Travel & Tourism Website Design

We Create Unique Tourism Websites that Influence, Inspire and Sell

As a tourism operator or destination, it's essential to create an inspirational online presence for potential visitors and customers.

According to Think with Google Traveller insights, 68% of leisure travellers began researching online before knowing where or how to travel. This article was written back in 2013 and it is fair to assume this number would have increased since then.

Successful tourism operators in Australia need to have a unique and engaging website as part of their digital marketing strategy.  If you're in the tourism industry without a good website, you're missing out on potential leads, sales, opportunities and revenue.

We've Even Built Our Own Tourism & Travel Web Portals

e-CBD loves tourism and travel so much, we've created and maintained a range of destination portals ourselves since 1998.

Our tourism website portals have unique content from our specialist copywriters, affiliate bookings, dynamic content through the use of widgets, as well as user generated content through our calendar and directory system. 

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View a selection of websites that we have created for travel and tourism providers below.

Professional Services

Finance

Online Stores

Real Estate & Property

Health & Medical

Home, Building & Garden

Fashion & Beauty

Restaurant, Venues & Hospitality

Gold Coast

Travel & Accommodation

Personal Services

Arts & Entertainment

Directories

Our Experience in Tourism Web Design & Digital Marketing

Being based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, e-CBD has been a part of many exciting projects in the tourism and travel sector over the years. It is this experience that has given us the ability to create websites for the travel industry that:

  • Perform well and convert prospects into paying customers.
  • Enhanced mobile user experience to suit people researching and booking activities on the go.
  • Are easy and logical to navigate.
  • Build trust with your ideal customers.
  • Look visually stunning.

We're experienced with building tourism websites and incorporating a range of features such as booking engines, directories, event calendars, galleries and much more.

From tourist attraction websites, local travel guides and events to website design for accommodation providers, we've done it all. In tourism web marketing, each client comes with unique requirements which results in a unique and customised website solution.

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Questions About Tourism Website Design & Development

Here are some of the most common questions we get asked in relation to tourism industry websites and/or destination website design in Australia.

Why Does A Tourism Company Need A Website?

In the modern age of the Internet, none of your potential clients are looking for tourist activities in phonebooks, they are searching the web and booking online (often on a mobile device).

Think about your own browsing habits for a minute. You'll realise it's very common to research possible activities online, check out reviews and then either make an online booking or call via the website.

If you're wanting to beat your competitors and grow your business, you will require an inspiring website to complete your digital marketing strategy and convert new visitors into paying customers.

How Do Websites Help Tourism Operators Win More Customers?

A strategic website presents a huge opportunity for you to showcase your experience and publish inspirational content to engage your ideal customers.

Your website's content, images and video is completely under your control, so it can be specifically designed to show how remarkable your destination, tourism activity or tourist attraction really is. With a website, you get the power to create an exciting, positive and engaging first interaction between your brand and each new visitor.

A custom website design is the best way to:

  • Present your location, destination or tourism activity in a positive way and within a safe space (your website) which is curated by you.

  • Sell the experience itself - Show potential customers the benefits of booking in for your activity through photos and exciting video content.

  • Make your customers feel welcome and like you truly want to enhance their tourist experience.

  • Tell the stories of other happy tourists who've enjoyed your product or service.

  • Lift the cover on the human side of your brand - Tell everyone about your fantastic staff members and how much fun customers will have interacting with them.

  • Present a simple format for customers to book online and ideally pay online - This will help you to cut down on administration costs required for managing new bookings.

  • Cross promote with other local tourism operators to make your offerings even more enticing.

  • Intergrate all of your social media marketing channels and your blog in one place so you can share local stories for engagement and local SEO benefit.

Getting In Front of More Potential Customers with your Website

It's important your tourism website is constantly being updated with fresh, local content from your blog and social media accounts (Facebook, Youtube, Instagram social feeds). This is going to help your website traffic to naturally grow as you gain exposure in search engines (like Google) and attract more website visitors.

The best way to achieve this organic growth is by creating regular, high quality content and also by keeping your existing content up-to-date. This can be done by several methods such as:

  • Writing relevant, engaging and high quality blog articles.
  • Providing detailed answers to commonly asked questions from your customers.
  • Creating engaging videos about your destination, location, tour or activity.

The Importance of Converting New Website Visitors into Customers

Getting new, relevant visitors is only a good thing if you can convert these visitors into paying customers. To increase conversions, you need to have an effective website with strong calls-to-action which intertwines with your overall digital marketing strategy. 

Achieving a high conversion rate means getting every element of your website right including:

  • Overall design.
  • Page layout.
  • Navigation and user flow.
  • Page loading speed.
  • User experience.
  • Content, images and video.
  • Calls-to-action.
  • Booking system.
  • And much, much more...

If you want to grow and support your tourism business with an effective website, it is highly recommended you invest in a professional website design.

Book an appointment with an experienced web agency like e-CBD or give us a call on (07) 5531 3810 to discuss.

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What Makes A Successful Tourism Website?

