Sponsored Post: Trip.com leads the way for global travel recovery by launching innovative campaigns to support industry partners

The international online travel agency has efficiently launched campaign initiatives across Asia to support partners in line with changing customer demands.

THROUGHOUT the past 18 months, Trip.com, an international one-stop travel service provider owned by Trip.com Group, has launched several initiatives to effectively support travel industry partners. Through innovation and shifting strategies to fit changes in customer demands, Trip.com has worked with partners to aid the recovery of the global travel industry.

Trip.com has continuously created innovative ways to promote and support local markets and industry partners through a number of creative and meaningful campaigns. Its latest campaign promoted travel as an incentive to encourage residents in the Philippines to be fully vaccinated. From now until the end of the year, fully vaccinated travellers will be offered discounts of up to 30% on bookings at partner hotels.

Trip.com is the first online travel company to launch a campaign supporting a government’s vaccination drive, which will have a significant impact on the nation’s tourism recovery. As part of Trip.com’s continuous commitment to its partners, participating merchants are able to garner greater visibility through dedicated marketing efforts by Trip.com.

Margie Munsayac, vice president, sales and marketing of Bluewater Resorts, said: “A higher rate of vaccination across the Philippines will boost the recovery of our travel and tourism industry, and we are delighted to be one of the partners of Trip.com’s ‘Vaccinated Discount Campaign’.

“This is another
example of how proactive Trip.com has been in implementing timely initiatives
and programs, and we look forward to working with them to encourage our
citizens to be vaccinated and enjoy the discounts and added values on their
staycation packages in the coming months.”

This followed the
recent launch of Trip.com’s “#BestShot Wins a Trip” campaign, which
invited Hong Kong residents to be fully vaccinated through HK$50 million in
prizes and international flight tickets in partnership with Air Canada.

Organisations in the industry have been impressed with how Trip.com reacted quickly to assist partners since the beginning of the pandemic. Earlier this year, Trip.com Group launched its new flagship travel marketing hub to provide essential support to the company’s partners, allowing them to drive forward user engagement and leverage pent up demand as Covid restrictions began to relax.

Designed with the aim to help suppliers expand their marketing activities on the different platforms owned by Trip.com Group, Star Hub offers a collection of content and products.

Reports have shown
active participation and greater engagement from consumers, leading to better
understanding of the ever-changing consumer needs and therefore a better
response from the partners. This one-stop marketing tool aims to help partners
make strategic business decisions by providing them with insightful data.

Another great
initiative launched by Trip.com is their new Student Flight Offers. For this
campaign, Trip.com joined forces with prominent global airlines such as Air
Canada, Air France, British Airways, China Southern Airlines, Etihad Airways,
Lufthansa Malaysia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore
Airline to provide interesting deals and packages on flights when booked
through the OTA.

This campaign
follows the significant increase in student users on the platform. In the APAC
region only, travellers aged between 17 – 30 years old represented 37% of
flight bookings for Singapore, 58% for Japan, 47% for Korea and 32% for Hong
Kong. It’s an effective way for partners to target young adults – a key
demographic of future travellers.

Schubert Lou,
chief operating officer of Trip.com, commented: “This campaign means a lot to
us and we are delighted to be working with industry leading airlines to capture
the students’ passion for travel. We are here to support our partners, help
them deliver amazing experiences and service and target new audiences. Connecting
our partners with this demographic through enhanced search functions and
discounts allows them to have better visibility and growth amongst this very
active audience.”

Trip.com is also
constantly looking for new campaign ideas and platforms to further render
support to its partners. The Weekend Super Sale is a great example, the
campaign offered bundled packages and deals in various APAC markets. The goal
behind initiatives such as this one is to drive revenue to domestic travel
operators while positioning Trip.com as an official and trustworthy partner.

Sylvia Wu, director of revenue at Goodwood Park Hotel in Singapore, says: “We have established a strong relationship with Trip.com over the years and their commitment towards the merchants in this industry is commendable. During the past 18 months, Trip.com has been engaging us to explore ways through which we can further expand our outreach. We are delighted to have been part of their Weekend Sale campaigns which have been well-received by Singaporeans, and are contributing significantly to the recovery of this industry which has been hit badly by the pandemic.”

Trip.com has also focused on revitalising local tourism by supporting local governments and offering their expertise where needed. Efforts include bi-monthly campaigns in different provinces in South Korea, which had a visible impact on hotel bookings. In Singapore, Trip.com is one of the official booking partners of the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers campaign, bringing revenue to domestic tourism operators. In Japan, the OTA supported local tourism in provinces like Yamanashi and Kagoshima.

Brett Bannister, complex director, revenue management, at Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel The Stamford, says: “The outlook for international travel has been challenging and we are grateful that Trip.com has initiated additional strategic marketing efforts, like the livestream sessions, to extend our reach to Singaporeans to bolster domestic tourism.

“As the situation continues to evolve, we have been able to maintain business with the strong support from our valued partners like Trip.com. The livestream sessions are impactful in driving greater awareness to our various packages and have resulted in an increase in room bookings. This would not have been possible without the collaboration between different stakeholders within the travel sector, and we look forward to deepening our partnership with Trip.com.”

Trip.com’s  Lou added: “In recent years, our main focus
was to position Trip.com as a key player in the industry and a contributor to
the development of local sectors in various markets around the globe. To
achieve this, Trip.com collaborated with several actors including governments
and key partners, talent recruitment, and use of innovative marketing channels
and formats to engage with customers.

“We are proud to participate in the industry’s recovery and are honoured that partners trust us and support us. Targeted campaigns in different markets have proved themselves very effective during a time when international travel has been restricted. In line with our “local focus, global vision” strategy, we will continue to invest in marketing resources to enhance value for our partners and users, while embarking on programmes to collectively support the recovery of the global travel industry.”

• Images
credit: Trip.com Group