Travel technology company Amadeus has identified four ”travel tribes” in its ”Future Traveller Tribes 2020” report. The company”s report suggests airlines will need to harness existing technology to meet the needs of four very different types of traveller who will become increasingly dominant over the coming years.
The emerging economic markets such as China, India and Russia will give rise to a significant increase in global executives. These elite business travellers want the private jet experience, with all the luxury and comfort an airline can provide.
”Cosmopolitan commuters” are another of the four tribes identified in the report, and include the increasing number of individuals who may work in one city but live in another, and may even travel to another country for their working week. These customers will be price sensitive, likely to care about the effect their travel is having on the environment and will require flexibility in their travel arrangements.
Amadeus also highlighted the growing number of ”active senior” travellers, who may take several short trips a year. To meet the needs of this tribe, airlines must harness the possibilities of better medical awareness and service on-board. The call ”is there a doctor on-board?” will no longer be satisfactory with this ever increasing group of travellers, and a doctor should be on-board these flights as standard.
”Global clans” is the fourth tribe in the report, emerging from the increasing immigration around the world. Groups of friends and family visiting loved ones abroad require co-ordinated travel plans and the ability to book as a group, possibly with a discount for doing so.
Amadeus vice president airline business group Frederic Spagnou explained the need for what he called ”the humanisation of technology.” ”The time of one-size-fits-all travel is over,” he said. ”Airlines who don”t decide their strategy and provide personalised services for these growing traveller tribes will lose out. With the intelligent implementation of technology, much of which is around today already, companies can harness their potential more effectively and provide a more comfortable and targeted service for their customers.”