Digital in the travel and hospitality sector

The ‘Digital Trends in the Travel and Hospitality Sector’ report, produced by Econsultancy in partnership with Adobe, explores how companies operating in this sector approach digital, as well as the key trends, opportunities and sector-specific issues shaping their digital strategies.

The research is based on a global survey of more than 170 senior digital and ecommerce executives, with responding companies including major hotel groups, travel agents, airlines, passenger ship operators and car firms.

Key themes emerging from the digital research:

• There is a strong focus on digital transformation in the sector: The majority of travel companies, in particular, recognise the importance of having digital at the core of their business in order to meet the needs of technology and social-savvy travelers and tourists.
• Importance of customer experience and blending the physical and digital: Whilst base growth is the overwhelming top business priority for the many companies surveyed, customer experience is a key area of focus for driving customer acquisition and retention. Brands are working hard to fuse physical and digital experiences in order to differentiate from their competitors.
• Mobile is at the heart of every customer journey: In the travel sector, the mobile experience, in many respects, IS the customer experience or at least the glue that binds together the online and offline experience. Companies participating in this research have really grasped the importance of mobile and are more focused on this business imperative than their counterparts in other industries.
• Data-driven customer centricity: Brands are beginning to recognise the importance of building a 360-degree view of the customer so they can pin-point exactly where they are on their customer journey and provide them with key information at the right time in the right context, irrespective of channel.
• Personalisation and the importance of first-party data: The customer experience is increasingly about personalisation, with companies in understanding that applying the personal touch at scale is becoming a necessity rather than a ‘nice-to-have’ extra.
• Social is here to stay: Social media plays an important role in many consumers’ lives, and companies in this space are working particularly hard to encourage and harness sentiments for their benefit.

To read the full report, visit Econsultancy.

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