college of management Mahidol University or CMMU (CMMU) reports guidelines for turning the tourism business after COVID-19. From the research data, “NEO TOURISM, a new dimension of tourism. Penetrating Traveler Insights” found that Thai tourism may never go back to the way it was before 2022 is a year of major changes in the tourism industry that must be adapted to keep up with NEXT NORMAL.
From the data, it was found that Groups of travelers ready to leave immediately after vaccination are: The new generation (Young Neo Traveler) and family (Family Neo Traveler) by nature tourism will be the most popular. In terms of tourism provinces that will be the most popular, the first three provinces in the new generation are Chiang Mai, Phuket, Chonburi, respectively, and in the family group, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Chonburi respectively.
in the budget new generation group will choose to plan a 3-4 day trip with a budget that is still up to 5,000 baht while family groups have a reduced budget of only 3,000-5,000 baht per family It was also found that the businesses that will benefit the most in the supply chain are restaurants and cafes. and travel insurance business to supplement the COVID-19 issue
However, there are 3 recommendations for tour operators that must be considered in the “NEO TOURISM” era:
- Consumers will focus on tourism that is in harmony with nature.
- Consumers will consider cleanliness as a priority.
- Terms of service must be flexible.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Boonying Kongarchapat, Head of Marketing college of management Mahidol University (CMMU) said that CMMU surveyed a sample of travelers and analyzed research data on “NEO TOURISM, a new dimension of tourism. Penetrate traveler insights” in order for tourism businesses to adapt to keep up with NEXT NORMAL or the change after the Covid-19 storm has subsided and to accommodate the changing behavior of travelers. The survey targets a total of 1,098 people, who will be the main travelers after receiving the vaccination, 2 groups as follows:
The new generation (Young Neo Traveler) aged 18-35 years without children and 2. Family Neo Traveler aged 27-45 years with more than 2Gen members are people who have children. It is the majority of Thai society today.
Factors that drive travelers to come back to travel again, found that number 1, the number of infected people declined to less than 500 per day by the new generation and family groups. 48% of the opinions were unanimous, second the proportion of the population vaccinated with more than 70% nationwide, and the third was vaccinated confidently mRNA, while considering the statistics of travel demand, 45.8% of the younger generation and the family 52.2. % still worried by waiting for the situation to unfold Followed by 43.8% of the new generation and 28.3% of the family group who want to travel as soon as possible. followed by 10.4% of the new generation and 19.6% of the family group, able to travel or not travel
Natural tourism will be the most popular after Covid-19. From the research, it was found that 45% of the younger generation and 61% of the family want to experience nature because they have been at home for a long time. And tourism in the country will be the most preferred option for travelers. According to a survey of 71% of the new generation and 92% of the family group, the top 3 tourism provinces that will be the most popular among the new generation are Chiang Mai, Phuket, Chonburi, respectively, and in the family group, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Chonburi, respectively.
In addition, from an interview with a sample family group comment “I want to go out and touch the sea, the mountains, watch the sunrise. breathe some natural air because in the past, only in the house I’ve been working at home for the past 5 months.” comment “I want to travel in the nature style because the air is clear. It makes me less worried about infection.”
Asst. Prof. Dr. Boonying continued that in traveling after COVID-19 It was found that the most sought-after businesses during their trips were restaurants and cafes. The new generation tends to have a behavior of patrolling for food by choosing a shop that is not crowded. There is an outside seating area. Suitable for avoiding eating where everyone has to take off their masks. or focus on natural view the scenery while the family It is more important to focus on resting in the accommodation.
By changing to eating in the hotel as the main because they believe in keeping the containers clean in the hotel and will choose to do more activities in hotels to reduce the risk of traveling which measures to maintain cleanliness atmosphere of the place and staff services It is important that travelers consider more and speak when impressed. Another interesting discovery is Travel insurance business to support COVID-19 Might be a hot service Because the new generation is interested in buying insurance up to 59.4%, while the family group is interested in buying insurance, up to 71.7%.
