Tourism sector’s future of customisation

So how can brands provide a good, tailored experience that outperforms that of their rivals? The use of AI and machine learning is crucial. Finding the best flights and hotels at the lowest prices is the part of the booking process that customers find the most difficult. For the company, this problem may be solved using AI, giving the customer the most individualised experience and offers, quickly. But businesses must consider what personalisation will entail in the years to come and take action to focus on creating their service in line with that today if they want to stay competitive in a post-COVID-19 future

While many senior leaders today recognise the value of personalisation, providing customers with a positive personal experience is the actual secret to success in today’s market. According to marketing company Smart Insights, more than half (63%) of customers will cease making purchases from firms that employ subpar customisation strategies.

So how can brands provide a good, tailored experience that outperforms that of their rivals? The use of AI and machine learning is crucial. Finding the best flights and hotels at the lowest prices is the part of the booking process that customers find the most difficult. For the company, this problem may be solved using AI, giving the customer the most individualised experience and offers, quickly. 

But businesses must consider what personalisation will entail in the years to come and take action to focus on creating their service in line with that today if they want to stay competitive in a post-COVID-19 future.

A recent McKinsey report claims that marketers will leverage ecosystems to completely tailor customer journeys. The personalisation a customer receives during their vacation may thus continue to expand into partner ecosystems with, for example, the restaurants they decide to eat at, the clubs they go to, and the stores they visit to buy souvenirs. This will mean that the personalisation a customer receives during their vacation may not end when they check into their hotel. All of this enables customers to gain from experiences that are better since they are specifically suited to them.

Although less than 10% of global transactions currently pass through ecosystems, the consulting firm projects that this percentage will increase to 30% by 2025.

The subject of subscription services is another one. They make it possible for businesses to get to know their consumers better over the course of several months or even years, much more so than in the case of a single sale, and as a result, they may offer these clients even more specialised experiences or goods. This is one of the main reasons we launched Prime in 2017, the first travel subscription service in the world.

These services are a win-win proposition from businesses, appealing to clients because they frequently provide better value for the client while also assisting clients by ensuring revenue. Given that subscription-based businesses expand five to eight times faster than conventional firms, according to The Subscription Economy Index, it is difficult to argue against the appeal of this winning option.

In light of the aforementioned, we are enthusiastic about the prospects that lie ahead for us in terms of providing our clients with even more customised experiences, as well as what this implies for travel and the sector as a whole.

A mechanism that suggests significant locations and attractions to travellers is known as a personalised tourism recommendation system. The user’s preferences and interests are just a few of the services offered by the tourism recommendation system. A customised tourism recommendation system examines the locations users have already visited and makes suggestions for unexplored locales.

Personalisation’s function in the tourism industry

1. Chatbots and online customer service enabled by AI

Consumers want quicker response times on internet platforms across all industries. According to an IBM study, chatbots can respond to more than 80% of common queries. One of the most intriguing applications of AI in the travel and tourism sector for hotels and other businesses is to help clients online.

Chatbots for customer service could be quite useful in the tourism sector. In addition to helping with flight planning and booking, chatbots can link up additional services through an app. The traveller can have a stress-free journey if chatbots are properly educated and used for all crises.

Particularly for the purpose of powering chatbots on websites, social networking platforms, and instant messaging apps, there has been a fairly large uptake. AI will be able to reply to client questions and offer them a useful response if it is properly taught. When a customer support representative is not available, this is helpful. Businesses may now give responses at rates that would be impossible for humans to handle.

Sam, an intelligent travel chatbot, as an example!

Example: Mezi, the chatbot that American Express recently purchased, can plan and recommend trip itineraries for consumers.

2. Campaigns for highly customised retargeting

If you divide up your customer base based on conversion possibility, you may maximise a remarketing campaign. By placing greater bids on visitors who are more likely to make a purchase, you may target your retargeting efforts at the most promising passengers. Via tools like Google AdWords, it is possible to target advertisements at specific users. Users who have previously interacted with a company that operates in the travel sector and is similar to yours, such as by clicking on an online advertisement, going to a travel website, typing in specific travel keywords, or interacting with content about travel booking on social media platforms like Facebook.

