Destination Content: A World of Opportunity

Summary

The first four components of the travel planning process – discovering, learning, shopping and booking – have been the focus of the travel distribution community for the past three decades. But the fifth component – experiencing the trip – has long been neglected. The destination activities landscape is highly fragmented and, until recently, had no mechanisms in place to support travelers with appropriate information when and where they needed it. Additionally, there has been no focused customer acquisition process due to fragmented ownership of customer engagement – activity providers, online services and hoteliers all play a role. This article reviews the potential market for destination activities and explores the challenging but critical terrain of customer acquisition and ownership.