Presentation done by Nicholas Hall, during "Digitally bringing products and destinations closer to demand" workshop, of the ENTER2015 eTourism conference.
7. Age: 35 or under
Blended offline & online words
Have smartphone & tablet
Book via online travel websites
60% consider smartphone a
travel companion
Digital Natives
Driving The Future of Travel
9. So… Digital Natives
What’s the idea?
“We wanted a concrete understanding of
young travellers and their attachment to mobile”
10. Digital Natives
a pilot study with WYSE
‣ is our hypothesis correct?
‣ small initial sample
‣ in-trip research in London
‣ focused on ‘digital natives’
11. two groups
two evaluations
A Place to Visit
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
A Famous Attraction
Victoria & Albert Museum
12. Awareness of Key Landmarks and Attractions
WHAT DID THE RESULTS SHOW?
@think_tourism
13. 1. Knowledge of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and
V&A: “What do you expect to see?”
2. Reactions after browsing both full and mobile
optimised sites?
3. How do both mobile and full websites impact the
visitor perception of the attraction or place?
Perceptions. Reactions.
14. "I’ve never heard about the museum. It’s
somewhere here, I’ve seen that in the underground
station, but I don’t know it" (Miguel, Portugal, 25)
More than 3,000,000 visitors in 2014
6th Most Popular Attraction in the UK
15. “ Every time I take the train I see some part of
the park. But I don’t really know what is in
there.” (Lela, 25, Malta)
Captured the imagination of 100’s of Millions in 2012
1,000,000 + Visitors since reopening in 2013
16. “I suppose it is a park with
fountains and statues of the
queen” (Ilona ,17, Czech
Republic)”
“I guess, in this museum, I can
see paintings about the royal
family, weapons and some stuff
about history” (Paco, 18, Spain)
Perceptions. Reactions.
29. Websites have an impact on
the perception of what they
promote
Design Impacts Reputation
Non-optimised sites resulted in a
loss of interest
Optimised sites actually
increased interest in a place
Choice of photos and layouts
have an instant impact
Visual content leads natives
to immediate assumptions
30. Too much text hinders curiosity
Content influences the
motivation to visit
Participants complained about
the prominence of text
Lots of text = Abandonment
Natives find a site
disappointing when it lacks
strong visual content
Visual content increases
motivation to visit
Poor consistency fails to
support visitors needs
35. “I don’t want to spend too
much time on a website
with my mobile, especially if
I’m out!”
Lela, 25, Malta
“The pictures are really,
really nice. It seems really
interesting.”
Anna, 22, Germany
"I want small text,
attractive pictures
and a map.”
Simon, 22, France
36. 1. Immediacy is key
2. Instant overview is necessary
3. Provide concrete information visitors need
Importance Context
three important observations
37. What
To
Consider
when
Engaging
Digital
Na,ves
in
Travel
KEY TAKEAWAYS
38. What have they taught us?
Speak “experience” in your digital rhetoric
It must be immediately clear for tourists what they
can do and experience
An authentic image can communicate the actual
experience
39. What have they taught us?
Get your visual content spot on
Visual content should shape and enhance
your brand image.
Consider fonts, images and colours carefully
40. What have they taught us?
Don’t forget location, location, location
Location and directions should be easy to
find on the website.
Location plays a key role in shaping
spontaneous decisions
41. What have they taught us?
Always exceed expectations
A brand has a limited amount of time to
match tourists expectations or change them
for the better
Visitor perceptions are based on complex
environmental factors. You have an
opportunity to shape these.
42. innovate
M-Labs Southern Africa is a start-up accelerator with specialised a mobile
lab. In 2012, Microsoft and M-Labs teamed up to hold a hackaton Rand
Airport to challenge the developer community to innovate!