In terms of budget information and the amount of time travelers will spend planning their post-COVID-19 trips. found a slight change by the new generation Will choose to plan a 3-4 day trip, travel in a group of 3-4 people, set a budget per person for 3,000-5,000 baht. For family groups, choose to organize a 3-4 day trip, only for family members. Set the budget per family to be reduced to 3,000-5,000 baht. After the end of the trip for COVID-19 testing, 70.7 percent of the new generation and 65.5% of the family agreed that testing was necessary. by online channels for using information before traveling, found that
new generation group Popular to view information through the platform Facebook (Facebook) 31.1%, followed by the website Google 29.4% and YouTube 21.9%. Popular to see information via Google website 38.6%, followed by Facebook (Facebook) 29.8% and YouTube 19.8% and additional information that needs to be known before traveling, found that 1. Covid-19 prevention measures of the place 2. Number of addicts infection in the area 3. Service information such as changing the opening-closing time, etc.
In addition, the most obvious changes were More travelers choose Direct To Hotel (D2H) with a 2% increase in young people and a 6% increase in families, while bookings made through online travel agents such as Booking.com and Agoda have decreased. Down, the younger generation fell 5% and the family fell 3%, where booking conditions of both groups of travelers agreed that they were willing to pay a high price to cancel their bookings. Better than booking cheaper but can’t cancel. However, both groups of travelers had some concerns about traveling by plane. while traveling by public transport The younger generation was a little worried. But the family group was very worried. and consider that traveling by private car is safer
“The tourism business from now on should add more D2H or Direct To Hotel to be in line with the changing behavior of travelers. By choosing to contact the hotel reservations or ask for more information directly with the hotel, such as information on hygiene measures date time change and various booking conditions Substitute for bookings made through online agent applications that may not be able to provide additional information to travelers. Therefore, tourism businesses should highlight a selling point in communicating with travelers directly through various platforms such as LINE OA, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
to facilitate such behaviors seamlessly also known as Frictionsless Contact. In addition, contacting customers directly or doing Direct to Customer from survey results of channels used to find information in travel. Online Advertising to target travelers directly will also add inspiration (Inspiration) and decision making (Consideration) to create opportunities for tourism businesses as well.”
Ms. Thanachaya Suksaichon, a master’s degree student college of management Mahidol University (CMMU) and the research team leader said that from the analysis of research data Make it discover new tourism trends (NEO TOURISM TRENDS) 3 things that need to be paid attention to include:
1. Nature Seeking
2. Hygieneaholic stick clean
3. Flexi Needed requires flexibility. Along with a new marketing strategy especially for tourism businesses called “ROADMAP STRATEGIES” that will be a guideline for dealing with businesses in the Thai tourism sector to the NEO TOURISM era, receiving important 2022, details are as follows.
- R: Reliable Service – Enhance the reliability of service. Businesses must have clear support measures. both in terms of health and safety quality of goods and services Including the potential of personnel showing readiness to provide services
- O: Optimized Experience – A unique experience. adjust to attract tourists Businesses need to create new travel experiences by adapting to changing travel habits.
- A: Anti-Disease – Sterile, disease-free, clean and safe. Businesses must focus on cleanliness, safety, and clear guidelines. To show confidence to travelers, for example, change from Welcoming Drink to Welcoming hygienic kit set, give hotel logo screen cloth mask or ATK (home use) as souvenir.
- D: Direct to Hotel – deals directly with hotels, impressive handicaps, unlimited arrangements Businesses must know how to create sales channels that reach consumers directly. Eliminate middlemen from the trading process. to reduce the communication gap and provide services that meet the needs of customers more
- M: Media Matching – Use a variety of media to spread risks. Target groups of different ages and styles by using a channel variety of communication
- A: Alliance – Make friends with partners. to manage supportive services Build a business network to join forces. Create a complete service that is perfect.
- P: Part of Community – Community Driven along with developing their business to be sustainable The fact that businesses are part of driving the community through a service model that distributes income to the local area. Providing services on a basis that is friendly to the environment and surrounding society. including developing their business to be ready for change towards a sustainable business
