Industry falls short in managing customer expectations when booking travel

April 1st 2022

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Toluna Research conducted for global technology company, Travelport, has revealed that the 2,000 respondents from seven countries included in the survey would give up their favorite leisure activities for six months or longer if it meant they could travel. Read More »

The survey reported 71% of respondents would forgo concerts, 64% would stop buying clothes, 63% would give up spa treatments, 60% would skip the cinema, 53% would not play sports and 36% would not dine at restaurants

“While the last two plus years have been a significant challenge, the global travel industry recovered more than 50% of its gross activity by the end of 2021,” Travelport Chief Marketing Officer, Jen Catto, said. “Should this trend continue along the same trajectory, it could reach 85% recovery by year-end.

“Pent-up desire to travel is strong. Our latest survey findings clearly demonstrate this, highlighting the many indulgences people are willing to sacrifice to travel again.”

But a notable customer experience gap emerged in the study between the high degree of enjoyment respondents experience from a holiday and the frustration they experience when booking that very same trip.

About 43% of U.S. respondents, the largest travel region, do not find booking travel enjoyable, but 95% of that same group enjoy being on holiday. Globally, travel was ranked as the number one most enjoyable activity by those surveyed.

But when it came to ease in shopping for travel, the industry dropped to the number four spot, trailing the clothing, restaurant and electronics sectors. And this is not just a generational issue. Twenty five per cent of Gen Z respondents described the complexity of searching, comparing and booking travel offers as not fun.

On average, potential travelers visit 38 websites before booking travel. Other industries have steamed ahead of the travel sector with the simplicity and innovation of their online services, evolving with the sophisticated expectations and shifting perceptions of their customers over time.