travel tech insights

Like so many concepts in today’s global travel industry, the definition of luxury travel has changed. In the last five or so years, travelers - many of which are millennials or even younger - have made the move away from the posh hotels, lavish resorts, and all-inclusive nature of these bookings to a more unique, culturally experience when it comes to luxury travel. Not that long ago, a vacation to Mexico might have meant lazy days by the pool, surf lessons, and perhaps a guided tour of an open-air market not far from the resort. But today, with the rise and proliferation of social media, travel review websites, and mobile apps, luxury travel means leaving the hotel behind and experiencing the heritage and diversity of a destination through unique, individually-curated activities.

While this is an important development for travel agencies, travel management companies, and other major players across the value chain, it’s particularly relevant for tour operators in how they source and position tours and activities.

A friend of mine recently downloaded an app to his mobile phone that allows him to monitor and adjust the temperature of his house when he’s not home. The app allows him to alter and manage the temperature based on a number of factors such as the number of occupants in the home, the external temperature, the internal temperature, the time of day, and a number of other elements. No matter where my friend is in the world, he can manage his thermostat for greater efficiency, decreased energy costs, and an enhanced standard of living.

After talking with my friend about this app, it struck me how similar it is to the concept of advanced accommodation contract management in today’s global travel industry. With so many suppliers operating across the globe, the ability to manage contracts, availability, pricing, and special offers in order to ensure customers can access the most wide-ranging and accurate pool of potential bookings is a core driver for travel companies in leveraging greater transparency and agility.

Take a moment and look at your smartphone. With just a few taps on the screen, you can in mere  minutes perform all the functions of a traditional travel agency on your own time according to your own personal wishes and desires. You can search available bookings, researching destinations, comparison shop suppliers, and even interact with others on social media and read reviews of specific destinations, activities, airlines, and hotels.

Yet even with this advancement in mobile travel technology, more and more travelers are returning to traditional agencies to help curate their travel experiences - in fact, several recent surveys indicate travel agencies are poised to experience some of their robust growth in recent memory, despite the popularity of websites like Expedia and Travelocity, not to mention the rise of sharing sites like Airbnb. This recent trend begs the question: Why do travel agents still matter? What value do they offer customers in 2017? Is the resurgence of the travel agent more of step backward rather than step forward?

Ask anyone within the travel industry about how impactful 2016 was and you’ll likely get a spirited answer about the number of trends, technology innovations, and shifts in customer demographics. To be sure, 2016 was a landmark year for the global travel industry in which travel agencies, tour operators, suppliers, and others across the value chain experienced significant changes in the way they operated internally and externally. The continued rise of mobile apps and functionality, further development of integrated travel ERP systems, and evolution of emerging markets made 2016 one of the most influential 12 month spans in recent memory.

But with all this development and maturation, where does the travel industry go in 2017? How do travel agencies, tour operators, and others within the travel landscape build on the progress and successes made during 2016? What are the challenges, opportunities, and trends these major players are likely to encounter during the next months? These are the questions being asked by everyone from CEOs of hotel groups to small, independent travel agencies as the industry prepares for what looks to be another busy year.

As 2016 comes to a close, it’s important for travel agencies, travel management, tour operators, and mother major players in today’s travel industry to stop and reflect on the past 12 months in order to get a better understanding of what the coming year might have in store. With everything from technology to shifting demographics to new and emerging markets, 2016 was an influential year for the travel industry driven in large part by travel companies reimagining how they function on a daily basis - and that’s not to mention a host of global, political, and environmental events, each of which presented challenges and opportunities for travel companies worldwide.