Arival, an information and insights provider for the in-destination experiences industry, is currently hosting Arival 360 in Berlin, a three-day conference by and for the experiences industry. On day three, social media was a hot topic, with panellists discussing the rise of TikTok and how it is changing the way people search for activities.
Simon Lucey, founder of Hype Collective, and Ravi Roth, a leading LGBTQI+ travel expert and YouTube content creator, hosted a session looking at the power of video, entitled ‘Driving bookings from Vertical video: The creative & strategic insights you need to make content that drives results’.
The rise of TikTok
During this session, Lucey said:
“47% of young people, when searching for travel destinations and experiences, use TikTok ahead of Google. This is in keeping with trends outside of travel. This trend could revolutionize how tour and activity providers get discovered. Most will have some form of SEO strategy for how they rank on Google, but very few will have a strategy for how they come up top when searched on TikTok.
“The good news? Ranking on TikTok is currently much simpler than ranking on Google; there is far less competition, so this is a great opportunity for smaller players to disrupt the market and get in ahead of the big guys who might be some time pivoting.”
Sustainable food tours
Another session looked at the increasing demand for a sustainable approach to food tours and culinary experiences.
Kenneth Dunn from Eating Europe said that: “Increasing numbers of tourists are now expecting and demanding a responsible and sustainable approach to food tours – those that don’t tap into this demand may end up losing out.”
“Research shows that sustainability has become a major factor in travelers’ purchase decisions. Food Tours have always embraced sustainability by occurring almost exclusively on food and by focusing on local, small, food-related businesses. Today, many food tour operators like Eating Europe are taking it a step further by eliminating all single and multi-use plastic and partnering with food tour companies that embrace farm-to-table and zero-kilometer sourcing practices.”
Three-day event packed full of insights
On day one of Arival 360 in Berlin, Peter Ulwahn, CEO of TUI Musement talked about recent research findings and the trend for high-value experiences, as well as looking at the impact of AI on the tourism sector. Technology consultant Marc Mekki talked about the opportunities presented by Generative AI, and Wilfred Fan, COO of Klook, explored the state of the tourism industry in Asia, and what this means for Europe.
On day two, Douglas Quinby, Arival CEO and co-founder, hosted a panel of experts who discussed the latest trends in the sector, in a post-COVID world. During this session, Viator’s CEO Ben Drew identified the move to shorter-haul European destinations as a key trend. Also on day two, Anne de Jong, co-founder of the Good Tourism Institute and Peigi Rodan, sustainability manager at WithLocals, gave their tips on how to make a profit while benefiting local communities.
