A competitive edge

ATM Travel Tech explores the next generation of industry innovations and cutting-edge technology for travel and hospitality businesses

In the age of “everything contactless”, there are hardly any interactions that can occur seamlessly without the use of technology. Whether it’s ordering groceries or paying bills, there are multiple digital touchpoints that facilitate an individual’s everyday interactions with businesses.

As human reliance on technology grows rapidly, consumers expect seamless connectivity from every single business they deal with, setting the standards high for every brand, whether they are fundamentally a tech company or not. And the travel and tourism industry isn’t exempt.

From shortlisting destinations and booking flights and hotels to making reservations while on a holiday, the entire travel experience – from the planning stage until completion and reviewing after return – is reliant on the use of technology.

Walter Knight, Director of Hospitality, Farnek Services LLC, said: “Travellers today are looking for hassle-free experiences that make use of technology as a means to accommodate their needs. Many travellers have become far more mindful since the pandemic and often look to avoid close or direct contact with others. The younger generation prefers to work through devices, such as apps to communicate, rather than call and speak directly to others. The demands of the new traveller are higher

as we live in a world where everything is accessible now. The demand for instant gratification is always challenging, however, this is also forcing the industry to become more creative and responsive in the way we run our businesses.

“We have to use technology to our advantage to increase the efficiency of our services and, at the same time, keep our costs in check. The new wave of tech-savvy customers is forcing the industry to evolve.”

In the last decade, a growing number of brands took note of the importance of integrating technology into their operations, substituting traditional methods with modern ones. And then, the pandemic also accelerated the need for tourism businesses to rely more on technical innovations to stay ahead of the curve and ensure seamless experiences for their customers.

“The added complexities associated with travelling during the pandemic underlined the need to provide travellers with reliable, up-to-date information and advice on their digital devices as well as to react in real time to disruptions and ever-changing rules and regulations,” said Lee Hayhurst, who serves as Executive Editor of Travolution and will be moderating the session On The Road To Seamless Travel at ATM 2022.

He added: “The travel industry was also forced to switch to remote working while continuing to service

Technology played a crucial role in helping businesses to survive the pandemic and still be here to enjoy the rebound

clients and, sadly, reduce headcount to bring operating costs down to a minimum, which meant self-service functionalities for customers became an absolute necessity to limit demands on businesses’ resources. So technology played a crucial role in helping businesses to survive the worst of the pandemic and to still be here to enjoy the rebound.”

Now, as we enter a post-pandemic era, businesses are continuing to leverage industry innovations in order to ease operations in the recovery phase.

Hayhurst explained: “There’s a lot of innovation going on at the travel coalface, with airports like Dubai International and Jordan’s Queen Alia International implementing contactless biometric facial recognition check-in and customs clearing technologies.

“Outside of aviation, rail operator Eurostar and cruise lines Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean are introducing technology to make the customer experience more enjoyable and smoother, while hotels brands are adopting keyless room entry and digital concierge systems. But probably the most promising developments are being made by firms looking to join up the entire travel journey as the sector moves towards a multimodal future using open API and cloud-based technology architecture,” added Hayhurst.

“Sector specialists like Omio and Kiwi.com and industry incumbents like Booking.com, Tripadvisor and Trip.com are vying with the likes of non-travel tech giants like Google to become a traveller’s in-pocket concierge service of choice.

“Many travel businesses are taking the opportunity of the pandemic to move their technology to the cloud in order to take advantage of more agile, software-as-a-service systems. This promises operational efficiencies for the business and also brings computing closer to the end customer.

“Aligned with modern data capture and storage, machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyse and make sense of all the information that it is now possible to capture, firms are starting to understand customers’ needs better and to anticipate demand more accurately so that the experience for the traveller becomes more relevant and integrated with every individual aspect of their trip,” concluded Hayhurst.

ON THE AGENDA AT ATM TRAVEL TECH

With many more aspects of travel technology to explore, the revamped and rebranded ATM Travel Tech event – previously known as Travel Forward – is taking place alongside ATM 2022 this year with a host of sessions on the Travel Tech stage. Across four days of insightful seminars, debates and presentations, attendees will be able to discover the innovations shaping the travel and hospitality industry today.

Decision makers from across the globe, innovative technology providers and senior executives in the industry will be in attendance, discussing the latest technologies and trends that will shape the future of travel.