No virtual reality or metaverse can make up for the fresh air, changing scenery and newer experiences that bring life-changing values to most individuals.
Cross-cutting trends across destinations
As travel gurus predict a sharp northward trend in travelling demands, the industry itself is working on self-tuning to work on restoring back the travel supply chain to make most of the positive trends that countries across the globe are experiencing. From car hires to spas to experience centres, from sprucing up the business units to adding value through sustainable measures to making waste management in kitchens up-to-date; hotel chains, flights and restaurants are trying to decipher the trends to expect in the coming years. A few obvious trend-analysis and takeaways from the questions and queries that the industry is facing are discussed for chalking out the drifts in the travel industry and areas which need to perk up to satisfy the customers.
Work + Vacations = Workations
It is becoming a noteworthy intervention. The travel supply chain and service businesses need to plan for long-stay guests. As people are returning to work and businesses picking up, most travellers are looking to blend business with leisure or experience. With the possibility of remote-working and dual modes of working that the corporates are still being allowed, travelling has now become experiential trips where guests are tending to stay long term. Remote work has led to the rise of Work from Roam where travellers opt for long stays, working remotely but exploring the world, having new experiences and getting inspired without completely unplugging. Not only the hotels and home-stays need to be fitted with broadband and Wi-Fi, the staff will also need to be trained to take care of guests by understanding their personal preferences, that a couple of night-stays may not have warranted. Increasingly, these guests are called ‘digital nomads’ by the hospitality industry. The trend is here to stay as professionals are carving out their own quiet space for working along with inner contemplations.
Technology
It is going to play a big role in convincing the travellers about the destination that they are going to choose. Travellers are looking for personalized travel plans that can support their priorities. Virtual reality travel industry solutions are helping to shift the way people engage with travel companies at all stages of the customer journey. However, virtual reality devices can also play a crucial role in making the metaverse a reality, and when used as metaverse devices, they can facilitate meaningful social interactions too. Over recent times, augmented reality has become increasingly popular within the travel industry. This is primarily because it enables hotels and other businesses operating in this field to enhance the physical environments, they are actually trying to encourage customers to visit, including local sights and hotel rooms.
The capacity for artificial intelligence to perform tasks that have traditionally required human cognitive function has made it especially useful for those in the travel industry, because deploying AI can save businesses time and money, while potentially eliminating human error and allowing tasks to be performed quickly, at any time of the day.
Most hotels and resorts rely heavily on delivering excellent customer service to build their reputation and AI technology can assist with this in a wide variety of different ways. For example, artificial intelligence can be used to improve personalisation, tailor recommendations and guarantee fast response times, even in the absence of staff.
Solo Travel
It is the new fad, where people cutting across all ages and gender are interested to go that extra mile alone. Finding the space after being cramped up during lockdown and dealing with the emotional changes has further pushed the demand for going solo. One important aspect of this is hotels and guest houses need to buffer up their security and health backup plans, as there will be no immediate help available in case of emergency. Also, the available rooms and vehicles will need to be refitted for single travellers with lesser price tags and adequate comfort.
Offbeat destinations with localised flavour
Its experiences have emerged as a big demand from customers looking for a differentiated experience. The queries are to such an extent that there has to be some brain-storming about adding unpopular tourist destinations and promoting newer tracks for tourists—very much in the line of lighthouse tourism that India is propagating. Given, India’s wide scope of attractions, lighthouses were never considered an attraction before. Beyond the offbeat experience, travellers are also demanding curated personalised and localised experiences. They are ok to have local street foods, sleep in tents and ride the bus with locals and ditch the choice of luxurious stays altogether. It is depending on these trends that companies like Airbnb, OYO, Plum Guides, Booking.com and many others are building up their next bouquet of properties, services and comfort.
Consumers are more interested in pursuing authentic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and experiences, away from mainstream tourism. Holidaying as locals and experiential lifestyle over an elongated period is being coveted by travellers. It is a job and engagement opportunity for locals in offbeat destinations to provide company to these visitors.
Sustainable and Responsible travel and holiday plans above any other parameters. In every choice—right from opting for local cooked foods, experiencing the neighbourhood with the locals and using common transport are choices where travellers want to give back to nature and limit the carbon footprint being generated.
Conclusion
Thus, the travel industry as a whole—be it the travel booking and advisory companies or the homestay providers, or the hotels—will need to rethink their commercial approaches. The profiles of airline passengers and hotel guests will be different– more leisure guests who want the luxury of office space, later booking windows, and higher demand for flexible tickets. Every customer will need personalised attention as there is no good indicator of current behaviours. Insights into behaviour of travellers has to be optimized and learnt on the go. The levels of unpredictability are high and thus the industry as whole will have to be more tolerant and reactive to demands.
The author is Director of Brightsun Travel India.