages, are areas recognized for their history, culture, and legends, including cities like Tapalpa, Tlaxo and Jala.2
WHAT ARE THE BUSIEST DAYS FOR DECEMBER DEPARTURES?
Though the top days of departures for each destination are in the beginning of the month, searches for Pueblos Mágicos peak early, then taper off at the end of the month. Beach destinations, on the other hand, enjoy more prolonged longevity throughout December compared to Pueblos Mágicos.
HOW LONG ARE MEXICAN TRAVELERS LOOKING TO GET AWAY?
WHAT KIND OF DESTINATIONS ARE ORIGIN MARKETS INTERESTED IN?
Mexico City is looking for both Beach and Magical getaways—given the large population, we understandably see a spread. Cancun, on the other hand, has access to the beach 365 days a year, so it makes sense to see them looking to travel to more cultural places.
Beach destinations are seeing more mid-length trips at 4-7 days. Pueblos Mágicos, on the other hand, has a split in interest: 43% of travelers are looking for trips of 12 or more days and 33% are looking for travel for 0-3 days.
These insights reveal that Mexican travelers, more than most, are looking to leave early in December, so travel marketers should plan campaign spend accordingly.
What’s more, we also see the importance of knowing travelers’ preference for destinations, with planning patterns varying depending on the destination. Beach destinations should spread out ad spend throughout the month of December as intent is sustained even until the end. Pueblos Mágicos, on the other hand, should note and plan around the spike at the beginning of December.
Similarly, take note of the difference in trip duration for each destination type to plan your packages.
BEACH PUEBLOS MAGICOS (MAGIC VILLAGES)
Departure Dates Searched by Destination TypeMexican Travelers for Domestic Trips
0%
3%
6%
9%
12%
15%
Dec 29Dec 24Dec 19Dec 14Dec 9Dec 4
Top Origin Markets by Destination Type
Beach Pueblos Magicos (Magic Villages)
Mexico City Tijuana
Tijuana Cancun
Guadalajara Mexico City
Monterrey Monterrey
Silao Guadalajara
BEACH PUEBLOS MAGICOS (MAGIC VILLAGES)
Trip Duration Searched by Destination TypeMexican Travelers for Domestic Trips
12+ Days8 to 11 Days4 to 7 Days0 to 3 Days
29% 33% 37% 18% 9% 7% 24% 43%9, 8, 1Beach Destinations
9, 8, 7Pueblos Mágicos
Top Three Departure Dates Searched for in December
2 Gob.mx. “Pueblos Mágicos, herencia que impulsan Turismo.”
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 23
What are the Q4 search trends for Europe?
London
Barcelona
Amsterdam
Palma de Mallorca
Madrid
Bangkok
New York City
Dubai
Miami
Bali
Top 5 Destinations
Party Size
Trip Duration
SHORT-HAUL LONG-HAUL
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days49%
15%
31%
19%
9%
16%
11%
50%
3+ Travelers2 Travelers1 Traveler
15% 14%26% 24%60% 63%
What are the Q4 search trends for Europe?
HIGH LOW
Share of Weekday Travel Departure
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 8% 10% 11% 9% 17% 22% 25%
LONG-HAUL 9% 12% 13% 11% 18% 15% 22%
Share of Weekday Searches
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 14% 17% 17% 16% 14% 12% 10%
LONG-HAUL 12% 16% 17% 16% 14% 13% 11%
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 25
Top 5 Long-Haul Destinations in December for Groups and FamiliesParty Size of 3 or More
Rank France Origin Germany Origin United Kingdom Origin Netherlands Origin
Destinations
1 New York City Bangkok Orlando Bangkok
2 Bangkok Miami New York City Denpasar
3 St. Denis New York City Dubai Cape Town
4 Pointe-a-Pitre Dubai Bangkok Johannesburg
5 Fort-de-France Cape Town Sydney Willemstad
European December Travel PreviewAll European departures in December are, so far, concentrated around Christmas. We then focused in on family travel to reveal variations in December vacation planning. While Bangkok has, overall, the most searches, some of the countries we looked at show a strong preference for tourism in former territories.
WHAT ARE THE BUSIEST DAYS FOR DECEMBER DEPARTURES?
WHERE ARE FAMILIES LOOKING TO SPEND THEIR WINTER HOLIDAYS?
Year-over-year changes for family travel
• As the Olympics fade into the past, so too does interest in Brazil: the destination falls from third in 2015 to sixth in 2017.
• Turkey falls from eight to 17th due in large part to the political instability in the country.
• Bangkok remains the top city from 2015 to 2016.
What are the Q4 search trends for Middle East & Africa?
Istanbul
Dubai
Tel Aviv
Abu Dhabi
Cairo
London
Bangkok
New York City
Amsterdam
Manila
Top 5 Destinations
Party Size
Trip Duration
SHORT-HAUL LONG-HAUL
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days34%
24%
26%
25%
14%
15%
26%
36%
3+ Travelers2 Travelers1 Traveler
12% 11%17% 19%72% 71%
23, 22, 26Eastern Europe
23, 26, 22Western Europe
Top Three Departure Dates Searched for in December
It’s no surprise to see warm weather destinations dominating family searches in December. Use this early planning to your advantage and start serving ads to ensure that family travelers head to your destination and not a competitor's.
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 27
Share of Weekday Travel Departure
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 9% 10% 12% 10% 20% 18% 21%
LONG-HAUL 9% 11% 13% 11% 22% 17% 18%
Share of Weekday Searches
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 14% 16% 16% 16% 14% 12% 12%
LONG-HAUL 14% 16% 16% 16% 14% 12% 12%
What are the Q4 search trends for Middle East & Africa?
