As time goes by, travelers and potential customers are paying more and more attention to the ethical considerations around everything they do. This means that those same ethical considerations are becoming more and more critical in the travel industry.
The travel and tourism industry is highly competitive, constantly being disrupted by new technologies and increasingly reaching into emerging markets around the globe. All of these factors can fuel unethical business practices.
So, why do ethics matter in travel marketing, and what are the benefits of ethical marketing for your business?
But if you're looking for a travel partner you can trust, who will connect you with a global portfolio that boosts your offering, provides dedicated support thanks to our expert Account Managers, as well as intelligent, data-driven tools and campaigns to increase your attractiveness to your ideal customers? Then why not
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First things first, let’s make sure we’re on the same page.
Ethical marketing means building your business’s moral principles into your external or promotional messaging.
Ethical travel and tourism marketing supports the sale of the intended product while also focusing on uplifting and supporting the social, cultural, environmental and economic factors of the host country and the industry itself.
Ideally, the sale of the product is not positioned as more important than the integrity of the host country or community.
The principles of ethical marketing:
Some businesses even expand these values into education, campaigning, and activism alongside promotional messaging for their products or services.
Here are some characteristics of ethical marketing:
The travel industry is a competitive place, and it can be all too easy to be swept up in the exaggerated promises of businesses that aim to uplift your success, only to wind up costing you time, money, and stress.
So, why not see why all travel advisors need a travel partner like Bedsonline?
As a firm believer in transparency and empowering travel advisors worldwide with truly valuable tools, data, and intelligent solutions, it’s important for us at Bedsonline that our advisors understand who we are, what we do, and how we’re constantly working to better your success in the industry. After all, your success is our success!
This, of course, is a big, multifaceted question, with answers of varying complexity. However, unethical behaviour by any business at any stage of the travel and tourism industry can have negative consequences and detrimental impacts – to other businesses, communities, and the end traveler.
For example, inaccurate or deceptive travel marketing can result in damage to that business’s reputation, reduced partnership opportunities, and harm to customer trust levels.
And for businesses which foster, create, support and promote the sale or curation of travel experiences where travellers come into direct contact with the natural environment, irresponsible management or sale of these experiences, can result in damage to the ecosystem and environmental harm.
Unethical practices can also cause conflict with local communities, or reduce the economic benefits closely associated with these experiences and generated by tourism for the host country or region.
So, what good does ethical marketing do for your business?
Being honest in marketing isn’t an oxymoron. It exists, and it’s essential to building a successful, profitable, trusted business which welcomes in long-term success.
Companies that prioritise marrying the best of marketing fundamentals with thoughtful ethical frameworks are seeing increases in loyalty, profit, and growth.
Not only this, but studies show brands that are perceived as purposeful, or as having a positive impact, have been shown to grow at x2 the rate of other brands.
Let’s look at some of the key factors which are often impacted or influenced by ethical marketing practices, and which ultimately lead to increased sales:
A recent report suggested that consumers ranked how much they trust a product, brand or company as ‘an essential buying consideration’.
There is also a positive correlation between ethical marketing, the quality of brand/customer relationships, and how customers perceive product or service quality. Together, this equals brand loyalty.
Therefore, it’s safe to say that customers are more likely to buy from and support companies they perceive as ethical, which generates more repeat custom for your business, better word of mouth marketing as a result of satisfied customers, and more sales.
Brands, organizations and businesses which prioritize long-term honest, transparent marketing reap the rewards: a 2021 study on Transparency and ROI by Label Insight found that 94% of global customers would be more loyal to brands that are transparent, and around 56% suggest brand transparency would make them ‘loyal for life’.
This not only reduces the cost of acquiring customers, as it is more cost-effective to retain loyal customers than attract new ones, but also boosts the Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) your business will experience, as quite often loyal or repeat customers tend to spend more!
Businesses that keep integrity and ethical practices close to their business model are more likely to appear as more profitable and viable investments that attract and retain investors. Those that are renowned and are proven to be authentic in their claims, to conduct themselves ethically, are allowing investors more confidence in that company’s long-term stability.
Plus, there’s the added benefit, which also happens to be critical to a company’s success, of preventing legal complications, scandals, and the reputational damage associated with any unethical behaviour.
Better public image = more word-of-mouth marketing, which ultimately helps you attract and retain customers from whom you can gather ‘social proof’.
Social proof is ‘how people respond when they don't know how to act in a particular situation’, a term coined by psychologist Robert Cialdini. In marketing, social proof usually comes in the form of testimonials and reviews and is incredibly effective.
Why?
Around 90% of customers read reviews before deciding to make a purchase, and in an era where what your customers say online about you can make or break your business, that’s key!
In a similar way to holding a supply chain accountable to certain standards, if a travel business – or any business – is positioning a Unique Selling Point (USP) or benefit as central to their offering, then this should be backed up, either by testimonials and reviews from existing customers validating these claims, or with concrete results backed up by data!
By engaging in honest, transparent marketing when it comes to the value that a company can bring to a customer, or the features/benefits of their products and/or services, this fosters that trust we mentioned earlier. Trust leads to an increasingly positive perception in the industry, a more positive brand image, and competitive differentiation in the market.
For example, a business which was serious about sustainability would publish their Code of Conduct and something equivalent to our parent company’s HBX Group Sustainability report, which also includes accompanying reports that align with internationally recognised standards (usually established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Or, when we at Bedsonline say that our powerful Booking Engine is award-winning, we’ve got the awards to prove it.
And when we position ourselves as partner of choice for travel advisors all over the world, it’s with the knowledge that we’re on the preferred list for notable consortia, such as: Virtuoso, TravelSavers, TravelLeaders, Signature, and Ensemble. This prestigious status requires maintaining a specific customer satisfaction standard to remain on their preferred lists!
Positioning benefits is essential to get noticed. But doing so with the right proof to back up claims is critical, otherwise any claims of authenticity can be undone with just a few clicks.
But when it comes to how a business positions itself in the industry, there are also factors to look out for which could be a clear sign of unethical advertising...
So, there you have it! While this is naturally not an exhaustive list of why ethics matters within the travel industry, and certainly not when it comes to the complex legislation regarding unethical practices given the scope of this topic.
Why not take a closer look at our products and services, how we can help travel advisors boost their success, and if you’re already convinced, then you can quickly register your agency for free today, below, to start your journey with a travel booking partner dedicated to uplifting your business with proven techniques, decades of experience in building profitable relationships, and award-winning tech as well.
But we hope that this gives you as advisors food for thought about who exactly you’re partnering with, and whether their claims are founded or not ...
