Internet Spawns a New Breed of Traveler

(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com - Nov 21, 2009) -- While many industry watchers conjecture that the Internet will take over the traditional travel industry with online booking engine companies, more than 75% of the 2700+ travel industry respondents to a new travel industry study believe travelers want personal service and won't all be booking online.

According to the new research, conducted by Amadeus, what the Internet is doing is producing increasingly well-informed travelers who do significant online research before they book a trip. These travelers also share their personal travel expertise through blogs, discussion forums, social networking sites like Facebook and personal travel reviews found at sites like TripAdvisor. Some report their experiences on-the-fly via their Blackberry or nearby Internet Cafe. This emerging segment, dubbed the "Amateur-Expert Traveler," is more knowledgeable, more adventurous and more likely to thrive in an emerging economy than ever before, Amadeus says.

The Amateur-Expert Traveler segment is having a profound impact on the travel industry because of its greater travel knowledge and higher expectations. And while dealing with an increasingly savvy and literate traveler may sound daunting to some travel professionals, seventy-three percent of the industry respondents surveyed welcomed the greater knowledge brought by these travelers who share their knowledge through user-generated Internet content:  It also creates new opportunities for travel agents to network online and share their own expertise with these increasingly adventurous travelers.

The study, that surveyed more than 2700 travel industry professionals and 30 thought-leaders and senior excutives, also finds that the more of the world becomes accessible, travellers will still need and seek the customer service and human interaction of traditional travel sellers to "help find that vacation that’s just a little bit more interesting." 

The study identifies three other significant developments:

The Responsive Journey: The journey experience is ripe for technological innovation as the mobile Internet gives rise to massive innovation around the trip itself. Case in point: Some hotel companies are already incorporating WiFi, email and twitter into their customer relationship management systems like boutique hotel chain Klimpton does in this story. 

The Importance of Niche Travel Revenue Streams: The traditional 80/20 rule for revenue distribution no longer applies to more than 1/3 of respondents who indicated that over 80% of their revenues was contributed by 60% or more of their products rather than just 20% of travel products sold. Further, based on the profile of the new the Amateur-Expert Traveler, not surprisingly 83% of those surveyed identified adventure travel as key growth areas for specialist holidays. Diving and snorkeling are obvious and important components of the larger adventure travel segment.

Emerging Travelers from Brazil, Russia, India and China: Successful travel companies and destination marketers will need to keep in mind that the economic growth in the BRIC economies means that vacationers will increasingly be more likely to come from Brazil, Russia, India and China. Understanding travel preferences and cultural differences of serving a Brazilian or Chinese traveler will become as important as understanding those of a European or North American vacationer. Case in Point: The Bahamas is already targeting Brazilian divers in a recent tourism promotion.

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