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We sometimes forget how many foreigners come to our shores for business and pleasure. A weak dollar makes vacations in the United States even more enticing, especially to European travelers. (I know this because I just asked our International Specialist, Stefanie Galloway.)

Here’s a conglomeration of tips on international marketing from the speakers at the recent SES Travel Conference.

Why International Travel Search?

• The rest of the world is getting online FAST! In 1996, 66% of Internet users were in the U.S. In 2007, it is only 20%.
• Asia is the fastest growing international market.
• The average European has much more vacation time than Americans - about four weeks! And stats show they stay longer and spend more money than American travelers.

The Travel Search Engines

• About 30% of the users of Yahoo Travel are international.
• Kayak.com (which says they average a 6-8% click through rate on hotel ppcs) has international sites in other languages.
• Mobissimo says they are the current leader in international Travel Search. They have local sites in France, India, and the United Kingdom and are adding more countries soon. Founder, Beatrice Tarka, says their site does not focus on discounts, and over 30% of their users are looking for four and five star hotels. Mobissimo offers ppc advertising.

International Usability

• Booking pages need to be in local languages.
• Make sure your forms can accommodate all kinds of international addresses!
• Don’t use slang. It’s hard enough to understand us without it, and translators can’t always do it justice.
• Give very clear directions.
• Display maps, and show as well as tell.

Examples of international address formats:

Here at Blizzard Internet Marketing, we are continually experimenting with new ways to attract international guests to our clients’ properties. In fact, we will soon be offering a special package designed to drive overseas traffic to our hospitality websites. Keep an eye out for an announcement soon or call your account manager for details.

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Categories: SEM.
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