Q3 2016 Global Travel Insights - Travel’s Direct Demand …€¦ · · 2017-05-17SOJERN.COM /...

Q3 2016 Global Travel Insights

July 2016 to September 2016

http://www.sojern.com

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/.


mailto:solutions%40sojern.com?subject=

http://www.sojern.com/get-started/


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”



https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/travel-trends-2016-data-consumer-insights.html&sa=D&ust=1476127870619000&usg=AFQjCNFGDypEtklG44yI7iMH7MuRv257gQ

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/travel-trends-2016-data-consumer-insights.html&sa=D&ust=1476127870619000&usg=AFQjCNFGDypEtklG44yI7iMH7MuRv257gQ


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%




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


Lead Time

Trip Duration

1 TRAVELER

2 TRAVELERS

3+ TRAVELERS66%

22%

12%


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


Lead Time

Trip Duration

1 TRAVELER

2 TRAVELERS

3+ TRAVELERS73%

19%

8%


17% 48%7% 6%15% 8%

12+ Days

8 to 11 Days

4 to 7 Days

0 to 3 Days 24%

19%

12%

45%




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


Lead Time

Trip Duration

1 TRAVELER

2 TRAVELERS

3+ TRAVELERS72%

18%

10%


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


Lead Time

Trip Duration

1 TRAVELER

2 TRAVELERS

3+ TRAVELERS75%

14%

12%


19% 21%10% 7%28% 14%

12+ Days

8 to 11 Days

4 to 7 Days

0 to 3 Days 27%

27%

14%

32%




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




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


SHORT-HAUL 11% 16% 18% 18% 14% 13% 10%

LONG-HAUL 11% 16% 18% 17% 15% 13% 10%

HIGH LOW




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




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


12+ Days

8 to 11 Days

4 to 7 Days

0 to 3 Days28%

15%

29%

23%

15%

19%

29%

44%


13% 14%18% 19%69% 67%

What are the Q4 search trends for Latin America?

HIGH LOW



SHORT-HAUL 9% 12% 13% 12% 18% 19% 18%

LONG-HAUL 10% 13% 14% 13% 18% 16% 16%



SHORT-HAUL 11% 17% 17% 17% 14% 13% 10%

LONG-HAUL 12% 17% 17% 16% 14% 14% 10%




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


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


2 Gob.mx. “Pueblos Mágicos, herencia que impulsan Turismo.”




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


12+ Days

8 to 11 Days

4 to 7 Days

0 to 3 Days49%

15%

31%

19%

9%

16%

11%

50%


15% 14%26% 24%60% 63%

What are the Q4 search trends for Europe?

HIGH LOW



SHORT-HAUL 8% 10% 11% 9% 17% 22% 25%

LONG-HAUL 9% 12% 13% 11% 18% 15% 22%



SHORT-HAUL 14% 17% 17% 16% 14% 12% 10%

LONG-HAUL 12% 16% 17% 16% 14% 13% 11%




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.


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


12+ Days

8 to 11 Days

4 to 7 Days

0 to 3 Days34%

24%

26%

25%

14%

15%

26%

36%


12% 11%17% 19%72% 71%

23, 22, 26Eastern Europe

23, 26, 22Western Europe


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.






SHORT-HAUL 9% 10% 12% 10% 20% 18% 21%

LONG-HAUL 9% 11% 13% 11% 22% 17% 18%



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.


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


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.




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


12+ Days

8 to 11 Days

4 to 7 Days

0 to 3 Days31%

17%

34%

23%

14%

17%

21%

43%


17% 12%22% 20%61% 68%

What are the Q4 search trends for Asia-Pacific?

HIGH LOW



SHORT-HAUL 10% 10% 11% 11% 17% 20% 21%

LONG-HAUL 10% 12% 13% 12% 18% 17% 19%



SHORT-HAUL 12% 17% 17% 17% 14% 13% 11%

LONG-HAUL 13% 16% 17% 16% 14% 12% 11%




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.


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


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.



SAN FRANCISCO 118 2nd St., 3rd Floor

San Francisco, CA 94105

NEW YORK240 W. 35th St., Suite 500

New York, NY 10001

OMAHA810 S. 169th St.

Omaha, NE 68118

LONDON3rd Floor, 5 St. John's Lane

Farringdon, LondonEC1M 4BH

SINGAPORE#42-01

Six Battery RoadSingapore 049909

DUBAI37th Floor, Jumeirah Business Centre 2

Unit 3702-25 JLT, Dubai, UAE

SIGN UP FOR MORE INSIGHTS

www.sojern.com/mailing-list/

http://www.sojern.com/mailing-list/?utm_source=gti&utm_medium=direct&utm_content=link-to-report&utm_campaign=mailing-list-sign-up

http://www.sojern.com/mailing-list/?utm_source=q2-2016-gti&utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=email-sign-up

Q3 2016 Global Travel Insights - Travel’s Direct Demand …€¦ · · 2017-05-17SOJERN.COM /...

Documents

Transcript of Q3 2016 Global Travel Insights - Travel’s Direct Demand …€¦ · · 2017-05-17SOJERN.COM /...