The travel industry "as we knew it is dead"
Palma de Mallorca, 01 June 2022.- Choosing what we want, how we want it, when and at what price. This equation, simple in concept but complex in materialization, was the pillar of Con-X 22, an international conference organized by TravelgateX that brought together in Mallorca -at the Es Baluard Museum of Contemporary Art- more than 300 CEOs from 45 countries and from the main companies in the global travel industry.
Adapt, Pivot, Grow was the title of this new edition of Con-X, the first after the Covid-19 pandemic. These three concepts perfectly sum up the objective of the event: to identify the challenges that the travel industry will have to take into account in the short and medium term to attract and retain customers from an experiential point of view. Tourism, as we have known it up to now, has already disappeared.
"If we have learned anything in these two years of pandemic and uncertainty is that we must adapt to what the user really wants", explained Pedro Camara - CEO of TravelgateX - and added: "the rules of the game have changed and now the user wants to personalize their trips as much as possible. Our task, as well as that of the companies in the sector, is to be able to offer what they are looking for and/or need".
Personalized travel and user experience
After an introduction by ConX-22's master of ceremonies, Bill O'Connor - founder of The Innovation Genome Project, from Silicon Valley-, the more than 300 attendees were able to enjoy the presentation by Jonathan Bedford - Chief Sales Officer (CSO) of SiteMinder. During his presentation, Bedford stated that the transformation of the travel industry as a means of growth will be crucial. A transformation that, in the words of the expert, should focus on excellence in terms of supply and focus on the personalization of travel packages.
The way to understand the industry with a view to growth also involves adapting to new digital formats and 72 percent of users who access a website do so from a mobile device (tablet or phone). In the words of Jonathan Bedford. "We cannot lose sight of the importance of the technological tools that we have at our disposal, as they are increasingly used".
Technology and collaboration: the new ecosystem
Another concept that the industry should discard from its glossary is the so-called "competition between companies". The bet is to create a new business ecosystem that, although much more complex, will be much more competitive. The success of this concept will lie in the fact that large companies will not stand out from small ones, but that all of them - based on the quality of their products and offerings - will be able to play a key role in this new game board.
This message was made clear in the presentation by Dr. Wouter Geerts - Director of research & Data Product at SKIFT, who also highlighted the importance of knowing how to adapt to the world around us: "a world with wars, with a brutal rise in prices, with job cuts, migration crises, rising costs, extreme inflation and climate change...".
"The travel industry, as we knew it until now, is dead... At the level of the companies themselves, just look at the increasing number of people working at home, the distances have also changed and this gives rise to many new opportunities that we must take advantage of. It's all about knowing how to adapt," explained Geerts.
These statements were made during an interesting round table discussion with Lee Hayhurst (Travolution), Christian Kremers (AMResorts), June Zhu (trip.com), Jari Virtanen (Stena Line Travel Group), Alan French (Thomas Cook), Mirja Sickel (Amadeus), Elodie Leunen, (Fastpay Hotels), Bas Lemmens (HotelPlanner), Fritz Oberhummer (HRS), Mario Gavira (Kiwi.com).
A matter of attitude: Toni Nadal's key to success
The finishing touch to the first round of morning presentations was provided by Toni Nadal, director of the Rafa Nadal Academy. The coach and speaker emphasized a concept that - in his words - "is key" and that is none other than attitude.
"It's all about mental strength and attitude. And we have seen the proof over the years with the best tennis players in the world, including my nephew Rafael. If Novak plays well he wins, if Rafa plays well he wins, if Federer plays well he wins. Now, thanks to the attitude it is true that if Novak plays badly he wins, if Rafa plays badly he also wins and if Federer plays badly - something that never happens - he also wins. Therein lies the secret. It's all about attitude and you have to know how to use it even in the worst moments".
Who is behind CON-X
Travolution, NXOdirect, Peakpoint Global, Fastly, Darina Holidays, FastPay, Prime Travel, Roibos, Welcomebeds, Interrías, TBO.COM, Methabook, Priceline, Google Cloud, Worldline, Webbeds, Altostratus Telefónica, Xacobeo 21-22, Rakuten TravelXChange, OpenRooms, among others, are the global technology and tourism companies that have decided to support this "high voltage" technological and networking event.