AI and creativity: Capturing APAC's travel rebound

Recently leading marketers came together at Meta Hong Kong Travel Summit 2023 to explore the latest industry insight, traveller behavioural changes and how Meta's AI-powered solutions could help brands better connect with travellers in a post-COVID world.

After three years of pandemic restrictions, people are not only travelling more but also spending more on trips. Globally, demand for travel shot up 104% and tourist spend per trip increased 13% as of 2022, according to Expedia. While Asia Pacific has been slower in opening up, the region is seeing the fastest growth in air traffic and inbound tourism as of February 2023.

More interestingly, travellers are researching more and planning ahead. Over 50% of travellers take at least four weeks from discovery to decision, Meta's latest study found, and social networks are taking over traditional search engines as the primary source for brand and product information.

For Gen Z, mobile videos are crucial for travel discovery and evaluation. 99% of them watch video content on a weekly basis, and 74% do so on Meta platforms including Facebook and Instagram. For older age groups, travel stands out as the type of content and conversations they are most interested in and responsive to.

Diversified, emotive and relatable

Travelling has taken on a deeper meaning in a post-COVID world. Each journey is uniquely personal, as diverse as each traveller's embodiment of life and purpose, expressed in their own way. This diversification is reflected in the explosion of travel-related video content, as people find resonance in the more personal and emotive form of storytelling.

In particular, Reels – with its bite-sized, creative format – is emerging as a highly resonant format in travel. As of late 2022, #TravelReels trended up by an astonishing 213% as one of top Reels topics globally, with one billion people resharing reels through DMs every day. Across Instagram and Facebook, over 140 billion reels are played each day.

This increasing demand for short-form, experiential video content extends beyond entertainment and is translating into business conversion. Connecting people with business, Reels as branded content is catching the attention of Gen Z and millennials – 75% of whom have followed a brand after watching reels.

For marketers, this presents a tremendous opportunity to engage with travellers in the varied and relatable way they seek. Activity booking platform Klook, for example, saw its Instagram page reach increasing 300% year-on-year with more diverse usage of Reels, from reposting travel content directly from its employees, useful tips on applying a travel entry visa to Taiwan post-COVID, to working with creators for greater synergy.

Optimising engagement with AI-powered solutions

With higher demand, more content and varied intentions with travel, surfacing the right recommendations at the right time is the ultimate challenge for marketers. To deliver on sales goals at scale, AI-powered marketing solutions are emerging as a game changer for targeted and efficient customer interactions.