1、Transforming travel through mobile technology Travel Report 2017 Research by Apadmi, a leading mobile technology group Travel and tourism is no longer about operators simply offering holidaymakers flights or accommodation the sector is shifting towards providing more personalised experiences. The fa

2、mily that were once happy with just popping into their local travel agent to book an all-inclusive holiday package are now looking for a more tailored trip based on their likes, past behaviour and preferences. Between 2011 and 2016, the value of online travel bookings increased by 70%. In 2016, 50%

3、of travellers booked their trip online via a mobile device, with 80% of these doing so via their smartphones1. And a third of travellers say they wont book a hotel unless they have read online reviews from other holidaymakers. The digital transformation of the travel sector has given consumers a lot

4、 more choice, and theyre now demanding more from the entire holiday experience. Weve become a generation of DIY travellers who want to tailor and manage the whole journey to meet our specific needs. With such a large proportion of consumers demanding more from their holidays, it is vital that compan

5、ies operating in the travel sector take note, and develop the kind of experience their customers now expect. Thats why we commissioned this report to find out what consumers now expect of travel agents and operators, and what these businesses need to do to meet these ever increasing expectations. Wh

6、y weve created this report Key findings Part 1: How consumers plan their holiday Part 2: Travelling to your destination Part 3: Earning the customers trust Conclusion 02 03 04 12 17 19 CONTENTS Why weve created this report 1 KEY FINDINGS To help travel companies gain an insight into what consumers n

7、ow expect when taking a trip away, we asked 1,000 consumers who have been on holiday in the past 12 months for their thoughts on current offerings. 54% of holidaymakers say the travelling experience can be improved 42% of holidaymakers think there is too much choice, so struggle to decide where to g

8、o 27% of holidaymakers think that user reviews are misleading, therefore making it harder to research destinations 62% of travellers get their initial holiday inspiration through internet searches prefer to narrow down their searches by browsing the websites of individual hotels and resorts themselv

9、es of 18-24 year olds would visit a high street travel agent of 55-64 year olds would speak to a travel agent face-to-face Number of consumers who are concerned about data security breaches on emerging travel technology We asked them what the biggest hurdles were when going on holiday, and what they

10、 wanted to see from the travel sector in the future. Heres what we found. 4%9% 48% 21% Number of travellers that would like to use interactive technology such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), so they can view the destination, hotel or transport before they book anything Amount of

11、people who would like to see more use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital chat bots in the booking process 41% 55% How consumers plan their holiday PART ONE No surprises here; our research confirms what we already know - the majority of people get their holiday inspiration through online sea

12、rches, rather than going into a high street travel agent. Holidaymakers are moving away from high-street travel agents What did surprise us though, was just how few people now go to the high street. Just 9% of people would visit a travel agent to have a face-to-face discussion about their travel opt

13、ions. 41% 39% If we look at the situation based on age groups, you might expect that the picture would be completely different between older and younger travellers. But in fact, this is not actually the case. Online searches are the preferred method of gathering holiday inspiration, as opposed to vi

14、siting a high-street travel agent, amongst all age groups young and old. This highlights the impact that technology has already had on the travel sector, and the decline of the high street travel agent. 10 People who would visit a high street travel agent, by age group 4% 18-24 year olds 25-34 year

15、olds 35-44 year olds 45-54 year olds 55-64 year olds 65 and over 0 20 12% 8% 6% 9% 18% So how do people search for their holidays? prefer to narrow down their searches by searching the websites of individual hotels and resorts themselves of holidaymakers opt to search online through a travel agents

16、website Online travel agent Whereas, perhaps surprisingly, older travellers prefer to have more freedom to tailor their holidays directly to their needs. This group would actually be more likely to conduct their searches themselves by visiting each individual hotel and resorts website so they can pi

17、ck out each element separately: 18-24 year olds 25-34 year olds Individual hotel website Over half (52%) of travellers 65 and over would visit each individual website 44% of 55-64 year olds would conduct their searches in this way 55-64 year olds 65 and over Individual hotel website The main differe

18、nce between the age groups is simply the types of companies each generation tends to use when searching for their dream holiday. Younger travellers prefer to narrow down their searches by browsing through a travel agents website: 4 0 % 5 3 % 2 9 % 3 6 % 4 4 % 5 2 % So, youngsters prefer to look for

19、holidays through travel agents, whereas older holidaymakers prefer to look around and research individual hotels they already know of. What does this mean for travel agents and hoteliers? One conclusion could be that the younger holiday-goer has less time, money and experience SUMMARY in booking hol

20、idays when compared to holidaymakers over the age of 55. The data would suggest that with the over 55 group prepared to spend more time looking at individual websites, theyre looking for a more personalised experience, rather than a one size fits all approach. Make sure youre on the radar of holiday

21、makers so that they know who you are to seek out what services you have on offer. Make sure youre offering personalised services to customers, especially those over 55. Whilst improved personalisation will benefit all customers, it will be especially helpful in trying to attract those over 55. Hotel

22、sTravel agents The take away for hotels and travel agents is a clear one: Comparing prices of holiday packages is the biggest frustration for travellers 62%61%53%50% Less than 10,00010,000 - 19,99920,000 - 39,999More than 40,000 Percentage of people who say comparing prices is their biggest frustrat

23、ion During the initial stages of looking for the perfect holiday, one of the biggest frustrations for consumers is having to compare the prices of different holiday packages, and not knowing what each one includes. Over half (56%) of holidaymakers cited this as their biggest bugbear when booking a t

24、rip. Its interesting to note that this is an issue experienced by travellers across all income brackets even the higher earners. But, whats perhaps unsurprising is that this problem was experienced by more people in the lower brackets. 75 25 But comparing prices isnt the only problem that gets consu

