New report calls on the travel industry to create personalised ‘purchasing experiences’ based on the motivations of tomorrow’s travellers.

Report commissioned by Amadeus and written by Frost & Sullivan offers practical advice for airlines & other travel providers seeking to develop strategies that will create a more rewarding journey for emerging traveller segments

In a world where travellers are no longer defined by their demographic segment but by their values, behaviours and motivations, airlines and other travel providers will need to harness the wealth of data and social media information now available to create bespoke ‘purchasing experiences’ that cater to individual needs.

That’s the key finding of ‘Future Traveller Tribes 2030: Building a more rewarding journey’, which outlines precisely how airlines and their complementary service providers can better serve traveller needs in the future through more effective merchandising strategies, explaining also how the traveller journey itself will change by 2030, thanks to better use of traveller data, new technologies and a widening range of sales channels.

Hazem Hussein, Executive Vice President, Airline Commercial, Amadeus Asia Pacific, said, “The industry is seeing a shift in power back into the hands of the traveller. Airlines today need to have a clear understanding of what motivates travellers and how their purchasing behaviours have evolved, if they truly want to build a more rewarding and connected journey for tomorrow’s traveller. This report takes the traveller insights that we uncovered in the first phase of the Future Traveller Tribes study, and turns it into actionable advice for airlines to better serve and cater to emerging traveller segments across the entire traveller journey.”

Personalised bundles of products and services, perpetual touchpoints between the travel provider and traveller, and frictionless purchasing will all characterise the traveller experience of the future, the report says.

New sales channels will emerge in tandem, and can be divided into ‘inspiration’ channels (smartphone, tablet, virtual reality headset), which offer more immersive experiences and will be used as discovery tools; and ‘information’ channels (smartwatch, augmented reality glasses and service robots), which will focus on short-form content and purchasing.

With these developments, data will become the most important resource available to airlines, giving the competitive advantage to those that can most effectively collect and use it. Moreover, the report also outlines how new technologies and techniques for collecting and using data will drive ever-greater personalisation of the travel experience in the coming decade.

“Amadeus’ vision for the future is a totally connected travel ecosystem with the traveller at the centre. We believe we are uniquely placed to deliver this vision for the industry, working hand in hand with our customers and partners, which includes all of the major airlines in Asia Pacific,” added Hussein.

Lawrence Lundy, Principal ICT Consultant, Frost & Sullivan, commented, “As travel providers devise strategies to become customer experience providers, it’s essential that they consider how to build purchasing experiences that meet the needs of future traveller groups. Social Capital Seekers, as just one example, will seek inspiration for travel from their social media networks and will expect a very high degree of personalisation from providers. They’ll be open to new services at any stage of their journey, readily trading their data to receive priority treatment, and comfortable with new technologies such as service robots or augmented reality applications.”

‘Future Traveller Tribes 2030: Building a more rewarding journey’, will be launched at Amadeus’ Airline Digital Merchandising conference taking place in Bangkok between 01-03 June 2015.

During the conference over 100 airline digital leaders will come together to discuss and debate the latest Amadeus and industry developments, which this year include personalisation, customer experience management and user design.

The report follows another study recently commissioned by Amadeus, Future Traveller Tribes 2030: Understanding tomorrow’s traveller, written by the Future Foundation and published earlier this year, which identified the six key ‘traveller tribes’ or segments that will emerge by the end of the next decade.

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