At an Amadeus Customer and Industry event, more than 300 travel professionals voted that technology will be vital in helping industry evolve with the changing travel landscape in Asia Pacific (APAC). An interactive poll conducted by Amadeus, a leading transaction processor and provider of…
At an Amadeus Customer and Industry event, more than 300 travel professionals voted that technology will be vital in helping industry evolve with the changing travel landscape in Asia Pacific (APAC).
An interactive poll conducted by Amadeus, a leading transaction processor and provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel and tourism industry, has confirmed that APAC’s travel professionals continue to regard technology as a key driver of business performance, as the region’s travel sector continues to surge.
Over 300 travel agency customers from 21 markets across Asia Pacific completed the poll at Amadeus’ recent customer and industry conference in Bangkok, Thailand, where attendees examined the theme: “Navigate 2011: Exploring a Brighter, Bolder, Better Future Together”. The survey found that over 60% of respondents are planning to use technology to stay ahead of the curve, highlighting the travel and tourism sector’s appetite for technology, which is widely regarded as playing an integral role in increasing revenue and decreasing costs (64%).
Mobile technology was re-affirmed as a key area of technological focus for travel agents, with almost 50% of respondents expecting mobile to deliver the greatest increase in travel bookings over the next five years. This echoes Amadeus’ recent global industry report, ‘The always-connected traveller: How mobile will transform the future of air travel’ which found that mobile technology was already revolutionising each stage of the travel experience.
"Asia-Pacific is leading air travel growth globally and has emerged as the world’s second largest travel market overall, surpassing even the United States in terms of passenger volume. To continue enabling this rate of development, we’ve seen the full spectrum of industry stakeholders rapidly adopting new technologies – and mobile is one of the foremost among these. In Asia Pacific, there are approximately 2.6 billion mobile phone users, creating huge opportunities for agencies and airlines to use this channel to enhance the entire traveller journey”, said David Brett, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific.
The Amadeus survey also revealed that the introduction of automated airport check-in processes will be the next big thing to change the travel industry. Some airlines have already identified this trend and are making key infrastructure investments to manage surging passenger numbers more efficiently and to deliver better services to travellers. Amadeus is already at the forefront of this change with the Amadeus Altea Suite, which helps airlines simplify procedures, boost booking capabilities and provide a seamless travel experience. The Altea Suite has already been selected by 114 of the world’s leading carriers.
“The travel industry in Asia Pacific is demonstrating resilience despite economic uncertainties which continues to support the region’s growth. We work hard to ensure we’re addressing the needs of our customers in the region and invest heavily in new solutions, such as Amadeus Travel Office Manager (ATOM) and OneClick that are designed specifically for the APAC market. Amadeus remains committed to delivering innovative solutions to power the travel ecosystem today and in the years ahead,” concluded Brett.
Survey results were collected during a live poll of over 300 travel industry attendees over the two day conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
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