Recently, there have been efforts to return to life gradually. The travel industry is bouncing back as borders reopen and airlines take bookings for flights with adjustments. Every airline is doing things differently, but there seems to be an understanding of the importance of adjusting the content strategy, tone, and voice to fit the customers’ needs.

Crowd Analyzer team looked at a sample of 5.6 million activities of the top 8 MENA based airlines during the month of July as travel restrictions are slowly being lifted to observe people’s reaction to traveling again after complete lock-downs took place.

Where is the buzz coming from?

In the MENA region, it is quite common for people to be living in countries other than their own. They rely on travel to get to their home countries and reunite with their loved ones. So when the pandemic hit, it was an unsettling time period for immigrants and expats. It was a relief when borders started opening up again, and people were willing to do whatever it takes concerning safety measures and quarantine periods to travel again. People were eager to travel again. When Etihad Airways announced its resuming flights to India, conversations on social media spiked up.

Conversations about Travel

Top Active Countries based on User Activity

Platforms Dominating the Travel Online Conversation

Based on the monitored period and with the growing online penetration on different social media platforms according to our latest State of Social Media Report for 2020, we weren’t surprised to see Facebook dominating the travel industry scene total interactions with 51%. Instagram followed with 46% based on total interactions. Yet the audience preferred to engage more with posts related to travel on Instagram with an average of 20k interactions per post. People are using social media to communicate and share updates on the latest travel updates and destinations. This was clearly witnessed once airlines resumed operations in July. 

Total Interactions per Platform 

Airlines Leading the Talk

With the top airline brands competing to win over the online conversation and create a buzz around their brand’s latest travel updates, our team tracked and analyzed online conversations in July. The sample monitored in the MENA region showed that the efforts done by the top airline brands were very similar and all towards creating a comforting vibe to travelers that they're gradually resuming our pre-COVID 19 life back, yet maintaining all the needed safety precautions at this stage.

Travelers Calling For Support

Consumers may be super excited to be traveling again, but this does not mean safety does not matter. 80% of social media users reacted positively to the news of travel returning. However, airlines were still held accountable on what procedures they have and what precautions they are taking to ensure safety for their passengers. According to the ongoing social media conversations, it is clear that people are looking for  information, guidance, and assurance of safety. The experience of travel is quite different; customer experience and service teams should rethink the meaning of customer care. It is crucial to put themselves in the customers’ shoes.

What should airlines focus on post COVID-19?

It is not business as usual; it is time to take on a new dimension for the customer experience. Consumers are putting their faith in brands they trust and they are likely to equate the level of trust with the extent of support and adjustment to the current safety policies. So it is crucial for brands to be customer-centric and to anticipate how passengers will evaluate their travel experience.

•  Prioritize customer care
•   Always communicate
• Be ready to adapt quickly

To gain a better understanding of what consumers are expecting from their travel experience, brands should constantly track their brand and industry mentions, analyzing the latest social media trends to better connect with the relevant audience. We are here to support you and your teams with effective, monitoring, and listening tools to help identify the most appropriate strategy to satisfy your customers. Check out the Campaign Performance Analysis Guide  to get started with the right social media listening approach.