Customers don’t want more choice; customers want what they want.
That was the message from Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer speaking at the Advantage Travel Partners conference in Dubai on Friday.
He said: “In the early days of the internet, it was about offering loads of options, but now customers just want guidance to quickly get to what they want. This is where personalisation comes in – knowing your customer inside out, and it’s also driven by new product, such as being able to contract accommodation direct with the owners, such as through Airbnb.
“This business is now valued at $10billion and is getting into ancillary products as well. It’s successful not just because it’s cutting out the so-called middle man, it’s because it has brought a whole different product to the market.”
Tanzer added: “We’ve already gone through a lot of change and many members have already made the journey. But I think what’s coming is going to be even more intense and it will move everything into another league.”
And he warned: “New players are good but they should pay their taxes, adhere to health and safety regulations and must be regulated…but I don’t think we should try and stop it because it’s a customer demand. We can’t protect our members from change but we can help them anticipate it and adopt strategies to cope with it.”