Christopher Evans, Joint CEO of travel services group Collinson, reflects on how the airports industry needs to deliver personalised, end-to-end airport experiences, delivered at the touch of a button, for the traveller of today.
Travel today is constantly changing with both the travel industry and travellers having to deal with ever-shifting regulatory, health, safety and security pressures. This has put even more focus on the need to find ways to reduce the stress of travel, enhance the overall travel experience and bring confidence back to those wary of the additional hurdles now in place.
It’s hard to believe that it is now almost two years since life as we know it was put on hold by COVID-19, through countrywide lockdowns and tight travel restrictions. The new year has brought a glimmer of hope for both the ailing travel sector and travellers alike as governments start to move towards seeing Covid-19 as an endemic disease managed through vaccinations and herd immunity.
With nations worldwide enacting and lifting travel bans, alongside other measures to help contain the COVID-19 outbreak, the world of travel and the way we experience it has fundamentally been altered. And with it, so have travellers’ demands.
It falls on the industry to make travel better, not just safer, despite the incremental steps many will continue to have to take when they travel. So how best to achieve that? The answer to this lies in providing customers with personalised, end-to-end airport experiences and travel services, delivered seamlessly at the click of a button.
Digitally enabling the experience
There are many different factors involved in creating a superior airport experience. Well-crafted digital solutions that place the emphasis on frictionless experiences can dramatically enhance the overall convenience and enjoyment.
Indeed, this is reinforced by recent data; a study by Airport Dimensions surveying more than 6,000 global travellers on their current and future expectations from the airport journey revealed convenience and the role of digital to be clear priorities, with 71% of travellers agreeing that the ability to access airport services using a single app would improve their experience.
An all-in-one app housing every travel service central to the overall airport experience be it lounge access, airport transfer services or duty free shopping, will prove essential to those looking for an enhanced, seamless airport experience.
Diversifying with innovative premium experiences
In today’s travel environment, having access to a relaxing, premium airport lounge is key for travellers – but there are other areas of the travel experience that can also be enhanced. This extends to services over and above those at the airport – whether this is optimising a journey from door-to-door or enabling the pre-ordering of duty free items to be collected at the airport.
For example, the Priority Pass global partnership with CarTrawler launched to enable all members to book airport transfers or car rentals via the Priority Pass app, helping to create a frictionless travel journey beyond the airport, across the globe.
While Covid has shifted priorities, it is clear that the underlying desire for travel remains as strong as ever, with demand spiking as soon as restrictions ease. We have an opportunity to use new innovative approaches to further boost confidence, enhance wellbeing and provide a better overall travel experience, as we get the world travelling again.
*The Moodie Davitt Report recently launched a publication titled Airport Consumer Experience, in association with Airport Dimensions, dedicated to airport guest services and experiences.
To subscribe free of charge please email Kristyn@MoodieDavittReport.com headed ‘Airport Customer Experience’. All stories are permanently archived on the Airport Consumer Experience page on this website.