While 25% of web users claim they enjoy being reminded of the goods and services they were previously interested in, they are open to receiving retargeted advertisements. For retargeting efforts, personalisation marketing has several benefits. Additionally, it guarantees that marketing funds are allocated to those with a high likelihood of making a reservation. It can also serve as a reminder for consumers to take advantage of special discounts and offers from websites they have previously browsed, such as inexpensive hotels and flight packages.

An illustration is Expedia’s retargeting advertising campaign on Facebook.

There are only a few days left till the New Year, thus the tagline “time is ticking” is perfect in that it gives the buyer a sense of urgency.

3. Based on data personalised advice

Personalised suggestions based on behavioural data are one of the most effective strategies to grow the tourism industry. The potential for cross-selling and upselling is increased by recommendation engines thanks to improvements in machine learning tools and custom-built algorithms. You can create a recommendation system to provide recommendations for add-ons to your clients’ next journey by gathering pertinent data from their most recent searches.

Extremely intelligent suggestions on the type of hotel they should stay at, the room views that best suit their budget, etc. hit the mark and influence the customer to make a purchase. The probability of bookings can be increased by using the data obtained by AI to target clients via SMS, email, social media, and other channels.

Use Utrip.com as an example to create a personalised itinerary by filtering your preferences.

Example: Expedia created a new flight recommendation engine that streamlines the process by analysing customers’ prior booking behaviours and offering more pertinent recommendations with superior alternative routes after learning that people typically search across travel websites 48 times before booking a flight.

4. The growth of social media marketing

Social media is a platform where content is frequently used and constructed in a way that makes interactions feel more intimate. It is one of the most frequent settings in which personalised marketing strategies can be successfully applied to interact with potential clients.

Facebook and Instagram in particular provide a large range of capabilities for remarketing and targeting certain users with adverts. Online travel companies must utilise social media to demonstrate their capacity to offer their clients one-of-a-kind experiences that are difficult to secure without expert assistance if they are to remain competitive.

According to a piece in Entrepreneur magazine, travel agencies still account for 55% of all airline reservations. Even more for bookings of vacation packages and cruises. This has a lot to do with the social media marketing strategy, which is one that can be quite helpful in promoting travel.

As they take on more and more of the travel population, travel firms should make it a priority to attract millennials and cater to their demands on their social media platforms. Businesses might use personalisation and AI techniques in different ways to develop auto-responses for comments that address certain queries or grievances. The usage of AI can therefore be a successful marketing tactic if done correctly. By employing certain sophisticated algorithms to show a more human side through promotional content messaging, email offers, and other event invitations, personalisation also expands the potential for travel brands.

One of the top performing travel agencies on the Facebook network is TUI, the largest travel and tourist company in the world. In order to determine where your customers are from, it frequently uses a social media management tool.

5. Making use of AI-powered emails

According to a survey by eMarketer.com, emails account for 80% of personalisation across a range of businesses. Now that the data science foundation has been established, sending customised emails is a pretty straightforward strategy that doesn’t require much more engineering work. Maybe the most obvious application of personalised marketing in the travel and tourism sector is customised emails.

You may perform acquisition, retention, and retargeting campaigns using the most recent advancements in email as a channel, such dynamic emails in Gmail.

For instance, a hotel might send a run-up marketing emailer to a customer on their birthday by offering exclusive flight offers that would encourage them to treat themselves to a trip. Or, a travel company might send a run-up marketing emailer to a customer before their anniversary reminding them of a previous stay and encouraging them to make the bookings customer again.

One example would be the tour agency Cape Tour Insiders, which is leveraging a person’s name to draw their attention to an offer for creating an email list.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as an example the tourism industry is being reinvented.

Saudi Arabia is modernising its travel and tourism sector by incorporating cutting-edge technologies and a customer-first mentality. How? Read on.

Developing the tourism industry is a primary objective for Saudi Arabia as it executes a strategy to diversify its economy. For the first time ever, the kingdom allowed leisure tourists to visit its wide range of historical, architectural, and natural attractions in 2019. Travel and tourism made up 9.7% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP that year, with 17.5 million foreign visitors welcomed—2.2 million more than the year before one.

