New Research Shows Travel Buyers Not Enamored With Tech

According to research from the Business Travel Show, travel buyers are still not convinced of the efficacy of next-generation technology. The research shows that fully one fifth of the 134 European buyers polled believe that by 2022, bots, Blockchain and alternative realities (AR, VR, MR, XR) will ‘significantly improve booking, saving time and money. Conversely, more than half feel these technologies will have minimal to no impact on the industry over the next three years.

The results showed more faith in the opportunities presented by AI: 17 percent believe it has the potential to ‘revolutionise’ the travel industry by 2022. Furthermore, one quarter agree AI will ‘significantly enhance the traveler experience’ during this timeframe, while 39 percent believe the technology will have little or no impact.

The survey – which is part of the Business Travel Show’s ‘Travel 2022’ theme – also asked buyers how the industry will best survive the next three years. The findings were interesting since they showed those polled believe innovation will power new business. About one-third also believe business evolution will dictate survival. Only a very small percentage of buyers put any faith at all in a total reboot. Build Bots founder Paul Shepherd, who is taking part in a panel session about bots at Business Travel Show next week, commented: 

“When built and used correctly, chatbots can transform customer service, increase efficiencies and even help companies to save and make money. Multinational airlines and online travel sites would offer a competitive advantage if they were to offer a full integrated chatbot using AI and machine learning combined with customer service agent support in order to deliver a 24/7/365 intuitive service.”

Over the next three years, according to Shepherd, Natural Language Processing (NLP) will continue to improve, which means that chatbots will become easier and more intuitive to interact with. In addition, the possibilities for voice intercommunications will expand greatly, according to Shepherd.

The Build Bots founder will be taking part in the panel session, ‘Introduce bots into your travel programme to slash admin and boost communications’ on Wednesday 20 February at 10:00 – 11:00.

A second session on next-generation technology is taking place on Thursday 21 February at 14:30: ‘Hi-tech in action – how AI, the blockchain, bots, augmented/virtual reality will transform travel management.’

How will the travel industry survive in the next three years?
Through evolution	30%
Through revolution	4%
Through innovation	66%