Digital Travel Leads: The 8 Best Ways To Increase Travel Agent Lead Generation

Like most industries, the travel business is undergoing a digital transformation.

In fact, travel was the 4th most popular type of service to be purchased online in 2019.

This indicates that you can no longer just rely on leads walking into your travel agency branches - you need to put effort into your online lead generation too. 

That means utilizing your digital content in order to attract and capture genuine opportunities.

Not sure where to get started? You've come to the right place. In this article, we'll cover:

• The importance of digital leads for the travel industry
• Top tactics and strategies for increasing digital travel leads
• The next step to getting the most out of travel lead generation

The importance of digital lead generation for travel agents

In today's digitally-driven world, online lead generation is essential for travel agencies.

Digital travel leads are potential customers who express interest in travel-related products or services through online platforms, websites, or social media channels.

These leads are important because they represent a pool of prospective clients actively seeking travel information, deals, or experiences.

Engaging with digital travel leads allows businesses in the travel industry to cultivate relationships and increase conversions.

With this in mind, let's dive in and explore the best ways to attract and capture more online travel leads.

1. Website and mobile optimisation

Today, most consumers compare travel agencies and book their holidays online.

This means that your website is a vital digital touchpoint for potential travel leads. 

However, it’s not good enough to just have a website - your website needs to be optimised to provide the best user experience (UX).

That means fast loading times, a clear and visually appealing layout, good use of multimedia and, most importantly, ensuring it's all optimised for mobile viewing. 

You also need to ensure that your website is informative, easy to navigate, and includes clear call to actions (CTAs).

CTAs are a critical part of the lead generation funnel as they act as signposts telling your site visitors how to take the next step in their digital journey.

Without them, potential customers may never progress further down the sales funnel.

By providing website visitors with a great user experience from the get-go, you'll be far more likely to convert them into qualified leads.

2. Calls and callback

Never underestimate the power of calls to generate travel agency leads. There’s a reason that 98% of travel companies take bookings over the phone.

Holiday bookings come with lots of questions and require detailed guidance - voice calls are an efficient way for customers to get all the information they need.

That's why web calling and web call backs are a great way to increase inbound digital travel leads.

Both of these options make it easier for customers to call you - web calling allows customers to call you through your website, and customer callbacks allow them to schedule a call at a convenient time.

Because of this, placing a click-to-call button and a callback option on all website pages is an effective way to generate more travel leads.

3. SEO

Perfecting your website Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) means you can generate more organic travel leads for free.

SEO is all about helping potential customers find you when they conduct an internet search.

You want to rank highly in search engine results pages when consumers search for keywords related to your business.

For example, imagine you are a travel agency that specialises in affordable all-inclusive holidays. A couple is looking for a reasonably priced, all-inclusive trip to Mexico for their summer holiday, so they type into Google ‘cheapest all-inclusive holidays in Mexico’.

If you’ve mastered SEO, your travel company will feature on the first Google search results page. Consequently, the couple clicks the link to your website.

And just like that, you’ve generated a lead for your travel company. 

SEO involves a number of different elements including keyword research, optimising titles and meta descriptions, and link building for SAAS, and backlink monitoring.

It also as encompasses more technical aspects to ensure your website provides the best user experience.

If you're not familiar with SEO techniques, you might consider hiring an expert, working with a SEO agency, or investing in SEO software.

There’s also a range of free SEO source material and courses available online - check out this beginner’s guide to SEO to get the ball rolling.

4. Blogging

Blogging is the top form of content marketing and, if done well, is an inexpensive and super effective way of getting more digital leads for your travel agency. 

Even a quick look at data shows that companies that leverage blogging and storytelling get, on average, 67% more leads every month compared to those that don’t (HubSpot).

This explains why almost every online business has a blog.

The purpose of a blog is to frequently produce fresh content that grows the awareness of your company and brings more potential customers to your website.

In fact, blogging is one of the most successful inbound marketing strategies for businesses.

For travel agencies, the subject matter for blog posts is endless. But, be aware that there’s high competition as there are many travel bloggers on the scene. 

The best way to havea successful blog is to make it niche and ensure it's directly related to your company.

