In a first for Namibia, Google travel-related services will now be available in the country and could change the tourism and hospitality industry trough digital marketing.
The game-changing technology and service for the Namibian hospitality and tourism industry was announced last week at the launch of Rainmaker, which will bring Google Street View Trusted and Google Hotel to Namibia.
The Rainmaker 360° Virtual Tours powered by Google Street View Trusted are seamlessly integrated into all Google travel-related services.
Speaking at the launch, Thomas Müller, CEO of Rainmaker in the Middle East and Africa, said travel is the second largest industry on the internet after pornography.
According to him, more travellers are doing research for their journeys on the internet, while fewer people book their trips through travel agencies.
Müller said it was of the utmost importance that Namibian hoteliers and lodge owners be equipped to manage their own digital presence without depending on the commission-earning online services of travel agents for bookings.
He said 65% of travellers start thinking of taking a trip while they are online, while 85% of travellers consider the internet as their main source of doing planning for a trip, and for 37% of travellers the internet is their main source for booking trips.
Müller added that 70% of travellers use mobile devices during trips and 53% of travellers share their travel experiences and photos online.
According to Müller, very few accommodation establishments in Namibia make use of proper digital marketing and therefore lose a huge amount of business.
“Digital is the key to the tourism industry,” he said.
He said while most travellers nowadays make use of mobile devices to do research, there are very few accommodation establishments in Namibia that cater for mobile devices on their websites.
“The digital presence has to be aware of mobile devices otherwise you are losing business. Also the Google ranking for your webpage will be downgraded if you do not cater for mobile devices,” said Müller.
According to him, one of the major challenges for the tourism and hospitality industry in Namibia is online travel industries that are coming into play.
“Online travel agents are becoming ever more dominant and the big challenge for Namibia is not to be dictated by travel and tour operators.”
He says Namibia lost 60% of travellers in the age group between 35 and 50 during the past five years because their needs were not being addressed and they were not being attracted to the country. They then rather opt to go to travel agencies.
The Rainmaker 360° Virtual Tour, powered by Google Street View Trusted, is an online digital marketing tool that was first introduced in the US in 2007. It is designed to effectively market all hospitality providers, be they hotels, lodges, guest houses, B&Bs, villas and apartments, guest farms or other venues and restaurants.
Google research confirms that properties that have implemented the technology can expect, on average, a 48% increase in bookings.
Google Street View Trusted for the hospitality industry is seamlessly integrated with Google Search, Google Maps, Google My Business, Google+ and Google Hotel, providing excellent visibility and optimised search results for the modern hotelier.
It can easily be integrated on the websites or Facebook pages of tour operators and hotels.
Rainmaker has already appointed five Namibians in its global team.