An ongoing challenge for most CVBs is effective allocation of limited marketing resources.

Who is your ideal target audience, Millenials or Boomers?  Do you target the future or focus on attracting the audience that is currently the top spenders in travel?

Focused digital marketing and effective social and electronic communications has been established as the common ground for reaching these differing generations by Industry research and experience.

Millennials are “digital natives.” What they have in common is their preference for the use of digital and social media. Referred to as the first “digital native” generation, they have been exposed to digital at an early age. The oldest were just 10 years old when AOL covered the USA with their ubiquitous sign-up discs.

It is important to engage them now as they are forming lifelong shopping preferences and habits. This generation of people, now 18 to 34 years old, is comparable to the Boomers in size. In 2017, forty-two percent are planning to travel domestically. This audience will become critical to CVBs and destinations, as the Boomers begin to slow down.

Baby Boomers embrace digital. They are currently the top spenders for travel. According to AARP, domestic travel is by far the most popular and quick weekend getaways continue to be popular. Twenty-five percent of Boomers say they will choose a weekend for domestic travel; a good reason to focus on your closer drive-to feeder markets.

Not only are many Boomers healthy and wealthy, another reason to target them with digital marketing is that they embrace the internet. They use it to search destinations, shop and compare prices, read reviews (76%) and stay in touch with friends via email and social media. With two-thirds of Boomers using Facebook to plan a recent trip, they are a fast growing demographic on the social platform.

Recognizing that delivering your message via digital marketing can reach both audiences efficiently, the first is step is to assess your current digital marketing efforts. Three key questions to ask: