According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council，Currently the global tourism industry supports one tenth of the world’s employment，10% of global GDP.4%。Today’s destination marketing agency’s mission is much more than just attracting tourists。

“We believe that destinations must gradually consider cooperation with large platforms，Instead of just thinking about fighting alone，" said Chris Adams, director of research and insights at excursion marketing company Miles Partnership，“Some destination marketing agencies feel somewhat uneasy that they no longer have complete control over their own destiny，Thinks that your official website may no longer be so important in the entire ecosystem。However，Overall view，Once they partner with these platforms，You will realize that the coverage and opportunities gained are irresistible。”

This article will gradually search through Google for each destination、Facebook、Detailed discussion on the opportunities of global search and social platforms such as Instagram and WeChat to build your own brand，And analyze how destinations can make the most of such opportunities。

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Google launched the “Destination Marketing Agency Partner Program” in 2017，Purpose is via Google Maps、Google Street View and Google My Business for small businesses boost Google content、Quality and Accuracy。

For destination，Destination marketing agencies have free access to a variety of tools through this program，In this way, you can increase the visibility of yourself and local businesses on the Google platform，You can also get pictures and videos using the easy-to-use interface，and publish directly to Google，Get and publish attribution data and reporting data simultaneously。

Adams believes that this opportunity is extremely valuable，After all, the growth of natural traffic on the official websites of various destinations is currently slowing down。

“Usually 50% to 60% of the traffic to the official website of a destination marketing agency is organic traffic。At present, the year-on-year growth of organic traffic has stagnated。There was even a slight decline last year，” Adams said。

Miles Partnership works with approximately 85 destination marketing agencies around the world，Help these agencies better participate in Google’s Destination Marketing Agency Partner Program。According to Adams，When cooperating, we will first evaluate the destination’s current exposure on the Google platform，Then development content，Finally, educational propaganda，Help local business owners learn how to use various tools。

The Bermuda Tourism Board is a client of Miles Partnership，And have seized this opportunity。This destination marketing agency began uploading 360-degree panoramic videos of the entire island to Google at the end of May 2018，And has taught more than 100 local business owners how to add videos to their Google listings。

As of now，Bermuda’s images and Street View videos on Google have been viewed more than 23 million times。This is a great opportunity for free publicity to achieve global coverage。

According to Adams，All destination marketing agencies that the company is currently actively tracking，The content has received more than 2 views.2.6 billion。And the total page views received by most organizations on Google are equal to or even much higher than the total page views of their official websites。

However，The task ahead is still arduous。Adams said there are currently 80 countries (including India、Popular destinations such as Costa Rica and Nepal) do not publish content on Google Street View at all。This not only prevents tourists from experiencing it online，It also hinders the economic development of the destination。

Destinations that participated in the Google project，Also facing various challenges，Content development requires a significant investment of time and budget。“Destination marketing agencies must demonstrate their value to Google as a valued content partner，"Adams 188bet app download said，“I think it’s absolutely safe to say，Although hundreds of destination marketing agencies have participated in this Google project，But the scale is not enough，Can’t really get Google’s undivided attention。Therefore，Destination marketing agencies must demonstrate their value in high-quality content at scale，Not just getting content from the early stages of a project，We must continue to contribute content on the Google platform。”

WeChat

According to data from China Outbound Tourism Research Institute，First half of 2019，China’s outbound tourists increased by nearly 13% year-on-year。

Chinese citizens’ outbound travel spending is also growing。According to Phocuswright’s “2019 China Online Travel: Data at a Glance” report，The outbound travel booking volume of Chinese citizens in 2018 was approximately US$165 billion，The annual growth is expected to be about 10% by 2022，To reach $239 billion。

Therefore，Short-distance travel agencies around the world will naturally compete to gain the attention and strong interest of Chinese tourists。One of the most effective ways is to use China’s most mainstream social applications，WeChat owned by Tencent。

WeChat monthly users exceed 1.1 billion，is a super app，Collection Shopping、Picture sharing、Instant messaging、Payment、Ordering、Transportation、Games and a lot of content in one。

From early 2017，Brands can create mini programs on WeChat。A mini program is a cloud-based application，Built into WeChat application。Therefore，Users can use these programs without additional downloads。

Tencent aims to reflect the value of mini programs in the field of short-distance travel，In partnership with Helsinki Tourism, Helsinki’s destination marketing agency，Developed a WeChat applet for it，Helping Chinese consumers travel to Helsinki。

