Tired of being just another number when you’re out on the road for business? You’re not alone. Today’s travellers want to travel the world on their terms, enjoy unique experiences tailored to their priorities and want to take control of their own itineraries.
Business travellers expect to be seen as individuals and want to receive information and offers built on their preferences, delivered in a timely manner to their device of choice. And with the advent of social media, their needs are more transparent than they’ve ever been so they expect to be understood and catered for.
A personalised experience and personal service when travelling is one of the top motivators for business travellers in South Africa. And they are more than willing to share information about themselves to ensure that their travel experience is customised to meet their needs and preferences.
The message for travel companies in South Africa is the better they know their traveller, the more tailored service they can provide to meet their customer’s increasing demand for personalisation. This demand is not just being seen among the Millennial generation. Generation X business travellers are even more demanding than their Millennial counterparts when it comes to personalised service.
And these demands include touching the customer 24/7 by phone and email; offering expert knowledge and advice as customers become overwhelmed by the extent of information on the internet; knowing their individual preferences and tailoring experiences to suit these; making personal recommendations based on knowledge of the traveller; and enabling travellers to have control over their itineraries.
Customisation is already influencing the world of travel, especially in the online space. With the wealth of data being collected about your business travel habits and preferences, it is no longer acceptable not to know your traveller and their needs.
ASATA Travel Agents and TMCs are uniquely positioned, as the travel expert that engages directly with you, to offer personalised, relevant and predictive options for business travellers.
They are able to collect and interpret information from each customer transaction and can use this data to personalise your travel experience. Knowing your travel preferences, your ASATA travel agent can help you plan your travel autonomously and surprise you every time you pack those bags and hit the road.
Otto de Vries
ASATA CEO