The journey is as critical as the destination

The Americans spent it over $850 billion domestic leisure trips in 2023, and this amount is likely to escalate in future years. Whether it’s a weekend trip to a Taylor Swift concert, a long-awaited holiday visit with family, or a month-long trip to national parks, travel can have a lasting impact on how we view ourselves.

In the age of social media, platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Reddit have become places where travelers can share their experiences and connect with others. Our recent research suggests that online engagement plays an underappreciated role in how people enjoy their holidays.

We’ve discovered that travel satisfaction doesn’t just depend on the main event – a concert, meeting or trip. Instead, it’s the entire journey that counts, from the initial wait to the joy of sharing stories afterwards.

This may seem intuitive to avid travelers. But How marketing professorswe believe that the tourism industry could make better utilize of this knowledge.

The power of “mental time travel”

Even before a traveler sets foot in a destination, what we call “mental time travel” begins to shape his or her experience.

Picture this: you’re planning to take your teenage niece to her first Taylor Swift concert. The planning process itself is thrilling: you get to do your research airline optionscompare seating arrangements and debate the best airport. Then comes the search for a hotel – preferably close to the event, but close to shopping, restaurants and other entertainment.

Once the tickets are secured, planning for the concert itself begins. You can search concert advicewhat time to arrive bracelet making guidesOr even the expected setlist. Social media and forums become invaluable tools for gathering advice, imagining the event and building expectations, which in itself increases satisfaction.

Most of this mental time travel takes place in the form of pasta on the Internet. For service providers, engaging consumers at this stage can escalate satisfaction and loyalty. After all, while a concert may last only three hours, contacts established during many months of preparations may last much longer. And when the experience is over, people often return to online communities to share their stories, continuing the cycle of excitement and engagement.

When the holidays start before you leave home

To understand the value of mental time travel, we conducted two studies. The first involved people on an online cruise forum who had booked their first cruise but had not yet sailed. Those travelers who were already dynamic on the forum imagined their upcoming experiences and reported greater expected loyalty before boarding the ship.

To confirm that this isn’t constrained to first-time travelers, our second study surveyed people who had recently returned for a vacation. They recalled how pre-trip activities impacted their experiences, reported feeling more satisfied and committed, and shared their positive views with others.

These findings suggest that companies should actively encourage the utilize of social media and create online communities to improve the pre-experience phase of the journey. Hotels, airlines and event planners could share planning tips, highlight customer stories and create connections that make the wait an unforgettable part of the trip.

Offering incentives to top contributors, encouraging photo and video sharing, and engaging with customer posts can make the journey as enjoyable as the destination itself. By considering every step – from planning to remembering – companies can create memorable experiences from start to finish.