Travel Tech Professionals Need To Collaborate To Provide Holistic Customer Experience Experts Agree

A panel of travel technology experts from Sabre, wego and Tajawal, came together at the Travel Tech Show at the Arabian Travel Market yesterday (Sunday 22^nd April) to discuss the defining evolutions of hospitality technology.

During a panel discussion entitled “Distribution evolution and the latest industry trends”, panelists addressed the issues that are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the the Middle East travel industry, which continues to evolve, driven by high adaptation of the latest technologies and significant growth in the online space.

The panel identified three main global trends that are transforming the future of travel including; shifting customer behaviour, distribution evolution and the changing dynamics within direct and indirect sales channels and the digital transformation.

One of the first issues discussed was that of fragmentation during the customer experience. “Industry stakeholders – providers, intermediaries and sellers – need to work together to complement each other’s roles and address the industry changes collectively.” said Fatin Said, Regional Communications Manager, Sabre Travel Network, Middle East.

“We all need to recognise how data can be used intelligently across the sector to achieve personalisation and how to recruit emerging technologies to improve the traveller experience. They need to work towards a less fragmented travel ecosystem,” added Said.

Talking about customer expectations Said explained that it is no secret that today’s travellers want an optimal holistic experience. “They are accustomed to personalised offerings and services from other industries and expect a similar level of personalisation, experience and flexibility. Consider Netflix – approximately 75% of what people watch is based on recommendation algorithms.”

In a commissioned study Sabre conducted in the UAE last year, it found that 46% the UAE travellers are willing to be loyal to a brand if they provide them with personalised offers.