Having a great user experience is essential to the success of all business websites. However, our experience has shown us that for Tourism industry websites, user experience plays an even bigger role in achieving success.

To get the most out of your Tourism website, you need to realise that absolutely every element of your website is important and should be treated with due consideration.

Home Page Header: Communicating a Clear Message

Home page content needs to be written in a clear, simple and concise way. Leave out any jargon and avoid trying to be "too clever" with your writing. Your website visitors don't have the time or the energy to decipher plays on words, witty jokes, puns or other confusing language.

Opt for simple language and try to show empathy for your customers by identifying with their problems and presenting them with your unique offer which will solve their problem.

Responsive Design with a Focus on the Mobile Experience

It's essential your website is built to be responsive so you can serve a wide range of potential customers. This means the website will display correctly and work well on mobile phones, tablet devices, laptops and desktop computers. 

Focusing on the mobile experience is really important in the tourism industry. A high percentage of users who access your website will be on the move and most likely using mobile phones or tablet devices so you want to provide them with an outstanding user experience.

There are a few simple things you can do which make a big difference for mobile phone browsers.

Decrease total size of the website: Only use necessary images, don't auto play video, switch to a fast Australian web hosting provider and ensure your mobile version has been optimised for page loading speed. The smaller your site (in filesize), the faster it will load and the less data your visitor will burn.

App UI design: Take some cues from mobile phone apps and copy some of their design elements to give the mobile version of your website a more "app like" experience and feel.

You can copy the common UI patterns used for mobile apps which will make your users more comfortable with using and navigating your website. 

Sticky call-to-action: Take your primary call-to-action and stick it to either the top or bottom of the screen so it's always available.

This will usually increase your conversion rate and can also save you the hassle of eating up valuable page real estate with call-to-buttons everywhere throughout your content.

Simple & Logical Navigation

Simplifying your primary navigation menu is essential to eliminate decision fatigue and push the user toward the desired journey. This is your website, so you should be controlling the priority of the content.

Check the most popular pages on your Google Analytics and make an educated guess on the 3-5 most important items a user would need to access. Trim your main menu to those 3-5 items and a primary call-to-action, then relegate all other navigation items to your footer menu.

Highlighted Product or Services

As a tourism provider, it's a no-brainer that you need to promote and highlight your products and/or services.

This is your key offering and it's important to present it in the most alluring way possible. Once you've got stunning visuals, get your products and services infront of your website visitors by featuring them on your home page with a clear call-to-action.

Simple Online Booking System

Online booking is generally the easiest method for managing your booking calendar. There are a wide range of booking plugins, calendar plugins and online booking services out there. Take the time to research the best solution for both your tourism business and for your customers.

If there isn't an existing system to meet your needs, you can always explore the process of custom developing your own unique online booking system

Your staff and your customers will thank you for providing a seamless online booking experience, especially if their is the option of online payments.

Selection of Reviews/Testimonials

Everyone is checking review scores and reading testimonials before buying a product or using a service. This is especially prevalent in the tourism industry, so it's important you get on the front foot and showcase some of your glowing reviews on your home page.

Providing this social proof upfront will give potential customers the confidence to buy your product or use your service.

Display Current Promotions or Competitions

If you have existing promotions, specials or you are running competitions, be sure to promote these on your home page and on relevant inner pages. This can be a major drawcard for generating more leads/sales.

Show Latest Blog Posts or Articles

You should be blogging or creating relevant articles for the purpose of adding value for your visitors and also for search engine optimisation (SEO). It is a good idea to display a sample of your latest posts (with dates) on your homepage.

An active blog which has been updated recently is an indicator for potential customers that you're still operating and staying at the forefront of your industry. It also shows search engines like Google that you regularly update your website.

Prominent Email Subscribe Widget

Email marketing campaigns are cheap to run and often provide a return of investment (ROI) of $37 for every $1 invested.

Promote your email list with an obvious and eye catching widget. Generally, many businesses don't put much thought into their email subscribe widget and usually make statement like "Subscribe to our newsletter" or "Join our mailing list".

The truth is, no one wants to subscribe to your newsletter. You need to provide the user with something valuable so they'll part with their precious email address.

For example, offer a discount or communicate the fact you'll send them exclusive early bird access to discounts, promotions and/or specials if they subscribe to your email list.

Pro Tip: Don't obstruct the user with annoying pop-ups that need to be dismissed. Use a subtle slide-in widget or use a static footer and/or sidebar element to promote your email list.


 

Work With Us

At e-CBD, we have years of experience building successful websites for businesses in the tourism and travel sector. 

Work with us to create a high converting travel industry website that works for your business. Call us now on 07 5531 3810 or fill out our online enquiry form to get started.

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The most remarkable part of e-CBD is the amazing people who work here.

If you haven't met us before, or you don't know us too well, drop us a line or read our profiles, we'd love to get to know you.

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Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the people of the Yugambeh language region, the traditional owners of the land on which we stand, and pay our respect to their elders past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who now live in the local area.

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