What we learnt about the Future of Travel

Last week members of the Llama herd attended the latest of Travel Weekly’s popular Future of Travel conferences, held on this occasion in Google’s impressive London HQ. 

Big hitters from across the UK travel industry, with senior executives and leaders from cruise, aviation, tour operating, online travel, ancillary services and high street travel agencies were present, from Jet 2 to Princess Cruises, from Booking.com to Travel Counsellors. That much is normal – the event has established itself as a ‘must go’ in travel’s busy conference calendar. But what was striking was the upbeat mood in the room, and the positive sentiment of the sessions. 

There’s no need to dwell on the turbulence of the last three years – as Kirsten Hughes of Travel Counsellors said during her session alongside Jacqueline Dobson of Barrhead Travel on Market Outlook, there have been times as recently as this summer when it’s all felt a bit much. But as keynote speaker Lord Digby Jones reminded the audience, the industry is still here, and it is its remarkable resilience in the face of adversity which makes it unique. 

But apart from the positive mood, what were the key take outs of the day, through a marketing lens? The rediscovery of the value of the travel agent which has characterised the post-Covid recovery isn’t diminishing, with all the major retailers present talking about reopening shops and recruiting more staff. Homeworking, particularly, is blowing up. Clearly, the trade is having a moment in the spotlight, and showed its value again in the summer in the face of yet more disruption. Brands should be thinking seriously about how they maximise the opportunity in both their marketing and distribution strategies.   

However, online isn’t looking back. Chris Photi of White Hart Associates forecast that Booking will hold the biggest ATOL licence in the UK within five years (overtaking current holders TUI), and Google’s demonstration of the potential of generative AI to enhance a brand’s analytical capabilities and operational productivity drew several collective gasps from the audience. As a tool for marketers – to analyse marketing efficiency, create engaging content, and empower us to understand and engage with customers to a greater degree than ever before - we were reminded of its game-changing capabilities. But the technology is still in its relative infancy. 

The message from the speakers was clear: we’re taking off on ‘next leap forward’ in terms of the power of technology to change travel, but don’t write off the human just yet.