The travel industry is set for a makeover with new mediums for consumer connects evolving virtually every day. From cabin crew recording preferences of passengers on a new fangled tablets to biometrics check-ins and feedback via the social media, India fast catching up with its global peers.
International Air Transport Association has projected that 70% of the travellers would do an on-line check in the next few years. In the Indian context, the number of online check-ins at Mumbai Airport is pegged at 63 per cent, according to a survey conducted by a travel solutions company.
The survey says there is great potential for paperless technology and travellers are adapting to paperless technology very effectively. More passengers, both air and rail, now prefer electronic bookings and e-check-ins as well.
That the Indian consumer is getting increasingly internet savvy is obvious from the statistics of IRCTC, the official inventory distribution website of the Indian railways that booked over 4 lakh e-tickets in a single day.
A corporate travel survey by Thomas Cook demonstrates the influence of technology on travel. Technology has enabled airlines to adopt multiple approaches to distribution.
For instance global distribution companies these days give complete travel solution (termed bundling in business parlance) that comprises everything from car rentals, airline reservations, to hotel accommodation tailor made to suit every budget.
Airlines are increasingly attempting to drive customer sales through airline websites in order to literally ‘own’ the customer and also avoid high distribution costs. “Consumer engagement is so important today that all aspects of doing so are being explored. Intelligent searches and caching are being introduced whereby a website can trace the search pattern of a user and determine his travel needs for the future,” a consultant with a leading carrier told Express.
Airlines are using technology to seek information from its database of frequent flyers and corporate travellers to offer customised offerings based on occasions and events.
The emergence of feedback on blogs, Tweeting, Facebook and LinkedIn and a host of discussion forums are becoming the new way of customer interface. “The new age feedback helps us pinpoint what customers prefer, at a click of a button his or her travel plan can be generated, this is immensely for those in the travel industry”, the consultant said.
Airports in India are working towards improving the traveller experience and are having discussions around this with regulators, CISF and airlines to test pilot paperless boarding passes and gate entry by end of 2012 or early 2013.
Soon bar-coded boarding passes would be sent on mobile phones eliminating paper and human resource costs.