Bad news for hotels and airlines that have dropped big dollar on their social strategies; it turns out that most people don’t want to engage with travel brands via social media.

According to Deloitte’s study, ‘A Restoration in Loyalty’, 63% of travelers shy-away from interacting with travel brands through social channels, instead preferring traditional methods of online engagement: 61% of consumers surveyed use hotel websites most frequently and 59% use airline websites most frequently. No less than 44% of participants never visit travel-related social media or review sites.

The report also revealed that an astounding 80% of travelers have never downloaded a hotel or airline app to their mobile device.

Why is this? Vacations are big purchases, and no-one wants to be on the receiving end of a misbooked flight, for example. There still exists an idea that traditional online communication methods are somehow more secure – more ‘official’ even. Certainly the number of brand social screw-ups that abound, coupled with stories of interns manning channels, means that customers remain wary of placing such an expensive and critical purchase into the medium’s hands, instead preferring personalized, secure and up-to-date email correspondence instead.

No doubt this behaviour will shift over time – as vacations via social become more established and mainstream – but it will likely take one strong pioneer to lead the charge. Could it be your brand?