I attended Amadeus’ Discover Amadeus event at their Haymarket offices yesterday.  An interesting morning with sessions and product demonstrations geared towards retail travel agencies, with a focus on:

  • personalisation,
  • the new era of retailing, and
  • the connected traveller.

In the opening session, Amadeus shared some Aussie statistics from their recent study into “what Asia Pacific travellers want”*.

I thought they were interesting to re-share here for my travel industry clients.

  • Whilst 63% said they would be open to sharing personal data (balanced against privacy concerns)  in exchange for more relevant offers,
  • only 26% believed that today they receive offers personalised to them,
  • yet 92% said using a travel professional enhanced their experience.

Certainly opportunities for travel retailers to concentrate on what data they capture and how this is used and contextualised to provide personalised offers and recommendations.

When it comes to selling more than just the airline ticket:

  • 90% of travellers surveyed said they’re open to receiving recommendations on things to do on their trip,
  • 61% book 1-2 months prior to departure,
  • only 37% said they book their hotel at the same time as the air ticket, and
  • 78% stay connected whilst on trip.

When combined with the following statistics that found:

  • 84% are interested in receiving recommendations after the initial book,
  • 74% are interested in receiving relevant offers whilst traveling, and
  • 61% are interested in new personalised offers following their trip,

the opportunities for agencies to provide genuine expertise, advice, recommendations and offers that are personalised to the individual traveller, continues well past the initial booking.

Some food for thought when thinking about what information and offers travellers are interested in, and when in the booking process they’re thinking about it.

*Go here for more detail on Amadeus’ research.

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