Consistently growing your holiday bookings requires more than a strong offer or a well-timed promotion. It requires understanding brand-to-consumer interaction — how many times a potential customer needs to engage with your brand before they commit to a booking.
How Many Touchpoints Does a Holiday Customer Need?
Google research from 2015 established that consumers typically experience 7 to 12 touchpoints between first showing interest in a brand and making a purchase. For holidays — which carry a higher price and greater personal commitment than most retail purchases — that number tends to be higher. Understanding the factors that influence it gives you a framework for building a more effective nurturing process.
The 6 Factors That Define Your Conversion Touchpoints
1. Is the holiday seasonal or calendar-specific?
Seasonal holidays restrict consumer choice by geography, climate, and timing. Unless a potential customer already has an established interest in that type of holiday, more brand interactions will be needed to convince them the constraints are worthwhile.
2. How expensive are your holidays?
Higher prices require longer conversion journeys and more touchpoints. Consumers need to understand why your holidays are worth the cost before they are ready to commit. Consistent, value-led communication builds that understanding over time. For more on managing this through email, see our post on holiday discount emails that convert.
3. How long are your holidays?
Short breaks and weekend getaways appeal to spontaneity and typically convert with fewer touchpoints. Longer holidays that require time off work or school need more justification and a more sustained nurturing process.
4. What is the weather doing?
For domestic holidays, poor weather at the time of browsing can suppress intent. For overseas destinations, it can accelerate it. Timing your communications around seasonal weather patterns can improve conversion rates.
5. Where are your holidays?
Destinations more than four hours away by plane tend to require longer consideration periods. Well-known, popular destinations convert more quickly. More exotic or less familiar destinations need more brand-to-consumer interaction to build confidence.
6. When do consumers typically book?
Over 50% of UK breaks of a week or longer are booked in the first three months of the year. Over 60% of overseas breaks follow the same pattern. Your nurturing process should gear towards this window — but it must run year-round. A consumer introduced to your brand in June may book six months later.
Why Patience and Consistency Deliver Results
Lead generation campaigns for travel and holidays typically take a minimum of three months to build real momentum. The return on investment is directly linked to the quality and consistency of the nurturing process. Brands that invest in building trust over multiple interactions — rather than relying on a single well-timed offer — consistently outperform those that do not.
For a practical overview of how to structure that process, see our post on what lead nurturing involves and our guide to effective lead nurturing tactics.
To find out how LMG can help you build a consistent, results-driven booking pipeline, explore our lead generation services and lead nurturing solutions, or get in touch.