Gamification in travel: engaging customers through rewards and challenges
- martinagvisionfact
- Sep 20
- 4 min read
Author: Natalia Ferkova
In today's world, traveling is popular more than ever. Young people, families or even old people love traveling all over the world. Moreover, due to affordable prices of flying tickets, hotels or airbnb, more people have the opportunity to visit different countries, meet new cultures and people, and try different cuisines. However, travelers do not seek only destinations but they want something interactive and engaging that will bring them rewards. This is why gamification has become popular among travelers.
What is gamification in travel?
In theory, gamification is a strategy that connects immersive gaming elements with entertainment in a non-game context. This strategy is used as a marketing tool to enhance engagement and motivate the behaviours of customers, specifically in the travel industry, i.e., travelers. To encourage active participation, it uses game elements and design, such as points, leaderboards, and rewards.
Examples of gamification in travel industry
Now let’s move to the more interesting part, where we can use some examples and give you tips on how to use it in your business:
Airlines. Companies like Turkish Airlines, Delta Airlines or Emirates use a frequent-flyer program that offers points for miles to passengers who fly with them. With earned points they can get first-class upgrades, or even a flight for free. This motivates travelers to be loyal to one airline so that they can have benefits from it.
Booking platforms. Booking.com, Hotels.com or KAYAK are platforms providing renting properties or hotels. For example, when a tourist books via Booking.com often visits, it unlocks “Genius Levels”, with higher levels travelers can get higher discounts, free breakfast, or room upgrades.
How to create gamification
In this part, we will provide steps that can be helpful when creating a gamification in the travel industry.
Step 1. Set clear goals. First of all, the most important part is to decide what your goal will be. Do you want to increase bookings, promote sustainable travel, boost your brand and customer loyalty?
Step 2. Understand your audience. Create a marketing persona, that will be your fictional ideal customer. Find out what will be a fun and engaging experience while traveling for them. For young people it could be discounts, whereas for older travelers it could be upgraded for free.
Step 3. Choose appropriate game mechanics. Decide which key elements will be the most suitable for your audience. Make sure the mechanics are simple and easy to understand.
Step 4. Design the game and rewarding system. Simply and clearly define what are the rewards and how to earn them. It is important to make sure that the rewards are achievable and embrace motivation.
Why does it work in the travel industry?
Here is why gamification works well in the travel industry. Travelers do not want to buy just a product, they want to collect memories and experiences. Additionally, we are naturally motivated by rewards and progress whether in school, work, or travelling. This motivation makes gamification a highly effective marketing tool. Gamification turns a holiday into an interactive journey that benefits both travelers and brands. Travelers can save some money, get upgrades, and it's also a joyful and fun activity while planning a holiday.
Benefits for brands
Gamification in the travel industry offers many benefits for companies, the local economies and also for travelers. What are the benefits? Increased customer engagement, offering challenges, badges and reward programs make tourists interact with brands more often and longer, resulting in stronger brand awareness. Moreover, it boosts brand long-term loyalty, as tourists tend to invest time earning points or unlocking levels. They are more likely to get back to the same hotel, airline or book hotel through the same platform and get rewards as soon as possible.
Additionally, social media visibility remains a strong benefit as well, people tend to share their progress and achievements on social media online, which encourages word-of-mouth marketing at no extra cost. Another advantage for the brand is definitely a competitive advantage, tourists would rather book hotels through a platform where they collect points and later can get discounts rather than hotels or airlines that do not benefit them. Finally, using gamification can provide brands valuable insights and data on customer behavior and preferences. This data helps brands tailor offers or improve services.
Conclusion
Gamification in the travel industry is more than just a trend, it is a marketing strategy that turns holidays into interactive experiences. By collecting points, travellers can receive many rewards such as discounts, free upgrades, or even free flights. Moreover, by integrating gamification, brands can increase awareness, customer engagement, social media visibility and embrace loyalty. Importantly, it also benefits customers by enjoying rewards.