The future of the travel industry hangs on its ability to harness data to create personal experiences

HONG KONG - A new report by SapientRazorfish, part of the Publicis.Sapientplatform, has highlighted the APAC travel industry's need to embrace personalisation and improve loyalty.

According to the report, titled Asia's Evolving Online Travel Market, travel industry leaders agree data is the power seat of loyalty because it enables personalisation, but more than 4 out of 5 of the region's decision makers recognise they are ill-equipped to provide customer value and increase loyalty with their current data analytics capabilities.

Seton Vermaak, Travel and Hospitality Lead SEA, SapientRazorfish, provided expert commentary for the report and said, "The quintessentially Asian quest for self-improvement, coupled with the disruption of the sharing economy, is helping reimagine Asia's travel and hospitality sector. Loyalty, once the reliable backbone of traditional travel brands, has morphed into an almost unrecognisable new form."

He continued, "There's a surge towards data analytics in Asia's travel sector. Why? Because of the shift towards personalisation. Travelers expect a personalised experience from every brand they encounter. Travel is personal. Without knowing your customer it's impossible to provide the personalised service they've come to expect."

The Report Highlighted:
DATA IS DOMINATING APAC
Data analytics is the most dominant area of focus for Asia's travel industry in 2017. Almost 80% of business leaders report data analytics as an area of focus for the year, this is a consequence of the increasing levels of competition amongst travel companies in Asia-Pacific. 85% of travel leaders are planning to increase customer loyalty by improving their data analytics capabilities.

TRAVEL IS GETTING PERSONAL
Discovering a customer's travel and shopping preferences is now a real-time activity. This, along with more emphasis on segmentation, demonstrates a focus on creating personalised experiences for the customer. Real-time analytics of online behaviour has leapfrogged traditional areas of focus such as past purchase behaviour, and this is one notable example of the ways in which the APAC travel industry is maturing.

MOBILE IS THE SECTOR'S HUNTING GROUND
In 2017, mobile is the new hunting ground for Asia's travel industry with more than 75% of travel brands now working with mobile solution providers. Travel brands are forming a single view of their customers. More than 70% of travel brands are optimising for a more mobile and seamless end-to-end customer experience.

CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS ARE A PRIORITY
Partnerships will also play an important role in the creation and dissemination of content in 2017. Expect to see more collaborations with media platforms for extended reach. In a smart move, decision makers will partner with media platforms to motivate travelers, and distinguish themselves from competitors.

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