Despite rocketing mobile adoption, its use among agencies remains limited
Abacus International
Robert Bailey, CEO
What are the latest trends in mobile?
Demand is currently ahead of supply. Adoption rates of smartphones and tablets are soaring among Asia-Pacific consumers. However, Abacus’ recent Corporate Travel Practices Survey for the region showed that only a third had implemented any mobile web or native applications for these devices, leading with a simple mobile itinerary tool. This disconnect was also seen in our Online Travel Poll, which included leisure agencies as well: only 35 per cent had created a mobile web or native app for smartphones.
Customers now want to plan their travel anywhere and at any time. They expect to continue their content journey from their PC and laptop to their tablet and mobile.
What are agencies in Asia using mobile for?
Primarily to gain access 24/7 to travel content and booking so that they can service their customers wherever they are, outside office hours.
In which part of the agency workflow is mobile most needed today?
Already proving their worth in connecting to customers around the clock, if travel is disrupted, these mobile tools become invaluable. Agencies need to push mobile, not wait to be asked. Whoever secures the loyalty of the end-user with the technology steals a march on the competition. There’s a significant early mover advantage in mobile.
In which stage of the passenger’s journey is mobile most lacking?
Mobile is lacking when two elements of travel converge: travellers want to change their plans and Wi-Fi is out of reach. They struggle to amend their itineraries remotely today and where they can access their options, they get caught with data roaming charges.The preference is still to call the agency to make changes to the plan at this point.
What mobile products have you launched recently or will be launching soon?
Abacus’ Mobility Suite is built on HTML5, allowing it to work on any device and enabling the service to scale. The following products are part of the suite.
• Abacus WebStart is a zero-investment, low-maintenance, white-label Internet booking engine for agencies. It offers transaction capabilities across all mobile devices and complete fulfilment process with auto pricing and ticketing.
• Abacus VirtuallyThere is a travel management service for travellers, accessible on the desktop and mobile devices.
We hope to make an announcement in the new year regarding a step change in mobile provision in this region.
“The challenge in using mobile lies in the complexity of our products, especially for packages and group tours, as some processes may still be offline. Also, screen sizes are limited, while product features, reservation procedures and T&Cs are lengthy. That explains why most of the time mobile apps are workable for only simple single products like tickets or hotels.”
Royanto Handaya, president director, Panorama Tours Indonesia
“While smartphone users may use our flight app to execute a primary search for airfares, the percentage who actually books a flight lags as there are challenges in accurately inputting a significant amount of personal details via a fairly small screen and restricted keyboard, especially when a thousand-over dollar air ticket is at stake. For now, our flight app serves to complement our existing channels.”
Jane Chang, marketing and communications manager, Chan Brothers Travel Singapore
Amadeus
Bruno des Fontaines, Vice president, customer solutions group, Asia-Pacific
What are the latest trends in mobile?
We are seeing an exponential growth of mobile within the travel industry. According to Amadeus’ recent white paper, in Asia-Pacific, 40 per cent of business travellers and 25 per cent of leisure travellers routinely use mobile for travel-related arrangements and bookings. PhoCusWright also predicts that mobile travel sales will grow to US$36.6 billion this year (up from just US$6.8 billion in 2011), and estimates that one in five travellers will book via mobile in 2014.
Looking ahead, location-based services, mobile payments, movement tracking and near field communication technology are just some of the exciting developments we expect will emerge over the next three to five years.
What are agencies in Asia using mobile for?
Travel agencies in the region that currently provide mobile services are usually the bigger players in the market who tend to focus on the search and booking process. Moreover, many of these offerings are just extensions of existing online platforms.
In which part of the agency workflow is mobile most needed today?
Many travel consultants today need to be able to work anytime from anywhere and on any device. In addition, travel is often subject to unpredictable circumstances, so consultants need to be able to react quickly. That is why Amadeus has taken solutions such as the Amadeus Travel Office Manager mid-office system and extended it to mobile.
In which stage of the passenger’s journey is mobile most lacking?
