The Americans spent it over 850 billion dollars domestic leisure trips in 2023, and this amount is prone to increase in future years. Whether it is a weekend trip to a Taylor Swift concert, a long-awaited holiday visit with family, or a month-long trip to national parks, travel can have a long-lasting impact on how we view ourselves.
In the age of social media, platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Reddit have develop into places where travelers can share their experiences and connect with others. Our recent research suggests that online engagement plays an underappreciated role in how people enjoy their holidays.
We’ve discovered that travel satisfaction doesn’t just rely upon the most important event – a concert, meeting or trip. Instead, it’s the entire journey that counts, from the initial wait to the joy of sharing stories afterwards.
This could seem intuitive to avid travelers. But How marketing professorswe consider that the tourism industry could make higher use of this data.
The power of “mental time travel”
Even before a traveler sets foot in a destination, what we call “mental time travel” begins to shape his or her experience.
Picture this: you are planning to take your teenage niece to her first Taylor Swift concert. The planning process itself is exciting: you get to do your research airline optionscompare seating arrangements and debate the best airport. Then comes the seek for a hotel – preferably near the event, but near shopping, restaurants and other entertainment.
Once the tickets are secured, planning for the concert itself begins. You can search concert advicewhat time to reach bracelet making guidesOr even the expected setlist. Social media and forums develop into invaluable tools for gathering advice, imagining the event and constructing expectations, which in itself increases satisfaction.
Most of this mental time travel takes place in the type of pasta on the Internet. For service providers, engaging consumers at this stage can increase satisfaction and loyalty. After all, while a concert may last only three hours, contacts established during many months of preparations may last for much longer. And when the experience is over, people often return to online communities to share their stories, continuing the cycle of pleasure and engagement.
When the holidays start before you allow home
To understand the value of mental time travel, we conducted two studies. The first case involved people from an internet cruise forum who had booked their first cruise but had not yet sailed. Those travelers who were already lively on the forum imagined their upcoming experiences and reported greater expected loyalty before boarding the ship.
To confirm that this is not limited to first-time travelers, our second study surveyed individuals who had recently returned for a vacation. They recalled how pre-trip activities impacted their experiences, reported feeling more satisfied and constant, and shared their positive views with others.
These findings suggest that firms should actively encourage the use of social media and create online communities to enhance the pre-experience phase of the journey. Hotels, airlines and event planners could share planning suggestions, highlight customer stories and create connections that make the wait an unforgettable a part of the trip.
Offering incentives to top contributors, encouraging photo and video sharing, and fascinating with customer posts could make the journey as enjoyable as the destination itself. By considering every step – from planning to remembering – firms can create unforgettable experiences from start to complete.