As traffic to some travel websites drops, Ripple Effects Interactive's executive vice president of strategy & marketing offers tips for saving struggling properties.

When reading the "Travelers' Use of the Internet, 2005 Edition," put out by the Travel Industry Association of America, one particular graph stands out. Of the types of internet sites used for travel planning, only one type of site has trended down over the past three years-- official destination sites.

Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) should look at this graph and be concerned. A three-year trend is alarming, but if it happens for a fourth straight year, the slide is undeniable. Thus, 2006 is an important year for DMOs as they consider their web development and online marketing efforts.

If consumers continue to shift away from destination sites as a planning tool, DMO members and partners may call into question the value of the DMO itself as a marketing resource. They may ask, why not take my membership dues and instead run ads on Travelocity or build my own online marketing campaign?

The web is where travel planning and conversion occurs. So why shouldn't the suppliers skip the middlemen (DMOs) if they get a better bang for their buck elsewhere? If DMOs don't find a way to carve out their niche online, they may feel the same pinch that traditional brick-and-mortar travel agents felt when travelers began to take their own planning online.

So why is this happening? For one, many DMOs struggle to keep their websites relevant for a consumer base that seemingly changes their online habits at the speed of light. Today's online traveler is different; broadband has increased their time spent online and increased their need for more specialized content. Below are a few points about today's online travel planner:

• In 2005, 79 million people used the web to plan their travel, and 82 percent of those booked online. (Travelers' Use of the Internet, 2005 Edition)
• 58 percent of travelers plan weekend getaways in fewer than three weeks, and 35 percent plan longer vacations in fewer than four weeks. (D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd.)
• 41 percent of online bookers state "that travel is where I indulge myself," and 34 percent said they are willing to pay more for a quality travel product. (Forrester Research)
• When asked what will influence their decision the most, travelers said they were "waiting to be inspired," outranking "waiting for the best deal." (Survey of Site59 users)
• The ability to view images of and select a hotel online was ranked as the most important influence in the purchase process, followed by written descriptions, information about the destination and property star rating. (eMarketer, November 2005)
• Personal recommendations are a major influence for 54 percent of internet users when making travel decisions. (eMarketer)
• Over 20 million Americans watched an internet video in the past week. (Internet and Multimedia 2005, Arbitron/Edison Media Research)
• Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye, about 50 milliseconds. (Gitte Lindgaard, Ph.D., Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada)

Let's meet today's travel consumer. They research, plan and book their travel online with little lead-time. They form opinions about a destination in the blink of an eye. They demand rich, immersive and engaging online experiences that include video, audio and other multimedia elements.

Seeking transparency, authenticity and interactivity out of their travel sites, today's consumers want to create content, not just consume it. Because they so value the opinion of peer consumers, they want to see what other travelers are saying about a destination or property. Overall, if DMOs don't engage travel planners directly through their site, consumers will skim over the destination to find the inspiration elsewhere and spend their travel dollars someplace else.

So how should Destination Marketing Organizations react? To remain relevant, DMOs must adjust their value proposition as an arbiter of content between the consumer and the attractions and properties that comprise the destination. In a nutshell, they must sell the destination experience.   

The value is no longer a comprehensive, error-free database of attractions and properties, though accurate databases and back-end management solutions are important and can help DMOs to manage their business. The focus must be on the consumer. Otherwise, the consumer will stop coming to the site and all the back-end tools will be worthless.

It is not good enough for a destination site to display a few thumbnail images, short descriptions and contact information for local attractions. Consumers can go to any online travel agency and find that information along with special deals, real-time booking, traveler reviews, robust mapping systems and beautiful imagery. When you look at it this way, you can see why consumers continue to use Travelocity and Expedia while shying away from official destination sites.

The new value for DMOs is to convert from a data-driven focus to a brand-immersion focus. DMOs must build their sites in a way that communicates the brand to the consumer immediately and continuously. The site must convey the same feeling the traveler expects to experience when physically visiting that particular destination, be it a feeling of relaxation, escape, fun, adventure, romance, style, belonging or amusement.

The assets on the site must not only support this brand promise, they must further it by encouraging deeper exploration, fostering curiosity about specific offerings along with requisite detailed information. Given the maturation of broadband, users expect a more vibrant and engrossing encounter with the destination that includes video, audio, motion graphics, rich imagery and content supplied by their peers. They want to be inspired. They want to match quality and fit against their personal preferences. Thus, DMOs must coalesce their "story" to build a comprehensive, content-rich online experience that will connect on multiple levels. They must own the brand and use all available tools to showcase their wares.

Online travel sites like Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and Priceline do not currently own individual DMO brands. Their focus is too broad, and their goals relate only to sales. They can sell a bed, but they can't sell the promise of an experience; that is a niche currently held by DMOs. DMOs must move into and master that space quickly to remain relevant because the TIA graph indicates they are already losing ground on the data and tools front.

If DMO websites continue to slip, online travel sites will eventually recognize the value of selling individual brands and create micro-sites under their umbrella moniker. This would allow them to connect with consumers on an emotional level beyond the "search-find-book" approach they currently maintain. If that were to happen, it would be the final nail in the coffin for DMO websites.

This may sound like a doomsday scenario, but is easily avoidable if DMOs shift their mindset and reassess everything from marketing budgets and resources to agency partnerships and revenue models. The travel and tourism marketplace has changed rapidly in the past several years, and DMOs need to be more nimble and aware of their consumers' online behavior. Delivering the overall brand experience is a necessary first step in that adjustment process.