Travel firms challenged to better represent their client bases

Travel businesses have been challenged to better represent their customer base not just to become more inclusive and diverse but also for commercial gain.

Alessandra LoTufo Alonso, who runs social enterprise Women in Travel, made the case for companies to review their recruitment as a way to tap into growing markets such as solo women travellers over 50, clients with accessible needs and the Halal market.

She told Atio travel companies that consumers were more likely to book with a travel firm if they felt represented and understood by the company.

Changes in the age, background and demographic of consumers looking to travel meant the industry should be looking at its customers in a different way than in the past, she argued.

She said: “If you think about your customer and how your customers have evolved, people who come to you are not necessarily the ones who came to you five years ago.

“Do we represent as an industry everybody who is out there, the communities we serve and the destinations we go to?

“Representation matters because by not representing our community and the people we serve we are losing money on the table. I am not just making an ethical and moral case for inclusion I am actually making a hard commercial case for inclusion.”

She added companies should not assume “the human connection” would happen and lead to a sale unless customers and staff “meet and feel like they belong”.

“It’s not just about people, it’s about which people. You can look at your recruitment strategy and your awareness of diversity and inclusion and make sure you consider all the customers because your customers are in your thoughts when you develop your itineraries,” she stressed.