This applet is supported by the MyHelsinki open API。This open interface provides detailed planning、Various local events in Helsinki、Real-time information on events and places of interest。Content and advice provided by hundreds of local residents。Tia Hallanoro, Director of Brand Communications and Digital Development at the Helsinki Tourism Board, calls these residents “trusted fashion leaders for Chinese tourists”。The design strategy of the mini program is provided by Idea Design Academy。

This mini program also includes payment services from WeChat Pay and ground transportation booking 188bet online sports betting services provided by startup technology company Maas Global and its app Whim。

"This way，Visitors can complete itinerary planning in the same mini program、Transportation booking and payment，” Hallanoro said，“Our purpose is to enable the end-to-end customer journey。But no need for too much modification，Sometimes good design is to keep everything as simple as possible。The key point is to have good content when promoting on the official website。”

The Edinburgh Tourism Bureau also created a WeChat mini program。Alice He, the agency’s China social media manager, also believes content is fundamental。“We create content in-house。We know our audience，Know your destination，And learn through experience what kind of content works effectively，”He said。

According to He，Chinese students studying in Edinburgh tell their own experiences、Pictures showing the beauty of the city of Edinburgh，And pictures of popular film locations such as Avengers: Infinity War，They are all very popular among Chinese tourists。

WeChat is also an effective tool for communication between destinations and travel agents。Longtu Interactive’s “Tourism Micro Lecture Hall” is a course based on WeChat。Destination marketing organizations such as Switzerland Tourism and the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau use this platform to let Chinese travel agents learn about their destinations。

“I think the important thing is to understand that WeChat is not only useful for B2C marketing，Also useful for B2B marketing。B2B marketing is still of considerable importance in China’s outbound tourism market，” said Sienna Parulis-Cook, Public Relations Manager of Longtu Interactive。

Facebook and Instagram

The combined monthly users of Facebook and Instagram are close to 3 billion。Therefore，Both platforms account for the bulk of digital ad spend across all travel industry verticals，This includes expenditures by destination marketing agencies。

According to Richard Black, general manager of excursions at travel technology company Sojern，These two platforms allow destination marketing agencies to do what they have always done，And extremely efficient。“The point is always to reach the consumer at the right moment，”Black 188bet app said，“Destination marketing agencies are eager to maintain this kind of website traffic。However，In fact，At present, these institutions have realized something，That is, where the consumer is in the shopping path，Publish content where you must。”

According to Sojern’s “2019 Facebook and Instragram Travel Advertising Report”，Time spent by travelers on Facebook，is its travel-related application、More than five times the time spent on websites and search engines，96% of tourists are considering travel destinations，Will go to Instragram。

Sojern conducted a survey of more than 600 tourism marketing agencies，Including 117 destination marketing agencies。The survey results are as follows: 2018，Facebook and Instagram account for 23% of these organizations’ digital ad spend。More than half of the organizations plan to spend more on advertising on these two platforms this year than last year。And this result is completely expected。

The two major platforms have seen strong interest in themselves from tourism marketing agencies，Therefore we are constantly improving the tools provided。Facebook launched the Trip Consideration tool in March 2018，Show targeted ads to users who have already viewed travel-related pages。“This tool allows destination marketing agencies to truly maximize this area，Enable it to reach a broad audience interested in traveling，”Black 188bet app said，“Destination marketing agencies are using machine learning technology to send ads to consumers who are actually likely to book a trip。”

In addition to enabling targeted marketing, digital tools，Currently also capable of complex data capture and analysis，Here’s how digital advertising performs，Understand whether this type of advertising ultimately has an impact on what consumers do locally at the destination。

Travel marketing data monitoring company Arrivalist uses anonymized aggregated mobile phone location data to provide analysis information on conversion rate attribution。“We often find that destination marketing agencies have up to 60% of their marketing activities、70% or even 80%，There is room for further improvement of pertinence，” says Arrivalist CEO Cree Lawson。

Black means，In addition to using Facebook and Instagram 188bet online sports betting to advertise in each destination，Be able to use Facebook more skillfully as an instant and direct communication tool。He named Amelia Island、Destination Marketing Agency in Florida and Myrtle Beach, SC，These agencies recently used Facebook to let people know that their communities were not affected by Hurricane Dorian。"Tragedy happens，When the economy is severely hit，Destination marketing agencies are the first line of defense to regain tourists，”Black said。

*This article comesSource: WeChat public account " Road access”(ID: travelskygds)，Author: Sun Zongxun，Original title: "Destination Marketing: Opportunities from Search and Social Media》.