Business travel agencies around the world are showing a "strong appetite" for technology investment, with 91 per cent planning at least "moderate" technology investment in their business this year, according to an Amadeus-commissioned survey of 150 agency leaders across ten countries including France, Germany, the UK and USA.
The research, an industry-specific breakout of Amadeus' Travel Technology Investment Trends study, released last month, showed that business travel agencies in Latin America and Africa have the most extensive technology investment plans, with 59 per cent of agencies in Latin America and 62 per cent in Africa indicating they would invest "aggressively" in technology.
The survey was conducted by market research agency Opinium in the fourth quarter of 2023.
More than two-thirds of business travel agencies plan to increase their investment in technology this year compared with the previous year, with an average investment increase of 13 per cent, according to Amadeus. In Latin America, however, that average planned increase is 16 per cent.
Machine learning is one of the key areas of investments for business travel agencies globally, with 42 per cent deeming it an important investment over the next 12 months and 49 per cent indicating it would be an important investment over the next five years – the highest percentage of any technology for either time period.
Data analytics, generative AI, digital payments and cloud computing made up the rest of the top five most important investments in the near term; the list for five years out was similar, with extended reality and API-driven innovation replacing cloud computing and data analytics.
The survey also indicated that about half of respondent agencies have made some of the key preparations for managing New Distribution Capability content. Fifty-four per cent said they had trained their team for NDC, 49 per cent said they have access to a "wide range" of airline NDC content and 48 per cent said they have invested to be able to operate with both EDIFACT and NDC in the coming years. A smaller proportion, 41 per cent, said that they had updated mid- and back-office systems for NDC, according to Amadeus.
"Business travel agencies have demonstrated a driving ambition to invest to meet the evolving traveller and market needs. Many are looking to spend significantly more in 2024, adding technology and capabilities to build further end-to-end experiences for passengers, drive more value and highlight sustainability criteria," said Elena Avila, EVP travel distribution at Amadeus.
"It continues to be key for business travel agencies to have access to the relevant content to differentiate by offering business travellers personalised yet simpler trips. Also driving revenue through the ability to manage ‘blended travel’ trips, book additional products such as meetings, transfers, cars and rail is a high priority to fully be able to deliver on the end-to-end experience. In addition, realising the benefits of NDC technology continues to be top of mind for many – and this is an area where progress is accelerating."