According to Choon Yang Quek, Chief Technology Officer at the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), which has the responsibility of promoting domestic and international travel and tourism in partnership with the private sector, the leisure tourism program was just getting started when the pandemic hit in March 2020. According to Quek, “The epidemic hit the pause button on international travel and tourism.” This provided us the time and space to consider how we could radically alter tourism for the benefit of travellers, travel agencies, and other business partners.

The STA took a traveller-centric approach to technology design and implementation, and it is currently building a digital infrastructure that will give travellers the essential technology capabilities for a smooth, digital, visitor-cantered travel experience. Since the kingdom competes for worldwide tourism spending, the travellers’ experience is crucial to the STA’s purpose and is anticipated to be a significant difference that will help the country distinguish itself from other tourist destinations.

For instance, Quek’s team is testing a digital identification solution powered by artificial intelligence that visitors may use as a roadmap while traveling. Visitors who choose to share their interests and preferences will proactively and in-the-moment receive location-based, personalised recommendations on events, dining establishments, hotels, or other companies through their mobile devices. Visitors will have the option to opt out and manage the quantity of information they submit because privacy is a top priority.

Based on users’ past decisions, tastes, locations, and preferences, the application’s recommendation algorithms can forecast users’ interests and experiences. A visitor who enjoys playing golf and trying traditional Saudi cuisine, for instance, might get recommendations for these activities, but a visitor with kids might get recommendations for family-friendly activities and kid-friendly restaurants. According to Quek, “The majority of tourists use their mobile devices to look at maps and reviews to identify attractions or a place to stay or dine.” “We’re offering a single, trustworthy source that not only does away with the need to browse through many applications or websites, but also enhances the experience by automatically personalising it,” the company claims.

High customer satisfaction ratings for a project pilot resulted in exceeding the goals established for a number of important KPIs. Additionally, STA is working to spread the technology throughout its broad tourist ecosystem so that its business partners may actively promote their products and events. For instance, Quek’s team recently unveiled a unified repository for tourism content that makes it simple for partners in the ecosystem to access and use images, films, and other digital assets that can be used to advertise experiences. According to Quek, “Our main goal is to produce digital technology solutions that are revolutionary for both travellers and our commercial tourism partners.” We can assist companies increase the reach of their marketing efforts by making it simpler for visitors to access digital assets.

Also, there is a ton of possibility for development and innovation in this area because the STA is starting from scratch. Because our travel and tourist business is still developing, Quek claims that we don’t need to revamp our infrastructure or our operational procedures. “We have a rare opportunity to create greenfield technology initiatives that have the potential to revolutionise the travel experience for both travellers and businesses involved in the travel industry.

Personalisation is the most significant trend for the future of the travel and tourism business, according to the data and figures above. We’ll now examine three instances of individualised marketing and customer service that have been immensely successful in the travel sector.

In the future, the travel sector will see a rise in demand for customisation. To fulfil those needs, human-driven personalisation won’t be able to scale. Also, marketers will feel overwhelmed by the amount of data and tools accessible. AI is intricate but strong, and it provides countless chances for marketing implementation.

A significant departure from the current operating paradigms will result from the implementation of AI in the tourism industry. Thus, keep in mind to control the ever-growing clutter in order to create a practical, straightforward, and customised travel and tourism brand. It’s also critical to recognise that the travel sector uses enabling technologies far more effectively than many other traditional commerce sectors.

You wouldn’t have real-time access to the correct customer data to give customised updates without technologies like data science, AI, and machine learning.

In conclusion, AI marketing solutions provide a compelling set of tools to assist travel firms in transitioning from a world where every client will be identified for their distinctive and dynamic identity to an era in which they will.

(The writer holds a DBA (Tourism and Hospitality Management). He is Chief Operating Officer at Mashawi Sah Commercial Group – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Director/Senior Lecturer at Standard Institute for Business Management – Sri Lanka. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dharshana-weerakoon/.)