- According to the Brain Trust CS Tourism Barometer, travelers have so little knowledge of tourism brands that travel agencies that no longer exist appear among the 10 most mentioned today.
- In the case of airlines, only four brands appear in travelers' top of mind above 5%.
- For the new traveler, price, digitalization, personalized offers, and a good customer experience matter more than brand when booking trips.
Madrid, October 13, 2016.- Brand name is no longer a key factor for Spanish travelers when booking their trips. This is demonstrated by data from the third wave of the 2016 Tourism Barometer compiled by Brain Trust Consulting Services, the Spanish multinational consulting firm specializing in the tourism industry, among other sectors.
According to the Barometer, among the 10 brick-and-mortar travel agencies currently best known to travelers are Barceló Viajes, Viajes Iberia, and Viajes Marsans, all of which are now defunct agencies, ranking third, eighth, and tenth, respectively. This shows that travelers now pay more attention to other factors beyond brand recall when considering purchasing tourism services.
The ranking of top-of-mind awareness for brick-and-mortar agencies is led by Halcón Viajes with 31%, followed by Viajes Corte Inglés in second place with 27%, then the now defunct Barceló Viajes alongside its new brand B the travel brand, Viajes Eroski in fourth place, and Viajes Carrefour and Nautalia in fifth place.
In terms of airline brand rankings (top of mind), Iberia ranks as the most remembered and well-known brand among travelers, with 60% of mentions, as well as offering one of the best customer experiences, according to 34% of respondents. Far behind are Ryanair with 16%, Vueling with 10%, and Air Europa with 7%.
Hotels fare no differently in terms of brand awareness (top of mind) or experience. With the exception of large chains such as NH and Meliá, mentioned by 42% and 21% respectively, followed by Barceló Hotels, AC Hotels by Marriott, and the Accor group brand Ibis, the diversity of respondents' answers confirms the theory that users do not perceive significant differences between brands.
The Barometer data shows that, except in rare cases, customers perceive virtually all providers as behaving in a similar manner. "This lack of differentiation means that users do not show any strong preferences between one brand or another, and opt for promiscuity in their choice of tourism brands. The new traveler knows what they want, when they want it, and how they want it, and the company that is able to give it to them will be the one that succeeds, regardless of its brand,"says Ángel García Butragueño, Director of the Barometer and Director of Tourism and Leisure Consulting at Brain Trust Consulting Services. "Price and personalization of the offer are now what make a customer choose one brand over another, with the customer experience being a decisive factor that induces or discourages repeat business and generates a greater memory in the minds of consumers than the efforts made by the brand itself for its promotion or positioning. "
"Marketing has shifted from the supplier to the customer, and customers are using all their power in this new relational model. We have moved from CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to VRM (Vendor Relationship Management), where it is the user themselves who owns the system of supplier data to be used at the right time, based on different behavioral variables that suppliers need to know about through Big Data and Small Data," says García Butragueño, who believes that companies in the tourism sector are increasingly seeking help in understanding and managing their travelers.
About Brain Trust Consulting Services and Ángel García Butragueño
Brain Trust Consulting Services is a Spanish multinational company with offices in Madrid, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Santiago, Chile, and a team of more than 100 professionals. Its staff of qualified consultants is dedicated to offering high value-added business solutions and constantly seeking differentiation, which has led Brain Trust CS to successfully develop new analysis methodologies and innovative solutions in areas such as business strategy, operations improvement, product and channel marketing, advanced customer management (customer intelligence and big data), competitive intelligence, customer experience, and digital transformation.
The company has clients of various sizes and from different sectors, such as tourism, telecommunications, banking and payment methods, insurance, energy, distribution, and the legal sector. Within the tourism industry, Brain Trust CS works for most of Spain's leading travel agencies, major airlines, hotel chains, and car rental companies, as well as technology companies specializing in this industry.
Since 2009, Ángel García Butragueño has been responsible for the Tourism and Leisure division and a member of the Brain Trust CS Advisory Board with the aim of contributing to the development, growth, and diversification of the firm. Through his work and thanks to his more than 30 years of experience, he promotes innovation, competitiveness, and profitability among companies and institutions in the tourism sector.
After working at Mondiale Tours, Viajes Triángulo Azul, Ibex-Iberian Express, and Viajes Ecuador, Ángel joined American Express Travel, where he worked in various areas before becoming General Manager in 2001. In 2008, he managed the company's merger with Barceló Travel and was appointed Director and General Manager of the new joint venture.
He served as European Vice President of American Express since 2005 and was responsible for designing the company's strategy in the SME segment in the Scandinavian, German, French, Belgian, UK, and Spanish markets. He was also a member of the Management Committee of American Express Spain and was President of GEBTA, the largest business travel trade group in Spain, in 2007 and 2008.
