NEWS — TRAVEL NETWORK CONFERENCE
The Travel Network Group, which includes Worldchoice, TTA and ITE, held its annual conference this week. SAMANTHA MAYLING reports from Split, Croatia
Travel industry losing its sex appeal – Barrass
Recruiting the right people into travel is becoming harder as the industry is “not as sexy” as it was 15 years ago. That was the claim of Steve
Barrass, managing director of Gold Medal Travel Group, during a panel debate at The Travel Network Group conference. Reflecting on the ‘Obsession’ theme of the conference, he told attendees that Gold Medal was obsessed with “cash, service and people”.
His comments came in response to a question about the future, and he said Gold Medal wanted to invest in the right people and attract the right talent, but that
encouraging the right people into travel was harder. Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises managing director for the UK and Ireland, said her company’s plans included investing in its trade partners, and finding affluent customers “who want to pay for the finer things in life”. She said installing
Wi-Fi on ships was a “challenge”, and noted that some people like to be Wi-Fi-free. She also noted that customers still used brochures to research trips.
“There
Simon Ferguson, Travelport managing director for the UK and Ireland, said the future for the GDS operator was to develop new and different types of content.
will be 485 million people
using wearable computing devices by 2018”
He also flagged up wider technology trends that will affect agents, such as wearable computing devices and social media. “There will be 485
million wearable computing
devices by 2018,” he said. “And we’ve seen the opening of the first ‘Instagram hotel’, in Sydney.” ❯ Letters, page 34
Online data: ‘Use technology to predict clients’ behaviour’
As many as 99% of people leave a website without booking but leave lots of information behind, according to Andy Owen Jones, co-founder and chief executive of bd4travel (Big Data for Travel). He told agents at The Travel
Network Group conference that they can use technology to replicate the shopping experience seen on sites such as Amazon or Netflix, where browsers are offered relevant
options that they may like. Owen Jones told delegates:
“If you analyse a lot of data, behaviour can be predicted. Customers can tell you a huge amount by how they act. “Predictive technology is like
talking to your favourite, all- knowing, instant travel agent.” In his speech, entitled ‘The
Power of Prediction’, he said technology can follow people’s behaviour and searches online,
then build the ‘User DNA’, reflecting what that person wants from a holiday. “You can pull up holiday ideas
that are appropriate for them just from their clicks, even if they do not book. You need to get clients to focus on their interests and the suitability of a hotel.” He also suggested agencies
offer free Wi-Fi in store so agents can see what customers had been browsing.
Future-looking in Split:
Steve Barrass (left), Gold Medal; Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises; and
Simon Ferguson, Travelport
Social media: ‘Regular blogs boost your SEO’
Writing regular blogs will boost agency website SEO rankings, attendees heard at The Travel Network Conference in Split.
Adrian Johnson, managing
director and founder of Leeds-based social media agency Umpf, said: “From an SEO point of view, writing fresh, relevant content on a blog will help your website boost its rankings.” He suggested blogs should be at least 300-400 words, and said lists could generate a “massive upswing”. Johnson also recommended
agents ask followers to comment on travel articles in the weekend papers, and write about destinations, restaurants and fam trips. He advised drawing up a
content plan, and breaking it into manageable chunks, such as one theme a day, or three or four a week. Johnson cited the success that Laura Featonby, of Independent Travel Experts, had had with social media in generating sales.
9 October 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 13
TRAVEL NETWORK CONFERENCE
PHOTOS: STEVE DUNLOP
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