For instance, if your travel agency specialises in trips to Asia, this should be reflected in your blog content. You'll want to be focussing on articles about locations in Asia, not South America or elsewhere.

SEO is a huge part of making a blog worthwhile - a blog without readers won't bring you any travel leads.

5. Social media

There are two main ways that social media can be used to generate more leads for travel agents.

Firstly, by building your own business profile on different platforms, you can boost brand visibility, increase customer engagement, and promote your content for free. 

If you utilise content marketing, especially blogging, sharing on social media is a must in order to get as many eyes on your blog posts as possible.

Sharing fresh content and curating content produced by others is a great way to grow brand awareness and bring potential travel leads from social media to your website. 

The second option is running paid social media adverts.

These are particularly effective for retargeting customers who have visited your website previously but have not converted. They’re also a good way to expand your audience. 

Creating a visually engaging advert is a great way to grab attention and direct potential customers to act in the way you want.

For example, your advert can prompt customers to visit your website, contact you, or sign up for email marketing - all of which generate more leads for travel.

6. Live web chat

In an industry where calls seem to take dominance, you might think having web chat customer service is a bit redundant.

But, in actual fact, live chat is a very cost-effective method of increasing lead generation for travel agents.

Live chat is a great way of initiating customer conversations. Through pop-ups and nudges, you can encourage potential leads to talk with an agent and answer any questions they have at any point of their customer journey. 

Not only does this help you capture more free leads online - it also enhances the digital customer experience.

Imagine a customer needs further information on an all-inclusive holiday. With live chat as an option, they can ask an adviser in real-time, without having to leave the webpage, and get their answer quickly.

The great thing about Talkative's live chat is that it can easily be connected to a phone system, such as Mitel.

This means that any chat interaction can be effortlessly escalated to a phone call, or even to a video chat, if needed. This allows you to provide a seamless customer experience which in itself helps to generate more travel leads. 

7. Email marketing

Email marketing may seem old-school - but it's certainly worthwhile.

Not only is it a great way to get content in front of your audience, but emails can also be an effective call to action. 

For example, you could send a monthly email newsletter that lists your latest holiday deals. At the end of the email, you could feature a large icon that says ‘Book and Save Now’, or ‘Get a Quote Now’.

This can link customers to an online booking form or to a page on your website where they can contact your booking team. Either way, the email is producing digital travel leads for your business. 

Before starting any form of email marketing, you need to grow your client email database.

The best way to do this is to offer a lead magnet (i.e. a reward customers get by providing their email address), such as downloadable travel brochure templates, access to destination videos, or a monthly newsletter containing the latest deals and vacation package options. 

8. Online referral and incentive schemes

Why not use your existing customers to generate more digital travel leads?

Online referral schemes are a good way of getting more customers without much work from your end.

They are especially effective for expensive or luxury services like holidays, as people are more likely to opt for a company that has been recommended to them by a friend or family member.

Giving existing customers an incentive to recommend you to friends and family, such as an online discount on their next holiday, is a good place to start.

You could even up the incentive by giving both parties (the existing customer and the customer they refer) a discount if the referred customer books online.

Offering discounts might sound scary, but an effective online referral scheme will save you money in marketing expenses, plus the extra leads should recoup your costs.

Think about the example above - you generated two travel leads from one online referral (one new customer plus a returning customer). 

If you really can’t afford to offer discounts, you can offer other online incentives for referrals, such as early booking on the latest deals, or guaranteed first-class flights.

This is your time to get creative. Remember - the better the incentive, the more travel leads you’ll get. 

The takeaway: Getting started with travel agent lead generation

Capturing digital leads and converting them into real opportunities can be a challenging endeavor for the travel industry.

With the tactics and strategies detailed in this article, you'll be armed with a valuable toolkit to help you increase travel leads and conversions.

But, ultimately, the most important tool in your arsenal is an innovative customer engagement platform that lays the foundation for successful lead generation.

And that's where Talkative comes in.

Our platform provides a complete suite of engagement channels plus deep integrations into systems like Salesforce and Mitel.

What's more, you'll be able to manage all digital interactions within a single pane of glass.

As a result, you and your travel agents will be fully equipped to capture and convert more digital leads than ever before.

Want to see for yourself? Book a demo with Talkative today.