Why Crowdsourcing Is an Important Factor of Destination Selection

Traveler-submitted reviews are an increasingly necessary feature to travelers today. Crowdsourcing is especially important to travelers in the U.K. According to Phocuswright's Destination Unknown: How U.S. and European Travelers Decide Where to Go 2013 (a European and Global Edition report), the percentage of British travelers turning to crowdsourcing increased from 67% in 2012 to 76% in 2013. In Germany and the U.S., 81% and 64% of consumers use traveler review sites, respectively.

"Travel suppliers commonly focus on traditional points of influence such as online travel agencies (OTAs) and general search engines like Google and Bing," says Phocuswright's, senior director, research John DiStefano. "If these suppliers ignore travel review sites, they are missing an important avenue of influence on traveler behavior."

"Suppliers now need to find and play to their most promising points of impact in the digital travel landscape – a place where shoppers can consult the advice of millions of strangers."

Travelers today look for information they can trust – and personal recommendations are likely to sway their opinions. General search engines and OTAs are still the most-used websites for destination selection, but traveler review websites are close behind – third for French, German and American travelers and second for British travelers.

Over 50% of travelers already have a location in mind when they start planning a trip. So, marketers must take advantage of travelers' constant access to information by building trust before they begin the planning process – and maintaining a positive presence on travel review sites is the most effective way to build this trust.

Report topics include:

• Overall consumer travel trends in each market, including travel incidence, frequency and duration of trips, international travel and trip expenditure
• Destination selection patterns for domestic and international travelers (distinguishing between European travelers who travel within versus outside of Europe)
• Timing of when travelers choose their destination and the specialized process that sets destination selection apart from other travel decisions
• Motivators for selecting a travel destination and specific sources of influence
• Information sources and websites used
• Discussion of the most influential types of social media and online features in each market

Purchase Phocuswright's Destination Unknown: How U.S. and European Travelers Decide Where to Go 2013 to master market differences and influence the destination selection process.