Technology corner
Travel with your customers
Whoever thinks 'information technology' - no matter where it's deployed - will, at the best of times, think 'efficient, useful but cold'. And just at a time when travellers are known to want more control, comfort, security and to be addressed as individuals, with individual requirements, preferences and quirks, technology has began to deliver much more than just efficiency: an engaging, human-centric interface with customers.
And who thinks about me?
In order to transform occasional clients into faithful, happy customers, you need what is most scarce - time. However, in your quest to become the provider of travel as well as unique and much appreciated services, you have an unexpected friend: technology. Future, 'humanised' technology answers your shout for help. Already it can identify traveller's individual needs and respond intuitively, and in the very near future this humanised technology will allow travel providers to deliver exceptional buying and travelling experiences. Making the travel experience a simple and friendly process will benefit everyone, not only the traveller, especially keeping in mind the predicted growth in travel and the continued globalisation of travel and tourism.
You'll be travelling with your customer - virtually
Just imagine, business travellers running late for a flight being able to quickly to reschedule onto the next available one; the parents of an unaccompanied child can follow its progress and know that all is well; and where tourists may be nervous about finding their way through a foreign airport, they'll find guidance and information
Even though many of these technologies exist already or are in development, we expect them to emerge as mainstream technologies with wide-spread implementation and with a profound effect on the customers' journeys at all key stages: from booking through check-in, in-flight, baggage collection to arrival and stay.
What will make the vision happen?
At the heart of the humanisation revolution is each traveller's complex digital identity, flexibly interfacing with the systems that control the travel process at all stages of the journey.
Critically, these future technologies must provide a cost-efficient infrastructure that is easy to implement and manage because, clearly, commercial pressures on the travel industry will only intensify. However, by using integrated and intelligent systems developed to serve customers' needs, travel providers will be able to evolve those vitally needed services which improve customers' travel experiences and thus making it possible for both sides to forge stronger bonds of loyalty and commitment.
Key trends that impact the future of travel
The most obvious trends are a burgeoning global population (which logically translates into more people travelling); the increasing globalisation of business (boosting cross-border traffic of goods, services, and capital); increased global migration (fuelling international travel).
- Globalisation of travel and tourism:
The last five decades have seen tourism emerge as one of the world's largest and most vital industries. - Rising affluence:
We all know that the disposable income per household in Western Europe has grown substantially in the last decade. It is the emergence of an increasingly well-off middle class in the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies that is likely to have the most noticeable impact on global travel in the future. - Low Cost Carriers (LCCs):
The impact of LCCs on consumer behaviour has been dramatic. LCCs have redrawn the air-travel landscape. They have opened travel to groups that could not previously afford it. - New aircraft developments:
Larger aircraft will allow greater passenger comfort, small aircraft will give greater flexibility on routes, and more efficient technologies will enable airlines to fly cleaner, quieter and longer distances. - Evolution of technology:
As the volume of data and transactions grows, unit costs will need to be reduced to keep technology affordable for travel providers.