Agents told they may need to embrace AI to attract younger clients
Sarah DennisAgents will need to consider to how AI-enhanced features will impact their booking capability in the future – and could be key to attracting younger clients, new research by PwC presented at the 2023 Abta Travel Convention has revealed.
Three in 10 (30%) consumers polled by PwC said they would be more likely to book with a travel organisation that could offer personalised website content on areas that were of interest of them, while more than a third said they were more likely to consider travel companies that offer higher quality information – photos and descriptions – about their holiday options.
With a more telling eye on the future, a fifth of those surveyed said they would be more likely to book with organisations offering a live chat app to help them choose their holidays; a quarter went on to say they would feel more supported by a live chat app that could answer questions, with 23% telling PwC they would be more likely to take the plunge and book if the live chat app could put together a personalised itinerary.
Speaking at Abta’s Travel Convention in Bodrum on Tuesday (31 October), PwC partner and head of the company’s leisure and travel arm, Rick Jones, highlighted clear demographic differences in the findings.
Younger age groups were markedly more positive about AI-enhanced features in the choosing and booking process, with almost a third of 25 to 34-year-olds embracing the idea of live chat bots to help them with tailored itineraries and booking holidays.
More than a fifth, meanwhile, said appreciated personalised search results when booking, while a similar proportion (24%) said they would be more likely to book if there were personalised recommendations for add-ons supported by AI.
By contrast, those aged 55 or over were “net negative” across all areas where AI could support a booking, which Jones said suggested “there may be a lack of understanding, there may be suspicion, or there may be they just prefer speaking to a human”.
During the session, PwC reiterated its findings that more than seven in 10 holidaymakers are looking to spend at least as much on their 2024 travel as they did in 2023, first revealed at September’s Agenda 2023 briefing in partnership with TTG.
But PwC partner of Strategy&, Eleanor Scott, noted how the survey had captured "a really big increase in those that don’t know what they’re going to do for holidays next year"; she pointed to the 15% who said they didn’t know where their direction of holiday spend would go in 2024, and the 20% who said they have not yet decided where they plan to go.
Sustainability was another issue PwC found to be impacting holiday plans, particularly among younger consumers, with the experience of travel currently outweighing sustainability considerations for almost half of travellers, while many others said they were not willing to pay more for “sustainable holiday options”.
More than half of the consumers surveyed (57%) by PwC said sustainability issues had impacted their holiday plans. A deeper dive, though, revealed that just 14% said that a nod to sustainability issues had changed how far they travel, while 13% said it changed how often they travelled.
Less than one in ten said it changed the method of transport they used, while only 8% said they chose holiday providers with “good sustainability credentials”.
Age demographics also affected the findings, the research revealed, with older travellers (those aged 45 and over) stating sustainability issues had not impacted their holiday plans, with a third stating they didn’t see this doing so in the future.
By contrast, the majority of those aged 44 or under said sustainability impacted their holiday considerations.
A snap poll saw 61% of Abta delegates say they anticipated revenues climbing "somewhat" this year compared with 2023, with no one in the room stating they foresaw revenue being significantly lower.
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