“The Experiential True Story” - How Travel Experts Believe Marketers Can Sell to Travellers 2.0

The field of travel marketing has undergone a paradigm changing transformation with the rise of Web 2.0 and the subsequent Traveller 2.0. The key offerings of the travel industry have gradually become more consumer-centric and experiential, catering to the wants of travellers who crave authentic experiences, as opposed to tourists who were not content seeing destinations under the tourist gaze. How then, do travel experts believe that travel marketers can use Web 2.0 to attract new customers to their “traditional” businesses? By getting insight on the core concepts of Web 2.0 marketing, selfie and tourist gaze, hyperreality on social media, prosumption, storytelling, customization, influencer marketing and trend creation, this research aims to explain how Web 2.0 can be leveraged to effectively market experiential travel to this generation of DIY travellers. These themes were explored via conducting ten semi-structure indepth interviews with travel marketing experts from around the world and were interpreted via thematic analysis. The results of this study provided substantial insights on the travel tendencies of Travellers 2.0 and how experiential marketing with a sustained emphasis on storytelling via Web 2.0 can be used to attract customers. Further revelatory insights were provided on travel marketers’ perceptions of prosumer-dominated review platforms and the effectiveness of influencer marketing in travel. To conclude, critical assessments of limitations and recommendations for future research were discussed.