Budgets climb for online travel adverts

Travel companies are spending more on advertising their services on the Internet than ever before and also seeing a substantial return on their investment, a leading digital marketing company has said. Cheeze said it believed the trend was being felt across the various sectors of the travel industry as budgets earmarked for traditional advertising mediums…

Travel companies are spending more on advertising their services on the Internet than ever before and also seeing a substantial return on their investment, a leading digital marketing company has said.


Cheeze said it believed the trend was being felt across the various sectors of the travel industry as budgets earmarked for traditional advertising mediums shifted into online and Internet users felt more confident with booking high-yielding holidays.


Its own client base of Monarch Scheduled Airlines, Budget Car Rental, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Cendant Vacation Rental Group had collectively increased their online media budgets by 70% year on year.


Cheeze head of client services, Matt O’Brien, said: “Our travel clients are not just buying more online media; they are also seeing further return on their investment.


“Across the agency our clients have enjoyed a rise in online returns up to 25% more than their increase in online media spend.”


One of the sectors seeing a change in attitudes is the cruise sector, which in turn is leading to a high return on investment for ship operators because of higher prices for holidays.


The cruising market has been markedly behind rivals elsewhere in the industry, with slow take-up rates for bookings.


But an increase in public trust for expensive Internet transactions and more high-quality content and information on websites is expected improve the current low levels.


O’Brien added: “Over the past year we have seen encouraging growth too; our research shows that the consumers are now more likely to book having arrived at a website, but also that average order values have increased by up to a quarter.”


 


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