25、mers backs up. Other major complaints when booking a holiday include there being too much choice, misleading photography and a lack of detailed information about hotels and destinations. This makes it difficult to choose a destination that will suit their tastes, and also makes it hard to know exact

26、ly what to expect from their trip once its been booked and they arrive. 28% 27%29% The solutions to these issues sound like quick fixes at first glance. For example, how to placate the 28% of consumers who want more detail on individual accommodation, hotels and destinations? Imagine you own a holid

27、ay cottage rental business where holiday home owners can rent their properties out to holidaymakers through your business. Now imagine trying to update the details of each individual property listed on your site to show the exact specification of facilities and amenities available; does it have a co

28、ffee machine? Can I charge my electric car when I arrive? Does it have a cot for my young child? SUMMARY How do you collate all the details for each property in the first place, in a more efficient way than personally going to each property with a pen and paper and making notes to transcribe at a la

29、ter date? How do you get this data into your back-office systems so that you can use it, filter and segment it, and then display it to your customers so that they can only see the properties that have these specific attributes? 1 2 As youd imagine, every property is different, so there are a couple

30、of key challenges for the holiday cottage rental business to overcome: think that the images of resorts and locations are misleading believe that holiday brochures or websites dont contain information that goes into enough detail about the hotels and destinations of holiday makers think there is too

31、 much choice so struggle to decide where to go What originally sounded like simple request, has now become a complex operation requiring well thought out and scalable technology solutions. A mobile solution for your team, or customers, to use whilst on location at each property would enable them to

32、digitally update all aspects of a propertys features and amenities, whilst still allowing you to segment this data in a simple and effective way at a later date for enhanced personalisation. New technology can also help ease concerns consumers have about misleading imagery and narrowing down their c

33、hoices when the time to book a holiday arrives. Interactive technology like virtual reality can help give consumers an immersive overview of what a hotel, resort or destination is really like, in a way a static image can never replicate. Big data and analytics tools like artificial intelligence and

34、machine learning can quickly and easily identify what viewers do and do not like. Once these preferences have been learned, a shortlist of options can be provided that match a very specific criteria for each customer, resulting in more personalised results for each individual. Technology is an enabl

35、er 29%find it hard to find out how far away attractions are 14% struggle to research activities to do at the destination 37%want to know what locals do, but cant find info When travelling to a new part of the world, holidaymakers are becoming less interested in the activities that are available just

36、 for tourists. Instead, they want to know what local people like to get involved with in order to get the real experience. Travellers want to find out what the locals get up to, not just whats available for tourists However, finding this information is not an easy feat for holidaymakers. Our researc

37、h found that 37% want to know what local people do, rather than tourists, but they struggle to find this information. 42% of holidaymakers think that user reviews are not always accurate or can be misleading, therefore making it hard to These results show that the booking process needs to be improve

38、d. To generate a better relationship with holidaymakers and to encourage customer loyalty, travel companies need to ensure that customers are not having difficulties in the initial stages before they even go on their trip. In these earlier stages, it is much easier to lose potential customers, so tr

39、avel companies need to be doing all they can to offer an excellent level of service to draw travellers in at the first instance. Challenges for holidaymakers before booking a holiday 42% think user reviews are inaccurate research destinations. 29% find it hard to find out how far away attractions ar

40、e from their accommodation. 14% find it hard to properly research the activities that are available at the location. Thankfully for a fifth of travellers, the task of researching their chosen destination doesnt prove too difficult, with 22% saying they find it really easy. 50 18-24 year olds 25-34 y

41、ear olds 35-44 year olds 45-54 year olds 55-64 year olds 65 and over 0 Percentage of people who want interactive technology 46% 54% 27% 50% 21% 51% 22% 43% 20% 43% 13% 25 Drilling down into different age groups, the level of demand for interactive technology like augmented reality, virtual reality a

42、nd digital assistants remains very similar. VR/AR Almost half of holidaymakers would like to see travel agents and operators adopt more interactive technology to provide a more personalised and streamlined experience. 48% of travellers would like to see the use of interactive technology, such as vir

43、tual reality and augmented reality, so they can view the hotel, destination or transport before they book anything. A fifth (21%) would like to use artificial intelligence and digital assistants that could tailor their travel experience before bookings are made. So, how do consumers think the bookin

44、g process can be improved? 21% Want to utilise digital assistants 48% Want interactive technology such as VR/AR digital assistants 22% One of the main barriers to adoption for digital assistants is most likely the human element to any emotional purchase speaking to a human will always be more favour

45、able than speaking to bot. The challenge for travel companies is to use this technology to help filter and qualify questions and queries of prospective customers. Once a prospect has reached a certain point along the holiday booking process, a human can then get SUMMARY involved and provide a much b

46、etter personalised service based on the data analysis already completed by the digital assistant. Going on holiday is rarely a cheap activity, and it needs to be perfect for each persons individual requirements. Embracing technology that improves the service that any human can provide to a prospecti

47、ve customer is key to enabling business success. Human vs Computer? Investment in technology to enhance personalisation in the travel sector was recently cited as one of the main reasons for the continuing success of Travel Counsellors, who in July 2017 said it had seen revenues in excess of 500m2 f

48、or the first time ever. This came after 11 years of consecutive double digit revenue growth following continued investment in technology; including everything from back-office infrastructure, to consumer facing mobile apps. So, what does this interest in technology amongst consumers mean for the travel sector? Put simply, it means consumers want more immersion and greater experiences. Being able to step into a location in a digital format to see what a holiday destina