This article was originally published online by the Orlando Business Journal.
If your firm isn’t marketing to Hispanic travelers, you may be missing out on a lot of revenue.
In the U.S., Hispanic travel is growing at a faster rate than the general market, with an economic impact estimated at more than $56 billion annually in leisure travel, according to the National Tour Association.
Hispanics, who see taking vacations as a sign of success, represent a growth in cruise vacations of 34 percent vs. 21 percent on non-Hispanics, 11 percent vs. 0.2 percent on foreign travel, and 13 percent vs. -0.4 on domestic travel, according to Experian’s Simmons National Consumer Study. Hispanics also represent 11 percent of hotel guests within the last 12 months, or $17.1 billion, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
In addition, about 31 percent of Hispanics travel in a group of four or more, compared with 25 percent of the general market. The reason: Traveling is a good family bonding activity and they do almost everything together as a group. So, when Hispanics are ready to take a vacation, they travel to and with their families. Even on business trips, Hispanics tend to bring their family.
Thus, there’s a big opportunity from all different sectors within the tourism industry to build brand loyalty among Hispanics.
So, how can you engage with this consumer? Here are four key tips:
• Speak their language and understand their culture. Whether you reach out to them in English or Spanish, you need culturally relevant campaigns that speak to their needs. Even for bilingual Hispanics, do not assume that your Anglo campaigns will resonate with them just because they were born in the U.S. Hispanics are assimilating to U.S. culture, but they are not, and probably never will be, fully assimilated. They are living the path of acculturation. That’s why you need carefully crafted messages to engage your brand with this growing, powerful market.
• Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and available in Spanish. After all, among U.S. Hispanics, the Internet is the main resource they use to book their travel, and they are three times more likely to have Internet access via a mobile device.
• Train your bilingual staff well and give them the right tools and resources to build relationships with your Hispanic customers. They also can help you train their counterparts in South America.
• Do not rely on agencies outside the U.S. to translate your English campaigns into Spanish. Your brand positioning will be at risk and mistakes will happen. The Hispanic initiative should be executed and managed by your corporate office so you can assure brand unification and eliminate misinterpretations, which are costly to any brand.
Understanding the different Hispanic cultures and their travel behavior is crucial to capture this booming market. A great vacation is an experience that will last forever and your brand should be at the heart of it.
