Now, more than ever, there is a destination and a vacation to suit every kind of traveller.

Your dream holiday is likely to be different than that of the person next to you. You’re unique, after all. This idea continues to drive the diversification of travel experiences everywhere, and destinations need to adapt as they compete with niche content marketing from many sources.

For example, a new startup called Vacation with an Artist (VAWAA) is now helping to connect artistically inclined travellers with creatives from across the globe. Founder Geetika Agrawal and her business partner act as guides through their customers’ entire journeys. They match travellers with master creatives – from shoemakers to woodworkers – before suggesting flight routes and lodging in each destination. VAWAA also creates content marketing tailored to this niche audience by sharing the experiences of both the creative and the traveller through its blog.

The idea behind VAWAA echoes a much wider trend in the travel industry towards niche experiences.

Airbnb’s Experiences initiative encourages users with unique skills to host workshops and tours, while Visit Flanders employs experience managers to better understand its visitors, the experiences they crave, and the customer journey. As more people travel based on their niche interests, it is important for destination marketing organisations to understand what drives visitor behaviour today. Essentially, people are looking to connect with real, like-minded people and this is making mass marketing obsolete.

To understand why niche marketing is valuable, consider the rise of micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are considered experts in their respective categories, can generate higher engagement rates than top influencers and are known for their ability to influence opinions and purchase decisions. They are also more cost effective than some influencers with the largest followings. Having an understanding of your destination’s niches helps you connect with the right people and build advocates for your destination. This represents a huge opportunity for many destinations that have only begun to harness the power of niche marketing.

Learn to speak the language of your niches

Often, the most successful content marketing is created by and targeted to passion audiences that transcend geographic markets, like bird watching, scuba diving and fishing. For Destination British Columbia, a deep understanding of their niche audiences sees them create consistently engaging content and deliver high-quality experiences.

But how can your destination compete with the likes of VAWAA and start to thoroughly understand niche groups like artistically motivated travellers? Artists know how to talk to artists, after all. In our experience, detailed research is the first step in learning to speak the language of any niche. Secondly, work with the micro-influencers we discussed earlier. These influencers can help you put your message in front of the right type of people. Lastly, develop your experiences across your organisation and with your operators. If you can do this with confidence, you’ll attract the right type of traveller to have their dream vacation with you.

Related reading: Go niche or your visitors will go home.

Photo by Eddy Klaus on Unsplash