Technology is key to making travel experience better: Amadeus

A new report from Amadeus has found that despite the encouraging traveller volumes seen in many markets in 2024, travellers continue to be impacted by a range of frustrations while on a journey.

Amadeus’ Friction Removed study reports that while delays, planning, cost and the airport experience are among the top concerns, there is no single cause of distress, with each traveller experiencing friction differently.

Top causes of U.S. travellers’ distress and concern include:

• Dealing with delays/cancellations (68%)
• The combined cost of traveling (50%)
• Coordinating travel between multiple people (47%)
• Navigating security and border control at an airport (46%)
• Finding suitable accommodations (38%)

When segmented by type of traveller, business travellers generally experienced more friction than those travelling for leisure.

For example, higher numbers of business travellers cite comparing prices across sites (44% against 39%), understanding fees and taxes (42% against 36%), and finding suitable accommodation options (45% against 33%) more distressing than leisure travellers.

Further differences were identified when comparing different age demographics, income levels and familiarity with traveling.

For example, a surprising 49% of Gen Z travellers said finding the correct routes and schedule for a trip is distressing, compared to only 35% of those aged 65+.

One thing that the report made clear is that technology can have the biggest impact in overcoming the gaps that currently exist in the traveller experience.

When asked how helpful technology is at reducing travel-related distress, mobile apps for planning (89%), automatic rebooking for delays, digital bag tracking tags, integrated travel booking across airlines and hotels, and fully digital identification and travel documents (all 86%) were cited as useful by most travellers.

Rajiv Rajian, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Americas, Travel, Amadeus, observed: “We are focused on making the travel experience better for everyone, everywhere. By delving deeper into the root causes of U.S. traveller frustrations, we can explore ways to overcome them, and technology has a big part to play.”

Rajian continued: “Whether it is biometrics, mobile apps, digital traveler identification, disruption management, or other applications, we believe there are opportunities to deploy technology to further relieve distress and create more seamless journeys.”

And while technology is important, so is the human touch. The Friction Removed research highlighted a number of situations where travellers want more human interaction.

Leisure travellers sought the human touch at:

• Airport security and border control (44%)
• Hotel and accommodation check-in and check-out (43%)

Leisure travellers also see a significant role for human input when it comes to planning almost any type of journey, led by:

• Family trips (where 47% of respondents want more human interaction)
• Accessibility-focused trips (47%)
• Cruise (46%)
• Solo (43%)
• Group (40%)

Robert Buckman, Senior Vice President, Solution Consulting, Amadeus, said: “Technology can make a significant impact in overcoming travel friction and remains our unwavering mission. Amadeus’ move to the cloud enables greater collaboration around innovation focused on improving the end-to-end traveller experience.”

And Buckman pointed out: “By innovating with our customers and partners – including airports, hoteliers, travel sellers, airlines, payments and corporations – and leveraging data orchestration across the trip lifecycle, together we can help breakdown silos across the travel ecosystem that today often stand in the way of seamless travel experiences.”

Go to www.amadeus.com for more.