The point: People are itching to travel again. Make their planning easier with a focus on flexibility, safety and the great outdoors.
Some good news on the travel front: In many countries, people are starting to move again. As shelter-in-place mandates begin to loosen, it opens the door to early signs of recovery.
As travellers look to ease back into exploring, brands are finding new opportunities to connect with them in meaningful ways. We’re seeing a shift away from the usual mix of TV and digital ads touting the latest deals. Instead, brands are promoting trips more attuned to current health and safety recommendations. Some are looking beyond the virus, sharing content around dream holidays—so they’ll be top of mind when things go back to normal. Others are keeping people engaged with virtual travel experiences.
For travellers, Pinterest is often the first place they go when starting to plan their next adventure. As a result, travel brands are studying the latest search trends on our platform to determine how to engage consumers—and how to boost demand.
Some of the trends we’re seeing? With COVID-19 still a concern, car-centred vacations are gaining ground. Searches for “UK road trip” are up 194% while those for “road trip essentials” have zoomed ahead 102%.1
Searches for outdoor-focused destinations are also spiking, with “lake district england” up 109% and “camping essentials” up 82%.2 (Use our trends tool to learn about all the destinations Pinners are searching for).
Many travel brands are using Pinterest to help inspire people to travel again. Here are some recent examples—along with tips your brand can use to connect with travellers:
When Disney closed all of its parks and retail stores, they wanted to bring some Disney “magic” into people's homes. Disney Parks used Pinterest to share recipes Pinners could make at home, as well as rides that Pinners could take in a virtual way.
1. Help travellers imagine the future
Think about ways you can bring what’s unique about your brand—your food, your culture, your experience—into people’s homes so they’ll want to plan a trip with your brand when the time is right.
France-based hospitality brand Accor’s Ibis Hotels has offered increased flexibility with bookings to give travellers peace of mind.
2. Reassure travellers by sharing your plans for safety and trust
Consider ways to reassure travellers that they can hit the road with confidence and that bookings are flexible if plans have to change.
3. Keep travel within reach
If it fits for your brand, find ways to help people ease back into the travel habit without having to make substantial time, distance, or financial commitments.
Mindful that people need to ease back into things, Hilton has featured inspirational travel ideas closer to home including Staycations, Getaways, and day trips.
4. Stay on top of the trends
Use trends on Pinterest to remain relevant with travellers, sharing content and ads that reflect where they’re planning to travel next.
Acting on the insight that searches for “national parks” had increased 60% year over year (YoY) on Pinterest among US Pinners, Southwest Airlines built customised creative to help travellers visualise their trip. They included a Pinterest trend badge on their Pin series, lending further credibility to the moment as it was unfolding.
5. Personalise your message based on peoples’ passions
Now’s the time to learn what your audience is really passionate about. Make sure your creative highlights how travelling with your brand will bring people closer to what they love.
Visit California studied Pinterest Travel Personas to make sure they were appealing to people’s passions for travel that included wellness, spa, family, adventure and foodie experiences.
We’ve seen the trends in our data—Pinners are itching to get back out there. Now’s the time to make sure you have the right strategies in place for when demand starts to really take off once again.