HIGH LOW
Middle Eastern & African December Travel PreviewMiddle Eastern and African travelers are looking for December trips that depart much earlier in the month than the rest of the world. Also, top destinations are heavily weighted toward Asia-Pacific countries and cities, with India and the Philippines seeing the most searches so far.
WHAT ARE THE BUSIEST DAYS FOR DECEMBER DEPARTURES?
WHERE ARE MIDDLE EAST TRAVELERS LOOKING TO GO IN DECEMBER?
Though there’s little divergence for timing between the Middle East as a whole and UAE, knowing their preference in destinations, such as UAE leaning towards more Asia-Pacific destinations, allows marketers in those regions to focus in on a specific market.
Top 10 Destinations Cities
Rank Middle East UAE
1 Manila Manila
2 London London
3 Bangkok Kochi
4 Amsterdam Mumbai
5 Paris Calicut
6 Kochi Bangkok
7 New York City Trivandrum
8 Berlin Dublin
9 Dubai Davao City
10 Mumbai Paris
Top 10 Destinations Countries
Rank Middle East UAE
1 Philippines Philippines
2 India India
3 United Kingdom United Kingdom
4 United States United States
5 Germany Australia
6 Thailand Thailand
7 France France
8 Netherlands Ireland
9 Italy Germany
10 Turkey Pakistan
15, 22, 16Middle East
15, 16, 22United Arab Emirates
Top Three Departure Dates Searched for in December
Six of the top 10 destinations for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are located in Asia-Pacific. And India has the largest share of destinations within that list.
Yet, there’s much greater diversity in destinations when looking at the Middle East as a whole. European cities make up four out of top ten list and Asia-Pacific cities garner another four slots.
The top four countries searched by both the Middle East and UAE are the same and follow the pattern we noted above: Asia-Pacific countries take the top two searched destinations.
The only regional destination on the list is Pakistan, coming at spot 10 for the UAE. The Middle East is bucking a global trend and has Turkey within their top 10 list for December.
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 29
What are the Q4 search trends for Asia-Pacific?
Tokyo
Singapore
Taipei
Bangkok
Hong Kong
London
New York City
Los Angeles
Paris
Honolulu
Top 5 Destinations
Party Size
Trip Duration
SHORT-HAUL LONG-HAUL
12+ Days
8 to 11 Days
4 to 7 Days
0 to 3 Days31%
17%
34%
23%
14%
17%
21%
43%
3+ Travelers2 Travelers1 Traveler
17% 12%22% 20%61% 68%
What are the Q4 search trends for Asia-Pacific?
HIGH LOW
Share of Weekday Travel Departure
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 10% 10% 11% 11% 17% 20% 21%
LONG-HAUL 10% 12% 13% 12% 18% 17% 19%
Share of Weekday Searches
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
SHORT-HAUL 12% 17% 17% 17% 14% 13% 11%
LONG-HAUL 13% 16% 17% 16% 14% 12% 11%
SOJERN.COM / [email protected] Q3 2016 GLOBAL TRAVEL INSIGHTS 31
Asian-Pacific December Travel PreviewAsian-Pacific travelers show a great deal of divergence when it comes to December departures, with Singapore searching to leave early on the month and Japan interested in later dates for departure.
WHAT ARE THE BUSIEST DAYS FOR DECEMBER DEPARTURES?
HOW LONG ARE ASIA-PACIFIC TRAVELERS LOOKING TO GET AWAY?
Glossary Lead Time (Search or Booking) The length of time between a search or booking and departure date.
Last-Minute Booker A traveler that books a trip with seven days or less to travel.
Short-Haul & Long-Haul Trip Short-haul is usually regional, while long-haul is usually inter-regional.
Regional CoverageSojern breaks down the world into regions and subregions as shown in the map below. Regions are shown with a colored background and subregions with a white background.
MethodologySojern’s quarterly insights reports are based on the rigorous analysis of more than a billion traveler intent data points, obtained through Sojern’s unique partnerships with some of the world’s most renowned travel brands. Our analysis is based on airport level data which is then aggregated to countries and regions. All of the insights are based on very specific data sets as provided by Sojern's data partners. Sojern’s data is rounded to the nearest whole number for readability and therefore not all charts and graphs will add up to 100%. Sojern never shares or distributes personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, emails, or addresses. The data provided is not a complete view of all global traveler information, as different data sources provide additional views of traveler behavior.
Caribbean
South America
Oceania
Southeast Asia
East Asia
South Asia
Middle East
North America
Europe
Central America
Latin America
Asia-Pacific
Eastern Europe
Central Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
North Africa
Middle East & Africa
Western Europe
Top 5 Destinations Searched for December 2016
Australia Origin Japan Origin Singapore Origin
London Bangkok Taipei
Singapore Taipei Manila
Denpasar Hong Kong Hong Kong
Los Angeles Honolulu Tokyo
Auckland Singapore Seoul
WHERE ARE ASIA-PACIFIC TRAVELERS LOOKING TO SPEND THEIR DECEMBER HOLIDAY?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Singapore
Japan
Australia
Trip Duration Searched for December
0 TO 1 DAYS 2 TO 3 DAYS 4 TO 5 DAYS 6 TO 7 DAYS 8 TO 11 DAYS 12+ DAYS
26%
71%
23, 17, 16Australia
29, 28, 30Japan
23, 1, 16Singapore
Top Three Departure Dates Searched for in December
Given that most destinations are long-haul for Australia, we see travelers favoring longer trips, especially in comparison to Japan and Singapore.
Understanding not only the region to which you want to market, but also the nuances within, is key to creating timely and targeted ads for December marketing campaigns. Time your campaigns to hit the early planners in Singapore first and then the later planners in Japan, for instance.
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