According to Global Web Index’s Travel intentions in 2021 report, the state of the Covid-19 pandemic was unsurprisingly the top concern among US and UK travellers planning to take an international holiday in the immediate future.
% of US/UK vacation planners saying how important things like covid, hygeine and various other factors are to them.
While confidence is growing (2 in 3 Europeans are planning to take a trip in the first half of 2022) issues remain – such as the convoluted process of getting through airports ahead of flights.
Luckily, for these travellers
AI is already being used by airports whatsapp number database and airlines to improve the experience of travelling. Today’s smarter breed of check-in counters and security scanners are making it safer and faster for travellers to catch their flights, reducing the amount of time people need to spend at airports.
At the end of 2021, Gatwick airport announced plans to implement an AI Passenger Predictability system powered by Veovo to help the airport deal with fluctuating traveller numbers.
Airports and airlines aren’t the only travel businesses that need to use AI to solve practical travel problems. Every travel brand should be collecting customer feedback and tapping into third-party data to pinpoint their target audiences’ biggest problems on the move. These insights will allow you to actively solve these problems in your own services (if possible), create lead generation content that addresses them and even personalise your marketing messages for individuals, based on their unique travel concerns.
Winning customers & loyalty with hyper-personalisation
In Switchfly’s study, Resetting the quest the quick sales intro guide for online brands & sellers for travel loyalty in 2020, 83% of travel companies reported that attracting new customers and retaining existing ones were their primary challenges. In the same study, 46% said loyalty programmes were their top strategy for the year ahead but 2021 insights from PhocusWire suggest miles and points can’t buy loyalty anymore.
62% of airline loyalty program members say value for money drives their booking decision – and only 38% say their primary airline brand delivers value for money.
61% of hotel loyalty program members say value for money drives their booking decision – and 45% say their primary hotel brand delivers.
We’ve looked at how to use AI in travel to build customer loyalty on this blog before and one of the most important strategies for the industry right now is hyper-personalisation.
Hyper-personalisation uses artificial intelligence to
gain insights from your own customer singapore number data and third-party data sources, allowing algorithms to make accurate predictions about what your existing leads and customers need from you in the future. So, instead of simply targeting all under-40s with generic Millennial marketing campaigns, you can determine which users really care about Instagrammable locations, sustainable travel or simply lounging on the beach for a couple of weeks.
Artificial intelligence allows you to break past generic assumptions (eg: all parents want child-friendly holidays, backpackers don’t spend big, honeymooners want romance, etc.) and pinpoint the unique interests of individuals. This way, you can target those couples looking for a more active honeymoon, the “glampackers” spending big on their nomad journeys and the parents leaving their kids with the folks for a holiday with no children in sight (or earshot).
Winning these customers requires highly
Relevant messages and to turn these travellers into regular customers, you need to be equally relevant when those same parents are looking for a family holiday and that couple are in the mood for something more romantic.
According to research carried out by Redpoint Global, 73% of travellers “expect personalised, real-time messaging to feel safe and comfortable this year” yet 67% say they were frustrated by messaging from the travel industry during the pandemic.
Top complaints include receiving messages during times when they were unable to travel due to restrictions or personal circumstances or seeing irrelevant messages. This highlights the importance of delivering personalised experiences to individual travellers throughout the planning, travel and post-booking stages to maximise satisfaction and customer loyalty.
In summary
Technology has been a major disruptor for the travel industry in recent decades but the only viable solution for modern travel brands is to use this same technology to overcome new challenges. Artificial intelligence is empowering brands of all sizes to leverage big data like major players, creating a more level playing field. In fact, smaller brands who are able to react and adapt to the latest trends could have the advantage and artificial intelligence can deliver the insights you need to adapt your brand as trends develop – or even predict them and adapt before they even happen.
Need help with your travel marketing?
We have a lot of experience in the travel industry so if you need help with your digital marketing campaigns, contact us on 02392 830281 or fill in the form below and we’ll call you.