Travel’s tipping point
Rising to meet sky-high expectations
Travel’s tipping point
Rising to meet sky-high expectations
Putting the playful matchmaking scenario aside, it’s clear that today’s travelers seek value and memorable experiences. With concerns about inflation and economic uncertainty, they’re more selective about where and how they spend their money. And their expectations have never been higher.
While the goal of most travel and hospitality companies is to offer exceptional service and create the ideal trip, the average traveler’s experience frequently falls short. Operators often fail to consistently meet basic expectations regarding timing and quality — itinerary changes, delays and cancellations — which too often cause stress and anxiety for customers.1
The good news for brands? With the desire to travel at an all-time high, eased restrictions and next-gen technology smoothing out the travel experience, global travel is anticipated to rebound. The tourism market is set for growth above GDP levels in the next five years with a projected CAGR of 5% by 2028.2
However, with this uptick in travel comes long queues, increased costs, delays and overcrowding for customers, posing a challenge for operators to maintain customer satisfaction. In this industry, customer satisfaction is influenced by two key things: ease of travel and trust. Although getting good value for money is important, travelers prioritize having a smooth and seamless experience even more.
To stand out and retain high-value customers, you must provide tailor-made, seamless experiences with round-the-clock support that can quickly turn travel hiccups into distant memories. And new technologies coming on board in the last two years, such as generative AI, offer unprecedented opportunities to streamline and enhance how companies interact with their customers and refine their operational frameworks, promising a smoother, more responsive journey for guests.
This is an opportune time to rethink your customer experience — enhance customer interactions, improve the delivery of customer care services, and optimize the management of people and operations in your contact centers.
In this guide:
- Build customer loyalty: Learn effective methods for creating loyal customer relationships and delivering unforgettable guest experiences that keep them coming back.
- Use AI for enhanced travel experiences: Discover how AI can transform customer interactions and operational efficiencies in the travel and hospitality industry, creating a smoother and more personalized journey for guests.
- Craft one-of-a-kind customer experiences with hyper-segmentation: Use advanced data analysis and hyper-segmentation to tap into individual customer preferences, enabling the creation of deeply personalized experiences.
- Improve employee experience to enhance guest satisfaction: Understand the critical link between employee satisfaction and guest experience, and gain insights on how to build a positive work environment that translates into better service for customers.
- Build customer loyalty: Learn effective methods for creating loyal customer relationships and delivering unforgettable guest experiences that keep them coming back.
- Use AI for enhanced travel experiences: Discover how AI can transform customer interactions and operational efficiencies in the travel and hospitality industry, creating a smoother and more personalized journey for guests.
- Craft one-of-a-kind customer experiences with hyper-segmentation. Use advanced data analysis and hyper-segmentation to tap into individual customer preferences, enabling the creation of deeply personalized experiences.
- Improve employee experience to enhance guest satisfaction: Understand the critical link between employee satisfaction and guest experience, and gain insights on how to build a positive work environment that translates into better service for customers.
1 - Skift and McKinsey, “The promise of travel in the age of AI,” skift.com.
2 - Inbound arrivals according to Euromonitor travel, Oct. 2023. Mid-term real GDP forecast according to IMF and TUI’s, FY23 Q4/12M results – strategy update, Dec. 2023.