Pre-departure and during the journey. Travel agencies can keep travellers up to date on flight, itinerary and destination information right up to the departure lounge. There is also strong potential for mobile to enable intelligent recommendation. Offering destination-based content enhances the ability for the traveller to navigate the location and provides travel agencies a natural way to extend traveller interaction. Our research also suggests a strong market for mobile devices as travel reconnaissance tools.
What mobile products have you launched recently or will be launching soon?
• Amadeus Mobile Traveller offers a 360-degree travel experience, supporting pre-trip, in-trip and post-trip needs. The application allows travellers to plan and book trips, check itinerary and flight status, access destination information and through social media integration, share their experiences.
• Amadeus Mobile Access is the smartphone and tablet version of Amadeus Selling Platform, providing a browser-based mobile device reservation solution.
• e-Travel Management Mobile allows business travellers and corporate travel managers to complete travel-related activities and bookings on the move.
“We have our own branded mobile app which displays itinerary, flight status, airport and weather information. However, the Philippine travel industry has been slow to adapt. Slow Internet connection is part of the problem; not all users have data plans, preferring to rely on SMS instead, while not all phones can display rich content.”
Tina Cortez, president, FCm Travel Solutions Philippines
“There is a lack of mobile apps in India for travel consultants for either operations or sales. We do use some for quick updates on prices, but there is no payment interface used with clients at this time. The mobile interfaces for travel agencies and hotels are limited. Airlines fare better in this area. Clients are also hesitant to transact online due to the lack of assurance of safety and confidentiality.”
Sajan K Gupta, managing director, Vayu Seva Tours and Travels India
Travelport
Patrick Andres, Vice president and regional managing director, Asia-Pacific
What are the latest trends in mobile?
More than half of all leisure travellers and nearly three in four business travellers who may mix business and leisure now own a smartphone, according to an analysis of mobile travellers’ behaviour from PhoCusWright. This number is increasing.
These new ‘digital travellers’ rely on mobile travel solutions before and during their journey. They expect to be able to receive relevant information throughout their trip and to share activities through social media sites on multiple devices. This desire to share information, and a greater reliance on recommendations by friends and family, is one of the biggest trends in mobile.
What are agencies in Asia using mobile for?
There is demand for speed and value-added services by customers, and this has encouraged travel agencies to improve their servicing ability. We see a surge of requests, especially from corporate-focused agencies requesting GDS access via smartphones or tablets.
In which part of the agency workflow is mobile most needed today?
Agencies must embrace technology – mobile formats and app integration – that reduces the time it takes to inform and support the traveller. According to a recent Travelport white paper, agencies can spend up to an hour or more aggregating and sending information to customers. There is a need for solutions to make them more productive.
In which stage of the passenger’s journey is mobile most lacking?
Travellers want the ability to make trip changes when necessary, so the need for agencies to access working tools on mobile becomes crucial in order to provide 24/7 service. Travelport’s research has also revealed that many travellers would like basic messaging, such as reminder texts about travel times. In addition, they expressed interest in more information while travelling, such as information about tourist attractions and events at their destination or local amenities via mobile phones.
What mobile products have you launched recently or will be launching soon?
• Travelport Mobile Agent enables agencies to access and modify bookings via their iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or Android devices. It was launched in Asia a few months ago.
• Travelport ViewTrip Mobile works with the Travelport ViewTrip online itinerary website, pushing itineraries to consumers’ mobile devices, offering itinerary management, service and support across various travel stages.
• GalileoTerminal is a unique application for accessing the Galileo and Apollo GDS using a standard Internet browser or iPad. Launched last November in selected Asia-Pacific markets, it is being rolled out progressively.
“Having to re-educate customers about the services we can offer as a travel agency is one of the key challenges. These platforms make everything so easy and fast for customers that they are surprised when we tell them we can book and hold an air ticket for them with no charge. Our staff process these bookings, but we still emphasise contact with customers by email or phone to make sure they are happy with their booking.”
Tom Bishop, managing director, DTC Travel Thailand
This article was first published in TTG Asia, November 29 – December 12, 2013 issue, on page 14. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
