Is Social Media In The Travel Business A Complete Waste of Time?

The future of travel sales, or the latest bandwagon?

There is a huge amount of talk about the importance of social media in travel, just as there is about the importance of social media in pretty much everything. But is social media really something that can work in travel, or is it just the latest bandwagon?

My scepticism stems from the fact that travel selection is based on a set of very personal preferences rather than single products with wide appeal. I’m pretty sure that my idea of a holiday is different to that of the majority of my social contacts in some way or another. Frankly I don’t care if John enjoyed his trip to Egypt, or if somebody on Trip Advisor didn’t like the hotel I’m looking at. Travel preferences are based on such a wide variety of reference points that personal recommendations carry very little currency.

The second problem is the social media works best where there is a unique and valuable message to be carried and shared. Unfortunately for the average travel provider these messages are either very rare, or clichéd and spammy.

I’d be genuinely surprised if anybody has ever seen something on a social network that lead them to actually make a significant travel purchase?

This may change as marketers begin to properly understand how social media actually works, and as many so-called social media consultants and managers begin to understand what social media actually is. At the same time, there are some great social travel ideas out there which may mature prove me completely wrong.

Meanwhile the majority of social media travel campaigns appear to be futile at best and spam at worst. Social media is a great way to brand and sell many many products, but not travel.

What do you think?