New survey highlights consumer hesitance with booking travel via social media

The development meant that TikTok’s more than 200 million American users could now discover and book everything from hotels to attractions and tours directly on TikTok. As the six-month anniversary of that announcement approaches, however, it remains unclear whether the new feature has gained traction with users. (TikTok has not revealed usage numbers.)

In the meantime, travel intelligence company TravelPort conducted a Traveler Confidence Survey covering consumer sentiment about using social media to book travel.

The survey revealed that while 58% of consumers say they wouldn’t book a trip through platforms like TikTok or Instagram 21% admitted they would use social media to research a trip before booking somewhere else. Translation: It seems using social media to conduct travel research is still where travelers draw the line.

As the Travel Confidence Survey points out, “booking behavior remains centered on established travel channels.”

“Social media is already influencing how travelers discover and research travel, even if most are not comfortable yet completing a booking there,” adds the report.

Evolving traveler behaviors and attitudes

Travel advisers, many of whom are savvy social media users themselves, particularly when it comes to reaching clients and promoting their businesses, are not altogether surprised by the survey's results.

Amy Thomasson, a travel adviser with Travelmation, said she’s not aware of many people actually using TikTokGo to book vacations. "In my experience, it seems people have ridden the TikTok Shop wave long enough and are moving on from it, so I'm quite interested to see how the travel portion of it plays out in the long run," Thomasson told TravelPulse.

But that doesn't mean social media isn't playing an increasingly significant role in travel planning for consumers. "People often use social media to get vacation ideas, but then they go outside the platforms to book the trips on their own," Thomasson added.

Similarly, Kasia Czerwonka, an ASTA-verified adviser with Envoyage Travel says consumers are finding plenty of travel inspo on TikTok and Instagram but they're not yet taking the next step and making final travel plans there.

"I definitely think social media has become a big part of how people discover and research travel," Czerwonka told TravelPulse. "I regularly have clients send me a resort, hotel, cruise or destination they found on TikTok or Instagram and ask, 'What do you think?'"

"People are becoming much more comfortable letting social media inspire their travel decisions, but I don't think everyone is ready to book an entire vacation directly through those platforms," Czerwonka continued. "When you're investing thousands of dollars in a trip, many travelers still want the reassurance of working with someone they can ask questions, bounce ideas off of and rely on if something doesn't go as planned."

But not all travel advisers see reticence among consumers when it comes to booking travel directly through platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Shannon Kittner, founder and CEO of The Wander Network, says she "absolutely" thinks "travelers are becoming much more comfortable with social media being part of the booking process."

Lingering trust concerns

Among consumers who are not yet clicking the 'pay now' or 'book now' button on TikTok or Instagram, trust over the the security, credibility or reliability of making travel plans through such platforms likely plays a significant role, say advisers.

"Social media can make a destination or resort look incredible," explained Czerwonka. "But you're often only seeing a small piece of the story. It's not always clear whether the person posting has actually been to the location in question, whether the information they're sharing is current or whether that experience would be the right fit for someone else."

"When you're investing thousands of dollars in a trip, many travelers still want the reassurance of working with someone they can ask questions, bounce ideas off of and rely on if something doesn't go as planned," Czerwonka added.

Travel is simply a much higher-stakes purchase than most of the things consumers are accustomed to buying through social media, suggests Kittner. Consumers are very aware of scams, fake accounts and misleading content online. A beautiful 15-second video may inspire someone to want the trip, but that doesn’t automatically mean they are comfortable handing over their credit card.

"Ordering a $30 product you saw on TikTok is one thing. Spending several thousand dollars on a honeymoon, cruise or family vacation is completely different," Kittner points out. "Travelers want to know who they are giving their money to, where that money is going and, probably most importantly, who is going to help them if something goes wrong."

Booking online is complicated and overwhelming

The TravelPort survey unearthed additional consumer attitudes surrounding booking travel online as well, including the fact that doing so can be cumbersome. To that end, 46% of survey participants abandoned a booking online because it became too complicated, while 69% said they feel overwhelmed by online travel options at least sometimes. While travelers value choice, it seems too much choice can create confusion.

Those types of sentiments, and the continual proliferation of information available online, are just a few of the reasons why travel advisers know full well they remain a crucial part of the travel planning process for many people.

“I do find that many people get frustrated by the time they are wasting scrolling and researching on their own and that's where an adviser can come in to save you time and money,” Thomasson said.

Adds Czerwonka: "To me, social media is a great starting point. It gets people excited and introduces them to destinations they may not have considered. My role is to take that inspiration and help turn it into a vacation that's the right fit for their travel style, budget and expectations."