As a fast-evolving landscape, the travel industry remains dynamic, continuously adjusting to cater to the shifting needs and expectations of consumers. This year, it becomes evident that travellers are increasingly seeking versatile digital payment solutions, particularly for international journeys and are leaning heavily on technology to efficiently organise their travel plans.
Consequently, travel agencies and airlines are swiftly pivoting to accommodate these emerging preferences. From integrated travel apps using AI to flexible online payment options, here are six things consumers expect from travel agencies in 2024 and beyond.
Automated bookings with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
By the end of 2024, it’s expected that many travel booking websites and apps will integrate AI technologies to assist customers throughout the entire booking process, employing chatbots or virtual assistants. According to research by Booking.com, 62% of adult Gen Zs worldwide said they used technology like AI to help them save money on travel in 2023. During the same year, over 20% of global travellers, who used a mobile device to plan trips, shared that they used AI to do so. This has resulted in many tourism companies integrating AI into their services.
A study conducted by Statista revealed that numerous accommodation businesses across Europe are already utilising AI to support their customers, with countries like Spain (20%), Austria (19%), the Netherlands (17%) and Portugal (15%) leading the adoption in 2023. To illustrate this, Trip.com recently introduced TripGen, a chatbot powered by OpenAI, which enabled its mobile app users to receive recommendations for flights, hotels and other travel services. Shortly thereafter, Kayak and Expedia announced the launch of their ChatGPT plugins.
The swift integration of these tools by major Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) underscores the growing interest in leveraging generative AI for trip planning, an area of travel likely to undergo significant transformation due to this technology. AI can help streamline the booking process for travel operators, reducing the amount of manual work involved in tasks such as itinerary creation, booking management and customer service. By automating these processes, AI can free up valuable time and resources, allowing travel agencies to invest their efforts into growing other areas of the business.
Bleisure trips are on the rise
With the rise of remote work and flexible work arrangements, travellers are increasingly blending business and leisure travel, also referred to as ‘bleisure’. Visa reports that many business travellers are now extending their stays in destinations to explore while working either full or partial days from their accommodations. Likewise, leisure travellers are finding opportunities to prolong their trips by working remotely during their stay.
In response to this trend, consumers can anticipate accommodation providers offering enhanced infrastructure to support corporate guests, such as reliable internet connectivity and coworking spaces. Consequently, consumers also expect travel and booking agencies to provide more flexible booking options and cater to longer stays.
Personalised luxury travel experiences and offers
Luxury travellers are zeroing in on unique experiences and reputable brands, with personalisation being a major point of focus. Specifically, 33% of global luxury travellers stated that personalisation is a key decision driver, with 39% declaring that special promotions are an important factor when booking trips, according to a 2024 survey by Simon-Kucher.
Audley Travel, a high-end travel operator, for example, recently launched Audley Private Concierge to enhance its travellers’ booking experiences. The exclusive service includes a dedicated Private Travel Manager who works closely with HNWI clients to understand and anticipate their future travel preferences, creating bespoke luxury travel packages and elevate their customer service.
By understanding customers’ past booking behaviours and preferences, luxury travel companies can offer personalised recommendations for travel that align with each customer's interests and previous experiences to enhance the payment experience and build loyalty.
Travellers are opting for mobile payments
As internet access and smartphone ownership becomes increasingly widespread, there's a noticeable shift towards online vacation bookings, providing unmatched convenience and time efficiency. According to Adjust, travel app logins surged by 87% in June 2023 compared to the end of 2019, highlighting the growing reliance on apps for trip planning and payments. In fact, 67.8% of customers worldwide expressed a preference for using their mobile phones to visit travel and hospitality websites in 2023, up from 64.2% in 2022.
With more customers opting to book and pay for their trips via mobile devices, there's a rising expectation for travel agencies and accommodation providers to offer flexible and popular mobile payment methods, such as eWallets. Consequently, the travel sector is embracing faster and more streamlined payment solutions, including one-click payments. This evolution reflects a need for businesses to adapt their payment solutions to meet the evolving needs and preferences of modern travellers, while tapping into new markets to diversify their revenue streams.
Cards reign supreme for booking trips
When it comes to planning a trip, travellers are opting for fast and convenient payment methods that support seamless payment experiences. Research by IATA uncovered that credit and debit cards were the most popular payment option used by travellers to book flights in 2023, favoured by 73% of respondents. This was followed by digital wallets (18%) and bank transfers (18%).
At the same time, IATA’s research uncovered disparities between regions, emphasising the importance of a tailored payment strategy. For example, credit and debit card adoption was highest among travellers in Latin America (85%), Europe (81%) and North America (74%). By contrast, travellers in the Asia Pacific region favoured digital wallets for booking flights, which accounted for 41% of all payments.
Furthermore, it’s expected that hotels, airlines and other companies from the travel sector will adapt their payments mix to feature a varied range of payment methods to appeal to specific markets, while supporting a smooth customer experience from the moment of booking to the end of their trip.
Sustainable tourism
Travellers are increasingly embracing eco-friendly and sustainable travel options, driven by a heightened awareness of environmental issues and a desire to minimise their impact. According to the Visa Global Travel Intentions Study that was published in 2023, there’s a notable trend emerging in several countries worldwide. Mexico leads with 86% of travellers actively seeking this type of tourism, followed by Brazil with 71% and Spain with 49%.
Despite the growing interest in sustainable tourism, there are still several barriers preventing travellers from fully embracing it. Research conducted by Oxford Economics in 2023 revealed that 18% of travellers cited cost as a significant obstacle, while 3% mentioned the lack of sustainable options offered by the travel brands they typically used. Therefore, it’s crucial for companies in the travel sector to invest in and prioritise sustainable travel packages to meet evolving consumer preferences.
How emerchantpay can help travel businesses
Amidst the surge in new bookings and day-to-day demands, many travel merchants find it challenging to allocate time for the strategic assessment of their payment infrastructure. As a trusted global payment service provider and acquirer, we can assist travel businesses to optimise their payment journey through:
Travel-specific expertise
You’ll have access to your very own travel-specific payment expert, who can provide valuable advice and insights into how your business can fine-tune its payments strategy.
Alternative payment methods and extensive acquiring capabilities
We offer a comprehensive array of local and global payment methods, including popular eWallets like Google Pay™ and Apple Pay. Alongside this, we offer in-house and worldwide merchant acquiring services, helping you to seamlessly accept transactions on a global scale and maximise your revenue.
Advanced anti-fraud solutions and chargeback management
Receive one-on-one support from a Risk Analyst, who’ll work closely with you to mitigate instances of fraud, while improving acceptance and conversion rates. Further to this, we support 3DS2 and AVS to help you protect your business from fraud.
One-click payment integrations
Streamline your checkout experience and encourage repeat purchases with our tokenisation integration, which supports one-click payments. Customers can securely and seamlessly save their payment details for future purchases, reducing cart abandonment rates and improving brand loyalty for your business.
emerchantpay helps businesses within the travel sector, among others, to offer innovative payment solutions to their customers. If you’d like to learn more about our services, please contact our payment specialists.