Business processes in tourism are increasingly moving into digital space. The use of modern algorithms increases the speed of work, allowing you to solve more large-scale problems.
Alexander Sapov, CEO of the international transfer booking service GetTransfer.com, will tell about the trends in digitalization and automation of the industry in the near future.
Digitalization
The digitalization of tourism can be divided into external and internal. In the first case, it is a question of systematically converting communications with the client into a digital environment: people no longer have time for face-to-face meetings with travel agents to discuss options for recreation. Often the country and the hotel have already been chosen – we have learned how to search for information online on our own. Therefore, it remains to find a point of contact with the tour operator, which usually becomes his site.
On the user’s site, too, will not be left alone with questions: to communicate immediately connect an employee in a chat room or chat-boat. The determining moments here are the responsiveness and efficiency of the customer’s question.
In European countries, traditional tour operators are less and less frequently visited – no more than a third of travelers come to the office.
Online sales will also continue to grow, and there are two directions for them. First, people buy tickets and hotels separately, making their own journey. Secondly, travel agencies also go online, promoting their own complete tours.
The online tour operator does not stop working with the client. Digital technologies make it possible to deal with post support, that is, support and feedback. The client’s journey is tracked at all stages, if possible, we get an assessment of the service provided by him on different positions.
Digitalization inside
Within the companies, the trend for the development of CRM-systems, automatic tools for setting tasks and planning will continue. If properly applied, their implementation will be a factor in increasing the competitiveness of the organization.
Automating tools release the main resource – free time – for the management team. It is spent for studying of new technologies of business dealing or development of parallel niches.
The second point is especially important in a dynamically changing environment, when the percentage of independent tourists increases, and tourist companies have to search for new sources of income to survive
Applications for independent
The trend to abandon the classic scheme of services of the companies selling package tours will grow. Travellers buy air tickets in bulk with the help of SkyScanner, and Booking.com has long changed the traditional market for hotel reservations.
Similar prospects for automation and transition to a number expect other standard operations. One of them is insurance. Today, there are applications such as that allow you to take out an insurance policy within a few minutes.
The matter is not limited to issuing a document: within the framework of insurance it is possible to get round-the-clock emergency consultation from a suitable doctor. Communication with clients at Tripinsurance also takes place in Russian. Support specialists use all major messengers.
Another important point after the flight, check-in and insurance is traveling in a foreign country. Inside the cities, taxi aggregators remain indispensable.
Applications include translators and sightseeing services. This is how another trend is supported – combining business trips with leisure. Even without thoughtful preparation in a strange city for half an hour, it became easy to find a way to communicate with the local population, choose a restaurant and find key attractions nearby.
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Maintenance
Research has shown that a third of the world’s traveling audience is interested in helping artificial intelligence to plan travel.
People leave a lot of information about themselves online through search engine queries, reveal their preferences, showing the most convenient ways of payment and the amount of planned expenses for recreation. 50% of respondents did not care whether they were planning a trip with a live operator or with a chat robot.
If the service of choosing a tour or booking a hotel offers a suitable option, the probability of its purchase is significantly increased. Large online services will continue to develop their own AI, their experience is gradually being picked up by smaller players.
Blockchain
A word that can scare the user away from the excessively high volatility of the cryptocurrencies. However, blockchain technology itself does not depend on market volatility. Moreover, it has innovations that are useful for the tourism industry and have already been noticed.
Blockchain is, first of all, the security of transparent transactions without the involvement of banking institutions in different countries, the chance of a sudden blocking of the card, with the possibility of protecting your cryptocurrency wallet, at least two-factor authentication.
What are the benefits for tourists? There is a prospect of long journeys without the need to carry documents and wallet. In any trip these are the most valuable things people think about safety every day.
The other side of blockchain usage is collecting and storing data about purchased tickets, booked rooms, loyalty programs, routes, etc. in a single space.
Such information is necessary for all the representatives of the industry, because the knowledge about the actual preferences of tourists gives the ability to predict their desires, and thus raise their own conversion.
