Driverless cars trend


N The panel discussed technology’s place in travel


ew autonomous vehicle sightseeing brand Autoura was among


startup ventures exhibiting at Travel Forward.


Chief executive Alex Bainbridge said driverless cars were another innovation to aff ect the industry, following the internet, mobile and social media.


Itineraries can now be digitally designed and delivered, taking into account customer needs and preferences, he said.


‘Invest in tech to appeal to millennial travellers’


T


echnology investment is a must in order to future-proof travel businesses to millennial


demands, a Travel orward panel of experts concluded.


Moderator iona Mulliner, ondon  artners campaigns director, asked panellists which market their businesses where targeting. ari air, Expedia roup Media olutions’ global senior vice-president, said Expedia is using a million data points to market to millennials.


They travel often and want to go further afi eld. They want to have unique experiences and go off the beaten track. They are also impatient. We’ve seen a 0 drop in conversions if one of our webpages takes more than two seconds to load. Nair explained companies must cater to evolving needs without being a nuisance, sharing details of an Expedia project in conjunction with the o awaii tourism board. This involved the use of facial recognition technology through the laptop camera, which tracked viewers’ reactions when watching a destination video produced by the tourism board.


t the end of the video, the client 12 wtm insights winter 2018


would be presented with a unique itinerary based on their reactions. s a result, conversion rates for awaii were 10 up, said air. Turning to virtual reality , Mulliner asked if it presented an opportunity or a challenge for the industry. Tom alentine, co-founder of ecret Escapes, advised It’s another tool to diff erentiate yourself as a business. We did a cool thing with oogle ardboard, which allowed people to experience Machu icchu in eru using . If you can get a client to understand a destination better, then it will be easier to sell.


Mulliner closed the session by asking how travel companies could future-proof their businesses. Nair advised companies to embrace change in order to thrive and said Travel orward’s inclusion at WTM ondon says a lot about how the travel and technology sectors needed to work closer together.


Travel Forward London will return in 2019, part of WTM


s a travel agent, if you have a customer who, on visiting ondon, wants to go fashion shopping, enjoy a meal at a nice restaurant and then wants tickets for a show at the theatre, the autonomous vehicle can execute a route for them that you have pre-designed.


“No longer does the customer have to hope that they can navigate to a cross on a map given to them ahead of time or by a hotel concierge.


Instead, the vehicle handles all local navigation and ensures the customer is delivered to the right place at the right time. If you work at the luxury end of the market, this capability to personalise experiences for your customers will be very empowering. British taxi and transfer company ddison ee intends to have autonomous vehicles by 2021 in London and new entrants such as ber, yft, oogle, pple, ord and eneral Motors are setting up autonomous vehicle services to compete with traditional sightseeing operators. Bainbridge said Autoura could help existing traditional companies and travel agents transition into autonomous vehicle sightseeing. If you as a customer have a choice between a hop-on, hop-off bus that is shared with many other families and a private autonomous shuttle just for your family, which takes a personalised route based on your preferences, you are likely to choose the autonomous shuttle option, he said.


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