I EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW I
I EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW I Unlocking luxury: Trends in the world of high-end travel Caroline Bremner, Senior Head of Travel Research at Euromonitor, spoke to ITB Berlin News about the major trends in luxury travel ahead of her conference at the show tomorrow. At your conference tomorrow you'll be addressing how luxury travel is leading transformation in the tourism sector. Could you share some insights on the key factors driving this shift towards luxury travel? The luxury travel sector is more immune to the global macroeconomic headwinds created by the cost-ofliving crisis. Luxury Seekers have the means to spend despite higher prices for air travel and lodging, driving the global travel recovery where luxury hotels have already returned to their peak levels. Affluent consumers prioritise travel and see it is an important part of their lifestyle, sharing unique experiences with loved ones. With luxury travellers willing to pay more for sustainable features, how should brands approach this opportunity to balance luxury and sustainability? All travel is a privilege, and luxury travel comes with even greater responsibility due to its higher carbon footprint. Luxury brands should therefore adopt sustainability practices whole-heartedly, by declaring a climate emergency and working with accreditation partners. Luxury consumers are more attracted to purpose-driven brands that prioritise people and planet as well as profit. Sustainable features should also be central to the traveller experience, weaving in local to ensure a truly authentic immersion in a place and its culture. Helping their customers make the right choice requires a holistic approach to sustainability, from backend operations, mitigating negative environmental impacts and adopting strong social criteria to boost diversity, inclusion, and equality LUXURY TRAVEL TAKES THE LEAD – DRIVING TRANSFORMATION FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH Thursday 7 March 10:30a.m. - 11:30a.m. Hall 7.1b Blue Stage Scan the QR code to read the full article 20 ITB BERLIN NEWS • WEDNESDAY 6 TH MARCH 2024 news.itb.com
I EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW I “Technology is now central to travel research, planning, booking and in-trip experiences” Following his conference at yesterday's ITB Berlin Convention, ITB Berlin News spoke with Booking Holdings' CEO and President, Glenn Fogel, in an exclusive interview about the direction the tourism industry is taking Technology has become an essential component of travel planning, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking on an increasingly important role. But as the CEO of Booking Holdings points out, it is not a new technology for the travel industry, or for the online travel giant. In your view, what are the most significant trends shaping the future of the travel industry right now? Travellers will continue to grow in their expectations of what platforms, like ours, can deliver and we’re ready to meet that demand, from travel planning with generative AI chatbots to being able to book and manage all components of their trip in one place. Ultimately, the reality that technology is now central to travel research, planning, booking and in-trip experiences is the single most important thing the industry must take on in stride. And we look forward to making sure we are able to use our technology skills to make things better for both our travellers and partners. What role is AI playing in the travel industry today and how will this change in the near future? Artificial intelligence is not new to the travel industry and it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Today, on our platforms for example, it informs personalising interactions and recommendations, conducts machine translations in 46 languages and dialects, analyses the content of pictures provided by customers and partners, detects when a booking may have used a stolen credit card, and more. In the near future, the industry will see rapid enhancements in its long-standing uses of AI, including algorithms guiding access to great deals and personalised recommendations on platforms, and we will continue to deepen our understanding of how customers want to harness generative AI in their travel experiences. How is Booking Holdings harnessing these technologies as part of your overall strategy? We have always known AI technology will play a central role. Although we’ve been using various forms of AI and machine learning for over a decade, generative AI is now accelerating efforts to improve and better connect the end-to-end trip experience for travellers and deliver more value to our partners. Given it is still early days, there’s no one “right” interface at this moment in time, which is why different brands within our company are taking different approaches to integrating generative AI into their products and services. We’re seeing encouraging signs, for example, lower customer service contact rates, and we see that Booking.com’s AI Trip Planner is getting better at answering customers’ inquiries. What are some of the main challenges the travel industry must overcome? The interconnectedness of travel is both an opportunity and a challenge. Technology is accelerating access to information and it's important that everyone in the travel ecosystem is moving forward, together. This is particularly critical with respect to technology because if one area of the industry lags behind, it could inhibit progress across the entire customer travel journey MEETING AS AN INDUSTRY For Glenn Fogel, "travel is an enduring force for good in the world, breaking down barriers, bringing communities together" and ITB Berlin not only celebrates that fact, but helps to ensure it stays that way. Mr Fogel underlined how important it is for the industry to come together "to promote the exchange of ideas, examine challenges, and drive collective success for everyone in the travel ecosystem," especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "As the industry has now hit its stride once again, we must applaud travel’s resilience and maintain open dialogue in order to continue to grow and evolve for the better," he concluded Hall 9 / Stands 101a, 101b ITB BERLIN NEWS • WEDNESDAY 6 TH MARCH 2024 21
