AMMAN, Jordan and MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov.
6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New online research by
Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), the leading global
travel technology provider, has revealed that 59% percent
of Middle Eastern adults would pay between $101 - $500 on
extras that personalize their travel journeys. The report also
provided insight into the pain points, trends and opportunities for
the Middle Eastern travel industry.
The ancillary retail opportunity
The research
highlighted a significant retail opportunity for travel
providers of the 3,090 people surveyed, where 52% would be
prepared to spend between $101 -
$500 on top of the basic costs
for a customized experience if they were to purchase flight or
hotel accommodation abroad. For airlines, this is
significantly higher than the current $21 per passenger spend on ancillaries
(CarTrawler 2018 – based on IATA data).
"To align with today's travelers, airlines, hotels, travel
agencies and even corporate buyers must think and behave like true
retailers," said Salman Syed, vice
president EMEA at Sabre. "They need to analyze consumer behavior
and market data to better target future offers and fulfill as many
traveler's needs as possible. By using intelligent retailing
to provide what travelers want, anywhere, anytime on the device
they wish, travel providers can tap into this huge ancillary
opportunity, driving increased revenue and improving customer
experience to increase loyalty."
Demand for personalization
Consumer expectations and
shopping behaviors are becoming more sophisticated, driven by a
high level of technology and personalized experiences. The travel
industry is no different, and personalization is becoming a demand
rather than an expectation. Sabre's research showed that 43% of
the Middle Eastern adults want personalized travel offerings and
services around their needs, expectations and previous
experiences.
When thinking about what this personalization looks like, the
majority (40%) of those surveyed wanted recommendations based on
their budget, while 30% wanted suggestions of holiday extras
that would be of genuine interest to them when asked what they
would want airlines to do for them in the next 5 years.
In addition to providing a tailormade experience for travelers,
the research showed additional benefits of personalization for
travel providers. 40% surveyed said that they would be
more loyal to an airline or a hotel in return for a personalized
service, while 27% would also be willing to share personal
data (date of birth, social media friends list) for this. This
highlights a need for travel providers to invest in data-harnessing
technology to help understand each traveler's individual needs,
offering each person a customized experience in the right context
at the right time.
Mobile and online travel
Sabre's report showed a
significant opportunity within the online travel space in the
Middle East, as 48% of those
surveyed would look online for travel inspiration for flights or
hotels, which may also be to validate pricing. However, when it
came to purchase, 35% citied reasons such as insecurity around
online payments and a lack of trust in online pricing (29%).
"This suggests that there is a great opportunity for mobile and
online travel, if suppliers can deploy the right technology and
security measures, and thereby increase trust amongst customers,"
continued Syed. "Retailers need to be where travelers are – online
and mobile – and must adopt a seamless, multi-channel sales
strategy."
The study, which compiled insights from 3090 people online
across five countries in the Middle
East (Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, UAE, Jordan and Lebanon) was revealed at Sabre Space Jordan,
an industry event that brought together experts and leaders from
airlines, travel agencies and government officials from across the
Middle East to network and learn
about the latest travel and technology trends.
For more insights, you can download the full report here.
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is the
leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabre's
software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by
hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage
critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations,
revenue management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also
operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more
than US$120 billion of global travel
spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers.
Headquartered in Southlake, Texas,
USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the
world.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total
sample size was 3090 adults in Lebanon, United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia,
Jordan, Kuwait. Fieldwork was undertaken between 7th -
18th October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The
figures have been weighted and are representative of the online
population and have been given an even weighting for each country
to produce an "average" value.
Media Contact:
Fatin
Said
Fatin.Said@sabre.com
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SOURCE Sabre Corporation