Go on vacation with Google

WW: What role does the Internet play today when planning a vacation trip?
Philipp Ries: Figures from neutral studies such as Mondial Assistance show: People are increasingly doing their research online. Forty-one percent of Swiss people decide on their vacation destination online. Only 28 percent decide with the help of a catalog. In 2010, 48 percent also booked their vacations online. Only 52 percent still visit a travel agency. And the trend is clearly in favor of the Internet. A TNS study from 2011 shows that 45% of Swiss people who use Google Street View do so for travel planning. A second trend is that people are increasingly listening to personal recommendations. This is possible, for example, with Google Places, where users can find photos and recommendations of hotels.

Google Insights for Search shows trends in search queries. What did you notice here?
In 2011, external circumstances played a major role. Tunisia, Egypt and now the uncertainty in Greece are reflected in the search behavior statistics and are also influencing booking behavior. Japan, which is far away, is also reflected in search behavior. It is clear that people are doing even more online research than usual at times like these. People want to find out which destinations could cause problems. However, the booking behavior of the Swiss is still such that people book very early. It is striking that online bookings are on the rise in all age groups compared to bookings in travel agencies. According to the study, 36 percent of 65-75 year olds still go to travel agencies, compared to just 27 percent of 40-64 year olds. Half of 26-39-year-olds already book their vacations online.

How can providers in the travel sector benefit from this growing trend?
Here you have to ask: How could a provider address the 40 percent who do their research online? We offer relevant advertising for these potential customers with Google AdWords. Advertising that is displayed in context. The exciting thing is that AdWords has also democratized the providers. In the past, a small provider had little chance of advertising efficiently. TV and posters were too expensive. Today, anyone can offer their niche products very specifically via AdWords. A specialist for trips to Corsica can target his customers with a small budget where they are looking for information about Corsica online. It is also exciting that you can measure the impact of your online advertising on Google extremely well. You can launch an advertising campaign and then use Google Analytics to see exactly how many users came to the site and made a booking.

Are there any specific case studies?
There are several examples. The large providers such as Kuoni or Tui, who advertise with AdWords. We also know of many start-ups that are growing successfully with us. Travel.ch, for example, or Citytrip.ch. The success story of this provider is based on the fact that it discovered online advertising early on and advertises in the niche market of credit card-free bookings. Or Housetrip.com in Lausanne has grown from a start-up to Europe's largest online platform for vacation apartments within 12 months. According to founder Arnaud Betrand, many new customers and 67 percent of booking revenue come from AdWords.

Which Google tools are available for on the go?
We have recently launched Google Translate for smartphones. The app is available for free on the Android Market. It allows me to have a foreign language spoken via my cell phone. I type in my question in German and, thanks to the app, it is then spoken by my smartphone in a foreign language of my choice. Conversely, I can have something spoken into my cell phone in a foreign language and the app then writes the translation on my display. Google Translate is available in around 50 languages. This is constantly being perfected. The search function on Google Maps is also practical. In New York, I can say "Sushi in New York" into my phone and Google Maps will immediately show me all the sushi restaurants in the desired area - including the option to view them with Street View. With Google Places, I can also view photos of the restaurant and read personal recommendations from previous guests.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri