4.4 Current Trends

The travel trade industry is constantly evolving based on societal change. The current evolution includes increasingly personalized consumer travel, global sustainability issues, and rapid advancement in technology (IT-Online, 2023).

As discussed previously, the traveling public is looking for unique and experiential travel, which often require assistance to arrange. Many leisure travel agents emphasize their consulting services and focus more and more on becoming experts in niche travel. Tour operators, as well, are specializing in particular audience market segments, types of travel, and travel destinations. By differentiating themselves from simple booking agents, retail travel trade businesses are providing something OTAs cannot—namely, an understanding of specific types of travel and lifestyles that allow customers to explain their travel needs and trust an advisor to fulfill them. This need is exemplified today with social emphasis on identity pride, especially with Black and LGBTQIA+ people. For example, Up in the Air Life, a tour operator specializing in black travel, promises Black travelers that “founder and CEO, Claire Soares, built a multimillion-dollar boutique travel agency to create space for you to let your guard down and travel with confidence amongst other like-minded Black people” (n.d., para. 58).

Corporations and individual travelers are increasingly making buying decisions based on the urgent challenge of climate change. Business travel, especially, is affected by this initiative. In fact, 92% of respondents to a 2023 Global Business Travel Association Foundation survey said that sustainability is a priority for their organization. Companies are driven to focus on sustainable travel practices in order to manage their own reputations and in response to genuine concern for the environment. Eighty-one percent of corporate travel planners have integrated or plan to integrate environmental sustainability into their travel programs. Travel managers are using their purchasing power to leverage change from their suppliers, with 63% of managers basing their buying decisions on sustainability criteria (GBTA Foundation, 2023).

The United Nations (n.d.) has reported that global carbon emissions need to be halved by 2030 in order to stay on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in accordance with the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 with the goal of keeping global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees centigrade. However, the growing population, affordable travel options, and increase in travel accessibility means that tourism is expected to almost double in size by 2050 (Peeters & Papp, 2023). Tourism’s direct emissions alone (not including indirect emissions from things like laundry service, food production, etc.) accounts for around 5% of global CO2 emissions. As detailed in the Travel Foundation report (Peeters & Papp, 2023), individual governments are taking action by:

• banning short haul flights were there is an alternative (France)
• capping airport capacity (Netherlands)
• introducing carbon pricing for aviation (European Union)
• encouraging greater use of rail (Germany & Spain)
• supporting adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (Sweden, France, Brazil, Japan, and others)
• encouraging electric ferries (Norway, New Zealand, UK, and others)

Retail travel trade segments must be aware of changing government regulations to better advise their clients, especially those whose buying decisions are being influenced more and more by sustainability ethics.

Technological advancement is reshaping how the travel trade operates, offering an array of challenges and opportunities. Generative AI, for example, is being used in itinerary planning, customer support, travel assistance, self-service options, and with digital advancement for enhanced personalization. Adoption of new technologies allows travel trade businesses to enhance service through:

• artificial intelligence chatbots, which provide quick personalization and bookings 24/7
• creative cloud collaboration tools, which smooth remote team and client interactions
• centralized data analytics, which mine booking behaviors and traveler sentiment
• digital security platforms, which protect client credit cards and secure company data from cyber threats
• automation software, which handles repetitive tasks to boost agent productivity
• mobile optimization, which facilitates on-the-go booking via  apps and mobile sites

New Distribution Capability (NDC) has begun to initiate a significant shift in travel distribution dynamics. Developed by IATA, NDC facilitates data exchange, integrating with existing technology and empowering airlines to present tailored offers, dynamic airfare, and richer details about flights and seat availability with wholesale and retail travel trade businesses. The new technology provided by NDC improves the presentation of airfare data, enabling airlines to change prices in real time based on factors like availability and distribution channel. It also provides more details about flights and additional add-ons (Rose, 2023).

NDC can personalize offers, streamline the sharing of flight information, and allow for additional services to be added to reservations through websites and apps. For the travel industry as a whole, widespread adoption of NDC will level the playing field by opening opportunities for smaller airlines to showcase offerings alongside larger carriers. It will also enable airlines to offer a broader range of fares and improve customer experience by personalizing offers and facilitating bookings. Travel managers will see more flexibility in rates, more transparency with flight and fare details, and a wider range of options.

Some benefits of NDC include (Navan, 2024):

• Richer content: NDC enables airlines to present their offerings with more detailed descriptions, as well as more images, videos, and other multimedia elements.
• Personalization: With NDC, airlines can tailor offers to individual travelers based on their preferences, travel history, and loyalty status.
• Real-time updates: NDC gives airlines more flexibility to update their flight availability, pricing, and ancillary services.
• Ancillary sales: Airlines can directly promote and sell services such as seat upgrades, baggage allowances, and lounge access to travelers.
• Avoiding GDS surcharges: Travel managers can avoid the additional fees or surcharges added by airlines to any bookings made via the GDS, resulting in cost savings and more control over travel arrangements.

By specializing services, leveraging technology, embracing sustainability, and diversifying offerings, the travel trade can remain relevant to the traveling public and adapt to the modern travel landscape.