Amadeus Presents Emerging Traveler Trends to Greek Professionals

Monica Clemente, Senior Manager, Innovations and Ventures of Amadeus IT Group, the “Digi.travel Conference & Expo” event in Athens.

Some 200 Greek tourism and travel professionals recently had the opportunity to gain insight on emerging traveler trends based on key findings from the Amadeus Traveller Trend Observatory (ATTO). Amadeus is a leading technology partner for the global travel industry.

Speaking during the Digi.travel Conference & Expo event in Athens, Monica Clemente, Senior Manager, Innovations and Ventures of Amadeus IT Group, gave a very interesting speech and presentation on how three different types of travellers are articulating different travel expectations.

Next Generation (NextGen) Travellers

According to the ATTO research, NextGen Travellers in the 18 – 30 year old age group, express an interest in affordable yet unique experiences.

“They want to have experiences but experiences that do not cost much”, Ms Clemente underlined.

“In the past this was a challenge but now this is not the case. Budgets and experiences are not opposite each other anymore… now thanks to a certain economy (the sharing economy) this is more and more of a possibility.”

A second concept of the NextGen Travellers is that they are “smart consumers”.

These travellers always have Internet and are 24/7 connected, so this makes them the most empowered and they feel they are able to make their own choices and decisions for their travel.

“That’s why it becomes more and more challenging to provide solutions for these people. Always connected means that when they are looking for a destination they look for the best offers… By looking at these people we are, in a way, looking at the consumer of the future as they are trend setters”, Ms Clemente said.

Active Senior Travellers

On the other hand, Active Seniors in the 60+ age range desire “controlled-adventure” and safe travel experiences.

According to Ms Clemente, more and more, active seniors want to have many different experiences.

“Not all active seniors are equal. Each one can have a different understanding of what exploration means and this means that we have to find their likes in order to provide them with the right travel package. So the concept of controlled-adventure is that they want to explore safely.”

Active seniors are also in need of “trustworthy relationships” which relates to the concept of service.

“They want to be supported and support is not only making their booking. In many cases they have done their own research and they want confirmation from the experts that they have done the right research. But they also want support during the different stages of their travel in case something goes wrong. So human interaction is very important to them.”

Corporate Citizen Travellers

Corporate Citizens, who are frequent business travellers, want spontaneous experiences personalised to their needs.

The ATTO research shows that Corporate Citizens are big fans of people who listen. They value when their preferences, requirements, likes and dislikes are remembered when they travel so that they can efficiently manage their travel options. A degree of flexibility for them to tailor their experiences is key.

Also, efficiency — from both a time and cost perspective — is very important to the Corporate Citizen travellers’ needs and expectations.

According to the Amadeus report, Corporate Citizen travellers are empowered by technology and social media to make quick, cost conscious decisions that can help them and their organisations drive cost efficiencies.

“They look for a one stop shop, where search, booking and management can all be handled”, the report says.

To learn more about the three types of travelers, visit Amadeus Traveller Trend Observatory.

The Amadeus Traveller Trend Observatory monitors trends impacting the travel industry, including big data, the Internet of things, wearables, bio-sensors, and how all of these technological improvements can better serve the purpose of travel personalisation. It also closely monitors the sharing economy and the shift that it has represented in the consumer mind-set, which places an importance on having memorable experiences rather than owning things.

Amadeus Hellas was the platinum sponsor at the “Digi.travel Conference & Expo” event, which took place 17-18 November in Athens.