Technology is playing a crucial role in the revival of the travel ecosystem as travel industry emerges from the impact of the global pandemic. Pent-up demand for travel is today being met through product innovation, increased adoption of safety measures and cutting-edge technology alternatives. For example, travel startups previously providing MICE solutions are now innovating and creating virtual events by integrating technologies such as AR and VR into the online conferences and meetings.
In India where technology integration into the regular travel business had been low in the past, things are catching up fast. Prior to the pandemic, unorganized sector and the small travel agencies and tour operators had mostly operated in the offline market. After the pandemic outbreak, the consumer preference has shifted away significantly from the inflexible and standardized travel offered by the aggregators, and majority of the travellers are now looking at completely personalized travel that is possible only by working with travel advisors.
Increasingly people are opting for pre-planning and pre-booking their entire journeys with flexible cancellation terms to avoid last minute issues with their preferred stay options being sold out due to various capacity restrictions. . In such a scenario, there is a need for cutting-edge technology driven platforms focused at empowering travel agents that provide a competitive digital presence. Travel businesses are looking for solutions that help them with online booking for hotels, flights and other travel services, digitally receive and make payments, communicate online with the customers and support to market their services in a contact-less manner.
One of the most significant developments has been the emergence of customized and affordable luxury road-trips. The travel startups are using online channels and social media platforms to digitally promote their services. The entire query and trip booking is done online including payments. Luxury Caravan / Bus Tours for small family that allow people to travel and explore in small groups at their own pace can also be a innovation whose adoption will be accelerated due to the ongoing pandemic.
Trip organizers are creating exclusive bio-bubbles which cater to the luxury needs and pandemic safety concerns of the travelers. These are being synchronized with off-beat travel destinations and approaches. Exclusive and sanitized vehicles are used to ferry passengers instead of shared public transport. The travel staff and travelers follow the routine of temperature scans and hygiene. Even at the destination, the travelers are provided with exclusive staycation options at resorts, camps or homestays in non-crowded and environment friendly locations. Thus, there is a complete sense of exclusivity and minimum touch provided to the travelers.
This trend of staycations is complimentary to the emergence of slow travel. The ‘safe’ destinations are few and far with rural and remote locations, islands and mountainous regions becoming more popular than the cities among the safety conscious tourists. Travel startups have innovated service offerings and instead of daily room rentals, majority of the hotels and guesthouses are now offering all-inclusive long-stays ranging from a week to a month. Customers get to experience high-quality luxury, hygiene and safety at attractive rates. Customization of itineraries and dedicated support for private group travels is being encouraged by travel agents and hospitality sector entities. Transportation has also become more exclusive and flexible as travel operators have started putting restrictions on numbers of passengers to be carried in a vehicle, and maintenance of COVID-19 protocols on board is being ensured.
Technology-driven platforms are going to be the key to successful operations by travel companies in the times to come. There are several startups that are working to help airlines and hotels rebuild their business by optimizing their revenue and coming up with innovative products and pricing options while allowing greater flexibility that caters to current consumer concerns. As travel guidelines are constantly changing and evolving along with the dynamic nature of the the current pandemic – collecting reliable information in timely manner and presenting this to customers addressing their concerns around instances of Covid cases in their preferred destinations and requisite travel / medical documents is also a large area of innovation.Â
The travel companies have also innovated their communication strategies in the new normal. There is a much greater integration of social media and chat platforms such as WhatsApp to provide round-the-clock customer support and access before, during and after a trip. In many cases, video calling software is used to conduct live interactions with tour groups to keep them updated and well-informed.
The digitization of travel operations that we see today is unprecedented, and it is just the beginning. Once the global tourism sector fully reopens, the efficiency and impact of the innovative approaches and technology in travel will be truly visible!
