online search the new barometer of consumer demand?
Internet searches for 'mini breaks' in February reached new highs representing encouraging signs of consumer demand for the ever popular city break.
The highest search term within this area was 'city break' with 438,000 impressions and weekend break had 336,000 impressions. The generic nature of the terms points to the popularity of taking a short break in February. It's a time when winter has really kicked in and people are ready to take a break, leaving the humdrum commute, dark evenings and mornings behind.
Looking at the popularity of more specific search terms produces few surprises as to the most popular destinations:
| Area | Destination | Searches (000) | Average CPC (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euro | Dublin | 154 | 1.01 |
| UK | London | 130 | 1.25 |
| Euro | Barcelona | 122 | 1.01 |
| UK | Edinburgh | 121 | 1.03 |
| Euro | Amsterdam | 114 | 0.81 |
| Euro | Paris | 102 | 1.21 |
| Euro | Rome | 92 | 0.76 |
| Euro | Prague | 57 | 1.04 |
| Euro | Venice | 42 | 0.85 |
| Middle East | Dubai | 38 | 0.75 |
The above list is dominated by the traditional European cities. It also shadows the high volume low cost airline routes of Ryan Air and easyjet. If this trend continues than we can expect to see destinations such as Budapest and Krakow entering the most popular search list. Both Ryan Air and easyjet have targeted Central & Eastern Europe as growth areas.
The statistics show that huge volumes of traffic are searching for city breaks. This should be represented in the media mix of city break specialists. Not only is a refined PPC campaign absolutely crucial but adopting techniques that promote online search is also important.
Using Online media formats will increase awareness of a company's website and promote search for that company. Radio is often used in tandem during online activity therefore radio adverts are statistically proven to increase hits to websites and also promote search.
A more fundamental question for holiday companies is: Can the web now be used as an accurate barometer of seasonal demand for Holiday products?
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