Best Travel and Tourism Research Websites

The success of your marketing and advertising campaigns is highly dependent on good customer research. Without it, you’re kind of flailing in the dark.

In this post, I introduce 7 helpful sources of travel market research for tour companies, DMOs, and travel agencies.

General market research might be reassuring or provide some direction, yet the kind of information SMB travel companies need is nichey and specific. And that’s where relevant info resources become scarce.

The Pursuit of Actionable Insights

Of course, it’s not just data you’re after, but some help in understanding what it means.

Concise, enlightening, and reliable information on your targeted traveler’s intent and preferences and habits, helps you connect with them, impact them and generate bookings. It’s also essential to developing your brand and delivering the pre-travel experience that leads to bookings.

Your brand/customer resonance will suffer if you don’t have that certainty from knowing their traveler type, preferences, perspectives and feedback. Keyword and topic research won’t suffice as your marketing knowledge. And your travel marketing software might have the depth of insight you need.

To commit your time and money for optimal travel marketing results, you’ll need these insights.

My quest is to better understand specifically drives your intended audience, what captures their attention, and what pre-travel experience they want, so we have the content prospects really enjoy. You likely want that something extra from freelancers to contribute to sales growth. I’d be delighted to help develop that power through research.

Most data provided and published by travel associations, big research companies is usually targeted for large travel companies, not small niche businesses that need to get precise. And these resources and services might guide your own original market research through polls, questionnaires, interviews, agent conservations and notes, and your marketing analytics software.

Here are 7 research sources and platforms more tailored to SMBs in the travel industry:

1. PhocusWright Travel Hub

PhocusWright covers SMB-related trends and challenges in the travel industry. Insights on core travel consumer metrics, destinations, and technology use for many travel segments, and for travel agents, tour operators, OTAs, TMCs, and advertising agencies.

Phocuswright Strength: SMB travel tech, marketing strategies, competitive insights.

Website: phocuswright.com/

2. Tourpreneur

Why It’s Great: Tourpreneur is a podcast and community built specifically for small tour operators. The company offers practical advice from tour operators, insights on travel business management, and studies of real-world successes in travel marketing and operations.

Tourpreneur Strength: Small tour companies, operational tips, marketing strategies.

Website: tourpreneur.com

3. Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)

ATTA provides specialized insights for small adventure trip and tour operators and travel agencies offering packages and services in Europe and globally. This includes research reports, and access to a global network of adventure travel professionals. They offer a connection to a large and vibrant community of tour operators, guides, advisors, tourism boards, and accommodation managers so you can get more valuable information.

ATTA’s Strength: Adventure travel, SMB tour operators, and industry research.

Website: adventuretravel.biz

4. Travel Market Report

Travel Market Report is dubbed the voice of the travel advisor. It serves retail travel sellers in North America, in particular, travel advisors, independent agents, and small travel agencies. It provides a wealth of articles and practical advice on improving sales marketing strategies along with travel segment reports.

Travel Market Report Strength: SMB travel agencies, sales improvement, market trends.

Website: travelmarketreport.com

5. TourRadar Blog

TourRadar is one of the top tour experience booking platforms. Their blog offers insights for small and medium-sized tour operators with tips on improving customer service, marketing strategies, and running successful tours in Europe.

TourRadar Strength: Insight for SMB tour operators, travel marketing companies.

Website: tourradar.com

6. Skift

Skift is one of the top resources for travel industry business information. They decipher and define global travel trends via news, research, market reports, conferences, exclusive interviews, and strategic sector-focused newsletters.

Skift Strength: Detailed B2B and B2C market information for hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, travel software providers, and other tourism-involved companies.

Website: research.skift.com/

7. Lotame Data Exchange

Travel companies can enjoy ready access to high-quality audience views Lotame’s second- and third-party data marketplaces. You can choose from pre-packaged, custom, or proprietary Lotame Precision Demographic and Intent audiences. Dive deeper into eight essential target audiences for travel campaigns, and the different types of market segments that travel brands should consider.

Finding great travel research is wonderful, however, you should be confident that it’s reliable and not skewed. The credibility of these companies gives you some certainty that you are targeting real customers.

However, they’re only a path to traveler insights, and at some point you are responsible for developing your own in-depth profiles of your ideal travel customers.

It’s time to grow your travel business.

Call Gord at 416 998 6246 to build reach and leads.