The Heart of Travel
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Watching the movie ‘Minority Report’ with my son over the weekend, I could not help but wonder “What if the travel industry was able to predict what I want, before I knew I wanted it?”
This sometimes feels like the ‘Holy Grail’ as we envision the travel industry of tomorrow.
Travel in Asia is booming and with the growth of niche traveller groups, each with completely different needs at the various travel touch points, we need to connect with them in a relevant way, their way.
I fall into the category of a frequent traveller and over time I have developed habits and preferences that allow me to make travel a pleasure, not a chore. When I find a travel provider that provides me with communication, content and experiences that meet these personal needs, I become a very loyal customer.
Similarly, travellers are bound to fall in love with any travel brand who proactively meets their needs and unexpressed desires, at the most relevant time. It feels good to know that someone cares about what you like and can offer you exactly what you are looking for.
This is not limited to travel; we now crave and expect these tailor-made experiences across all aspects of our lives.
Dreams into reality – the merchandising vision
Last month, we unveiled our vision of how we plan to make this dream a reality across the global travel ecosystem. This ecosystem will connect all players in the travel space and enable sharing of information across all touch-points to create a customer-centric view of travel.
We are developing an Amadeus Global Merchandising System, an evolution of our existing retailing and distribution channels that puts the traveller at the heart. An omni-channel approach, travellers will be able to purchase travel via their preferred seller – from bricks and mortar agencies to meta search firms, online travel agencies and airline websites – on any device.
Imagine the traveller satisfaction and loyalty when they receive ‘hyper-personalised’ offers that anticipate their needs without them having to ask.
This creates bigger opportunities for travel providers, as they streamline their offerings, target their marketing spend and increase profits by fulfilling more of a traveller’s journey: from inspiration and search, right through to experiencing and sharing.
Travel should be an enjoyable experience, it shouldn’t be difficult. Amadeus is working together with the industry to shape a personalised and connected travel ecosystem that puts the traveller at the centre. That’s our vision, and it’s fast becoming a reality.
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