We all use the internet. Has the internet impacted trip planning? From social media, social networking sites, and travel agencies, how we travel has changed.
Who among us has not booked a flight, hotel, excursion, or cruise on the internet? Trip planning on the internet has become the standard, not the exception.
Have you researched a dream destination online or checked out your favorite travel blogger? Expanding on that further, who hasn’t used Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn.
Almost everyone has insta-gratification, is Linked-to info, can Pin-point their favorite destination, and are all-a-twitter about their latest trip.
Is the internet replacing travel agencies for trip planning?
No, but the role of travel agencies has changed.
How many of you have used a travel agency to plan travel? Generations before us were accustomed to having assistance with trip planning. I admit to using a travel agency. They organized our trip to London, Geneva, and Rome in 2012.
Out of loyalty, I used the same agency to book portions of trips for several years after that. Our first Viking River Cruise on the Danube River was booked through a travel agency. Now I know what to expect, and we booked our second cruise ourselves.
Not anymore. Jokingly, Papa Joe and I offered to perform travel research for the travel agency, and instead, today we research, travel, and review destinations without that collaboration.
C’est la vie. Their loss, your gain.
We have found that travel agencies are still useful for some people.
Here are the most common reasons people use travel agencies for trip planning.
- Those traveling in a large group – for example, they can be helpful if you want to book flights for 10.
- Travel to destinations where tour guides are recommended. The example here, our first trip to Rome would have been much less impactful without our tour guides, and having the logistics coordinated before we got there was great.
- Maybe you don’t have time to do the research? Great, use a travel agency.
- Last, there are still people who prefer to turn their travel details over to someone and be presented with the final trip package. There are several examples here, but the first one that comes to my mind is honeymoon travel. Planning a wedding is enough work without worrying about the honeymoon too.
Travel agencies don’t provide a valuable service for the ordinary-joe anymore, but they certainly have their place in the business.
For those who want help with finding resorts, group tours, or discounted rates, using the internet to find a travel agency has become a great tool.
What is the role of social networking?
I have to admit to being old enough to remember learning basic computer coding in school because that is what you did with a computer in the good ‘ole days. Video games didn’t exist, and there wasn’t a keyboard at every desk.
Today, I am confident in my ability to use the internet for reading reviews, researching the destination, and planning my trip.
When I am booking a hotel or air flight, I am more likely to book it on the company website. But, truthfully, that practice could limit my usefulness as a travel blogger if I wasn’t willing to adapt.
I have adapted my content and now provide you with resources like the pros and cons of cruises.
Today’s traveler is using the internet for reviews and research, but the more influential use is how the internet supports social networking.
What are the pitfalls to avoid when using social media to plan your next vacation?
Today’s traveler
- Knows #FOMO and #YOLO without having an acronym key. For the rest of us, that is Fear of Missing Out and You Only Live Once. Point taken.
- Dreams of far off destinations seen on friend’s and family’s FaceBook posts – Smart Insights says over 50% of FB users admit to having travel plans influenced by friends’ photos.
- Uses Instagram to discover new destinations, deals, and places to stay. Guilty as charged. I have been planning a 2019 trip to Fiji for almost 10 years. Instagram has influenced me to strongly consider changing those plans to Indonesia next year. Update – that same social media influenced me to settle on Panama for 2019. Point made.
- Explores Pinterest’s 1000+ boards featuring travel-inspired titles.
- Pours over YouTube videos of exotic locations. Also guilty as charged. Our Buzios Brazil research was completed almost exclusively on YouTube.
- Uses Google+ Travel Guides for destination reviews. Did you know Papa Joe is a Travel Guide?
- Learns of new travel companies or destinations on Twitter.
- Post stories, photos, and videos of their dream destination during and after the vacation. Who do you know that hasn’t done that?
We use social media and social networking for travel planning.
We use all of it and gravitate toward the media service of our choice. Of course, most of you won’t look for travel inspiration on MySpace, Friendster, or Digg.
I don’t have to tell you the most popular sites, you are likely better versed in social networking sites than I will ever dream of being.
Why do we use the internet and social networking?
We like being able to see information on our own schedule, from sites we trust, and seemingly without pressure to make a decision. And, we like the sometimes overwhelming amount of information on the desired location.
Those points are all great, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by the sheer bulk of the information available, which is when I turn to my favorite blogger.
Just saying.
There is a reason I chose this venue to share information with readers. Been there, done that.
How else do we use the internet and social networking?
Other uses include the use of social networking to meet up with friends at a destination. For the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants crowd, social networking can be useful to find out where the action is at any given time.
Social networking allows us an easy mechanism to keep in touch with those new friends we make on vacation, and with our loved ones back home.
There are as many reasons to use social networking sites for travel as there are people using them.
Great – we use the internet and social networking sites.
So what?
Well, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. Oops, wrong analogy.
Buyer Beware. Yeah, that one is better. So the pictures of your dream destination are amazing and the reviews are phenomenal.
But, did the photographer tell you they had to be up at 4 am and take 200 photos to get that one amazing shot?
Or stand in line for hours to be in the perfect position for the photo?
And that’s not even beginning a discussion of the photographer’s ability to edit a photo.
One of my pet peeves is to ogle a magnificent photo on IG, only to look at the description and see those tell-tale words “edited by”, “enhanced by”, or “XXXX filter used”.
I admit to editing exposure and color saturation on photos, but I draw the line there. Guess that means I’m not a true purist.
This photo is not edited!
I respect those photographers that offer to show the “before edits” and “after’s” and let the viewer come to an educated decision.
What is my advice?
Be thorough in your research.
Don’t be sold by one great photo. Use keywords and research your location thoroughly. Hah! Use the internet – but I also back that up with print resources such as Conde Nast magazine and Lonely Planet travel guides.
What does “research your destination” mean?
Many travelers (myself included) look to travel reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Google+ for advice. Common questions include how was this hotel rated, how many bad reviews do they have, what kinds of things are other travelers say?
Booking and business sites usually offer links to reviews. Full disclosure, Papa Joe is a Travel Guide on Google+, and I can vouch for his honesty in reviews.
Having traveled with TripAdvisor’s “professional” reviewers, I trust their reviews. I frequently use TripAdvisor and almost always provide reviews for the tour guides.
As a matter of fact, TripAdvisor (otherwise known as Viator) has offered my readers discounts on tours that I am passing to you here. Save up to 50% off tours and activities on Viator.
Be cautious with sites that only post positive reviews, or have deals that seem too good to be true. I admit to likely being “taken” by good reviews on shopping sites, so I have to give some credit to claims of reviews being posted by paid reviewers. Repeat – Buyer Beware.
Social media has a role here too. Do a search for your desired destination on your favorite social media site and see what other visitors say. It is quite likely you will find candid reviews from those social media posts.
If you don’t know what questions to ask, my 5 Travel Questions Everyone Should Ask may help guide you.
My Words of Wisdom.
You know the saying about dancing like nobody is watching. My words of wisdom go something like this:
- Approach your travel wisely
- Do your research – travel educated
- Treat other cultures with respect and love – travel lovingly
- Be open to new experiences – travel with an open heart
- Travel with a camera and a notebook
- Share the world with others – travel with loved ones
- The world is your oyster – travel adventurously
- And…
- Make your world a world of Travel!
DynamicDenise says
Who knew the internet could be so fascinating…….