Innovation We offer start-ups wide exposure
“Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality is another trend we are looking at closely. With travel, experience can drive planning. If we can convey the flavour of an experience travellers can have it could be an important part of the toolkit brands can use to inspire journeys.” Pavan says: “We try to be as agile as possible – with quick responses, quick decisions and rational prioritising. “The challenge is to bring technology
in concretely, to integrate it with our or our customers’ technology. We work with customers in all sectors, in all market regions. We can offer start-ups wide exposure.”
Blockchain could bring benefits It is “impossible” not to look at blockchain, says Pavan, “because it is driving so much hype”. “We believe it could present many opportunities. The travel ecosystem has many different players constantly exchanging information across different touchpoints, creating flows behind the scenes. “We are still in exploration mode, keeping
a close eye on how blockchain is evolving and testing different approaches through prototypes and collaboration with third parties. “We have identified a few areas where
blockchain can bring benefits. Identity verification is definitely one area. Blockchain can improve the way travellers go through the ID process through the touchpoints of a journey. You could use it to create a more
FIGURE 36: %
ACCOMMODATION BOOKINGS
10 20 30 40 50
0
% of turnover, enterprises with 10-plus staff, 2017
E-COMMERCE %
10 20 30 40 50
0
% of turnover, enterprises with 10-plus staff, 2017
32 | Travel Weekly Europe Report 2018 EU
Germany France Italy UK
Spain Greece Croatia Portugal Austria
Netherlands Source: Eurostat
TOTAL E-COMMERCE SALES
RATES of e-commerce accommodation bookings are more than double the overall rate of e-commerce in
some EU markets and higher almost everywhere, with the exception of Greece (Figure 36).
seamless process and to ensure all data is under the control of the traveller. “A second area is loyalty, where we see
blockchain improving the interoperability of loyalty schemes. You can exchange points between loyalty programmes today, but the process is manual and lengthy. “We’re also exploring the area of bag
tracking. We’ve built an internal prototype to see whether blockchain could improve the way actors communicate and exchange information when baggage is lost. “We’re looking as well at applications in
payment – how blockchain could streamline payment flows and improve settlement, especially for international payments. “Almost every week we have someone bring a new area to explore. The key is to focus on where blockchain can bring value rather than try to reinvent all the processes we have today. We’re at an early stage. The technology is very immature. Probably new challenges will emerge and it will require significant commitment of resources.” But Pavan also sees several factors
potentially limiting blockchain applications in travel. First, she says: “There is a need to understand current travel processes. Second, it’s important to have strong collaboration between different partners. “Third, scalability is a big question mark. We
don’t know how the technology will behave when we increase the volume of transactions. If we talk about payment applications, the transaction volume will be high and impact resolution times. The capacity to process transactions in real time is not there [at present]. This is a limitation that will need to be solved before there is wider adoption.” She suggests: “It will take some time.” Pavan adds: “Another challenge is cost. Blockchain claims to help companies reduce the costs from intermediaries and inefficiencies, but there are significant costs to processing and to integrating technology that is not proven. There are a lot of question marks [against Blockchain] on cost and environmental grounds. The proof-of-work mechanics behind the concept require more and more computer power [and] a lot of energy.”
Germany France Italy UK
Spain
Greece Croatia Portugal Austria
Netherlands
29% 25% 28% 28% 42% 45% 2%
34% 40% 17% 33%
TOTAL E-COMMERCE SALES �
TW EURO CHART 7A 2 LINKED BAR CHARTS – each of 11 bars, using colours as previously NB addition of GREECE, CROATIA. NETHERLAND AUSTRIA, PORTUGAL
Country order repeats in both charts
E-COMMERCE ACCOMMODATION BOOKINGS % of turnover, enterprises with 10-plus staff, 201 EU
25%
29% 28%
28% 42% 45% 2% 34% 40% 17% 33% 10% 4% 11% 16%
14% 15%
18% 19% 18%
16%
21%
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