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Is there a Long Tail for travel?
According to the Long Tail, the most popular tourist destinations have always been places like Paris or Tokyo because they were the cities airlines could fly to most efficiently and that had the greatest demand from visitors. But in the last ten years, the growth of low cost carriers and word of mouth recommendation websites like Tripadvisor has changed that model. We're no longer forced to take what our travel agent says at face value. Users online tell us what's worth seeing and the flights have gotten so cheap we're willing to be more risky about where to go. Now instead of Paris or Tokyo, for instance, you're just as likely to hear your friend went to visit Provence or Osaka.
According to Long Tail creator Chris Anderson, the numbers back this up. He cites data from the UK between 1998-2008, when visitors to the "Top 50" travel destinations dropped 10% from 36% to 26%, while visitors to "everywhere else" increased by the same amount. It does take a leap of logic to arrive at Anderson's conclusion - there's nothing here to account for the effects of the economy on travel, and without seeing the Top 50 destinations, it's hard to say what other factors are at play. Still, the implication of the "Travel Long Tail" is striking. More of us seem to be throwing the advice of travel "experts" out the window and setting off on our own, and that's a tremendously exciting trend.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kathleen Oct 6th 2009 5:16PM
We just can't afford to go to the most popular places. So what we started doing was checking out http://www.redweek.com for real budget timeshares to rent (they are always very nice, though), no matter where in the country they are, and this way we can stay in a nice resort, see a part of the country we'd never thought to go before, and save money. For example, we've enjoyed trips to Egg Harbor, Wisconsin and McCall, Idaho, both really beautiful places!