November 23, 2019
What makes your destination better than sex?
Some of your customers would give up sex to pay you a visit.
That insight comes from Contiki, a group travel company that caters to younger travelers. As Vox points out, that doesn’t exactly make them a neutral researcher – but it’s still a useful bit of data. According to their survey of 18-35 year olds, 80% of respondants say they would give up Netflix to travel, 77% would give up coffee, and 57% would give up sex. (Interestingly, only 41% would give up their phone. Instagram pics or it didn’t happen.)
The Contiki survey was geared toward their Millenial customer base, and as Vox notes, younger people do travel more than older generations – a full eight days more each year over their Baby Boomer parents and grandparents. But the data suggests that travel is becoming more important to everyone, crossing generational and economic divides, as our society becomes more focused on experiences over material things. But not all experiences are created equal. Travel is regarded as a transformational experience, which makes it more valuable than streaming television, a morning cup of joe, and – to a lot of people – sex.
As a visitor destination, attraction, or lodging establishment, what’s this mean for you? It’s good news, of course, particularly for those of you with a strong connection to the outdoors: people want active adventures – preferably photogenic ones that translate well to Instagram and Snap. But it’s important to ask yourself: what makes you different? What sets you apart from competing destinations and diversions? Why should someone give up other options (like, oh, say, sex) to visit you?
Find that answer and you’ve got a great foundation for your marketing messages.
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