Most people are fond of traveling, as visiting new destinations and exploring different cultures, cuisines and traditions can be a gratifying experience. However, not everyone enjoys the process of the actual planning and preparation.
A regional survey commissioned by Napa Valley wine brand Beringer Vineyards and conducted in five countries across Southeast Asia showed that 1 in 2 Indonesians waste an average of 4 days of annual leave each year due to poor planning, while an astonishing 90 percent believe that they could have maximised their annual leave if only they were better at travel planning.
“We were shocked to find that there’s a growing trend of Indonesians who are short changing themselves when it comes to getting the most from their annual leave, given that they work so hard to earn it,” said Marcus Ingleby, Senior Brand Manager, Beringer Vineyards at a recent media dinner at Cork & Screw where he introduced the findings of survey.
As a response, he added, Beringer has launched a campaign on the world’s largest travel site TripAdvisor, to inspire a “holiday planning revolution.”
“We want people to see that turning vacation planning into a social occasion is the way forward,” Ingleby explained. “A little bit of planning can have a huge impact on the kind of holiday you experience and it’s well within everyone’s reach. We believe that vacation planning is always better when shared with others over a glass of wine.”
Beringer and TripAdvisor teamed up to create a campaign that aims to provide ideas and solutions to help people enjoy the planning process more – and what could be more pleasant than talking about possible itineraries over a glass of wine?
The campaign will come to life across the TripAdvisor site with banner ads, a dedicated microsite, across social media, in stores, restaurants and bars and potentially even at airports.
“With 97 percent of Indonesians agreeing that sharing the responsibility of vacation planning makes it more likely to happen, and more enjoyable, the concept of planning with friends or family over a glass of Beringer and using TripAdvisor is likely to be favourably viewed by consumers,” Ingleby said. “With this campaign, we are committed to helping people get the most out of their holidays.”
HELPFUL TIPS FOR TRAVEL PLANNING
- Be first – If getting your annual leave approved is tricky, apply at least 6-9 months ahead of time. You don’t need to finalise your travel plans then, but it’s highly likely that your request will be signed off quickly.
- Be social – You are statistically more likely to maximise your annual leave if you schedule face-to-face meet ups to plan together with your travel buddies. Disguise these as regular get-togethers over a cheeky glass of wine, so as not to scare off the non-planners in your group.
- Be single minded – Don’t try to set the date, destination and itinerary at once. This will most likely lead to your group failing at the first stage of planning and paying a higher price if you are fixed on a destination.
- Slow and steady wins the race – Once your date and destination are set, slow down and make time to plan your itinerary together. Research shows that sharing the responsibility of vacation planning is more enjoyable than going solo.
- Public holiday panic – It’s true, the thought of not maximising every public holiday is sinful, but the reality is that no matter how quickly you move, airlines and hotels already have these dates marked too, so you’ll already be paying a premium. Given using leave is more of an issue in Indonesia than not having enough, consider using a public holiday to get together with your group to plan the best trip ever.
Photos courtesy of Beringer Vineyards
