Laika's 10 useful tips for travel PR

Photo by **Avel Chuklanov** on **Unsplash**

The main rule for PR in travel business: never stop being in touch.

The travel season is ramping up again. According to The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) tourism is quickly recovering from the long lockdown, many countries are canceling Covid restrictions and are ready to meet guests in the hope to increase the tourist flow this year.

There are many players in the travel market: destinations, hotels, tour operators, agencies, insurance companies and airlines. While everyone has their own aims and goals, they share the desire to create a loyal audience, build a positive reputation, increase brand awareness, and of course promote their services in the media.

PR activities are extremely important for any travel business. There is no special season for travel PR, it’s a long story, better yet, “a love story”. It’s a continuous process, with regular work and TLC with potential customers.

The information field is overcrowded, and you must always be in the public eye, try to follow trends, and use different channels: media, social media, influencers, events, branded products, promotional trips, etc.

How to properly build communication with the audience in the media? What is important to remember? And what are the trends in travel PR?

Here are 10 tips which can make a travel PR campaign effective

Plan out your social media content thoroughly.

The internet has become the most popular channel for travelers to book their trips — more than ever travelers are online and mobile-savvy. Social media is an important source of information about you and your business and services, etc.

So, make a plan for posting social media content and follow it. Content must be captivating, interesting and catch the eye. Information has to be updated regularly. Repost the publications about your company/place/destination just after they appear in media outlets. High quality content, pictures, and blog posts will catch the attention of followers. Content must be planned out carefully, there should be a smart balance between advertorial, informational and entertaining posts.

2. Cooperate with influencers.

One of the trends in travel PR relies on the marketing of influence, with a focus on micro and nano bloggers, who have a high level of trust — quality over quantity. In addition, travel bloggers, in most cases, are happy to cooperate with travel brands for free, because they get new content, and it’s really valuable to them. It’s a win-win combination.

3. Video content is king.

Great content is the best PR. Good video content in travel PR is a perfect way to catch consumers’ attention and help them picture a relaxing time on the beach, skiing in fresh powder snow, or cruising along the Greek coast. Creative video content can strengthen all PR campaigns.

4. Tell stories.

Storytelling is an effective tool for attracting people, and it’s especially effective in promoting destinations.

People are more likely to respond to someone’s personal story rather than facts and figures. We identify with the character, the hero of the story. Their actions evoke our emotions, inspire us, teach us something. A bond of trust is formed.

Use the legends, success stories, love stories, trouble-solving stories to attract people’s attention to the place, location, or destination site.. Any story can work if you write it correctly. If you don’t know how, trust in experts to help you with this.

5. Ease the pains and solve the problems.

Potential customers appreciate posts that offer ways to solve their problems.

Outline a problem your potential customer may be facing during their travels and offer several ways to solve it. The media usually loves these types of topics. This will confirm your expertise and draw attention to your company's brand. Such an expert voice will work well for travel companies and suppliers of travel services.

6. Share useful listicles.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

People love to have their lives made easier — one’s daily routine can be burdensome. So your expert recommendations in the form of lists will not go unnoticed

You can make lists of top hotels for holidays with children, the best iInstagrammable locations, recommendations for restaurants and cafés, or how to pack a suitcase in 15 minutes for a short trip. Helpful advices like these get the clicks, read well, and show that the author is an expert on the topic and can be trusted.

7. Create a hero.

People trust people and buy from people too. Make the leader of the company, or another key figure, public. Let them give interviews, speak at conferences, tell customer stories, etc. Public personalities work very well for building a reputation and humanizing the brand in travel PR.

8. Interact with your audience.

You can and should offer interactions with your business with the help of media: hold challenges, online training, online quizzes, surveys, and contests. Push people to talk about you and tell their friends about your activities. Don’t forget to reward participants, offer gifts, and winner prizes — and pitch press releases about it. Such events always have a positive effect on your image.

9. Host something great.

Any offline event is a good PR reason to invite journalists. It can be a photo exhibition, a party, a concert, a business breakfast/lunch with a company representative. You can make a dinner thanking partners — and press coverage of the event would be awesome. B2B events always work well. Workshops, award ceremonies, road shows — are good events worth speaking about.

10. Invite guests so they feel something.

The best PR for locations, hotels, restaurants, and museums stems from the emotions felt from a personal visit. Press tours of cities and destinations are great to get that emotional response. Let it be restaurant/café welcome breakfasts, or weekend hotel stays — inspire your visitors to share their experience on social media and prepare small takeaway gifts for them, as a reminder of your hospitality.

In a nutshell: PR in the travel business has to be a continuous process, never stop doing something to remind people about you. The benefits of PR are huge, and they will help you succeed in this highly competitive market. If you are short onf ideas and resources, don’t hesitate to contact PR professionals.

10 useful tips for travel PR

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