big data in travelThe travel industry is ever-changing, and there are plenty of trends and industry fluxes that come and go. Still, one of the most significant and most dramatic changes that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon is the implementation of big data.

Nowadays, people are no strangers to big data and how it’s used in all industries and niches of business, but how has it affected the travel industry, and what does the future look like? In this article, we’re going to find out.

Who Uses Big Data in Travel?

In short, everyone. Big data is used by travel companies all over the world, from flight providers and travel agents to travel-focused websites, bloggers, and search comparison websites. Big data has become the core of how the industry knows what to focus on and what people are after.

Through big data, travel experts and businesses can see the big picture of what’s happening while being able to explain the performance of their niche. For example, a train company can see whether their service is used by locals or tourists more often, thus being able to see how they can switch up their service to provide a better experience, and therefore grow and better themselves.

“In hotel businesses, big data can be used to streamline the creation of hotel discount packages and to provide add-on services that can improve the experience for their customers. The better the customer experience, the more likely they are to grow and succeed,” explains Jason Taylor, a tech writer for Draft Beyond

Improving the Customer Experience

From a business perspective, the more you can offer your customers and the better the experience they have while using your travel services, the more money you’re going to make, and the faster you’re going to grow. However, you can’t invest money in everything with the hopes that something is going to stick.

Instead, companies used big data provided by their customers to see what the trends and patterns are that they can then follow and highlight. Some of the ways companies do this is by looking at a list of past destinations customers have visited, what their future holiday plans are, and what sort of excursions customers are booking.

Businesses can even take this one step further by not just seeing what tours and experiences people are booking, but also what pages they’re looking at and for how long. This way, a company can identify what they need to invest further in, ultimately helping them manage their budgets far better than without the presence of big data.

Improvements to Reputations

Like any industry, reputation differs on a company to company basis, but now using big data, businesses can easily stay in touch, in real-time, with what their customers think about them, and ultimately make improvements to be better in the future.

“This point ties in massively with social media, and it’s so important for companies to check their reviews, their followings, and their ratings with the general public. Nowadays, many people use comparison websites to find the best prices, and no one is going even to consider staying at a one-star hotel before making a booking” shares Nick Donnely, a data scientist for Writinity .

Using big data, companies can find common trends throughout their business to see what they can improve upon, what they can make better, how they can deal with negative experiences better, and then move forward to become the best versions of themselves.

Clever Marketing Opportunities

Marketing is never easy, especially for the most innovative companies who are trying new things and pushing the boundaries of what hasn’t been done before. However, utilizing big data can make things a lot easier to manage and a lot easier to understand.

As most of the comments above, this is all about identifying trends in the market and making the most of these opportunities. You can use these to send things like marketing messages to potential customers at the right time, or improve customer targeting to ensure your ads are being put in the right places where they’ll have the biggest effect and impact.

Moving Forward

We’ve spoken a lot about trends but using this information doesn’t just mean you can solve things happening now. You can also prepare for the future. Market research is essential for the development of a company, and using big data to see where the market is going helps travel companies stay relevant and in the loop.

Ashley Halsey is a professional writer at Gumessays who has been involved in many projects throughout the country. Mother of two children, she enjoys travelling, reading and attending business training courses.