The Contribution of Business Intelligence in the Travel Industry

Nowadays, multiple players and systems interact with one another for the proper functioning of business in the travel industry, further complicating the industry dynamics. A large amount of data is being generated every second by industry players and systems like Travel Management Companies, Global Distribution System Providers, Travel Agencies, etc. These large amounts of data need to be processed and analysed thoroughly so that travel companies can run targeted campaigns. Many new technologies have entered the game over the years to tackle this particular problem, and business intelligence is a notable example in this category.

Business intelligence is among the many breakthrough innovations that have been adopted by multiple industries recently to help them boost the productivity, efficiency, and profitability of their businesses. The travel and tourism industry is at the front of the industry lineup, which has taken part in this action and garnered unthinkable benefits from it.

Similar to the way hospitality professionals use the analytics collected from the industry's online data to improve revenue, monitor prices, and tailor offerings to suit current market trends and customer demand, business intelligence can also help define marketing strategies to approach potential customers through customised packages that satisfy client’s needs.

Towards the end of the 1990s, the capacity of the basic decision-making system that stored and organized large amounts of data to help businesses in mapping out performance planning became overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of data. This necessity to handle data of such magnitude gave rise to the business intelligence concept.

So, you might wonder how business intelligence contributes to the travel and tourism industry and how it can set the industry on the path to remarkable success. The first step to understanding this is getting a clear concept of business intelligence.

What is understood by Business Intelligence?

In 1958, Luhn first defined business intelligence as "an automatic system being developed to disseminate information to the various sections of any industrial, scientific, or government organisation”. This definition was very close to that of data analytics. However, in 1989, Dresner defined "business intelligence" as all methods and concepts within the scope of a data-based support system to improve and support the decision-making process. These and many other variations of the concept of business intelligence have been put forth by different academics and industry professionals.

Either way, in the context of this article, business intelligence is the combination of technology, method, and product that is used to organise the essential information a business requires to improve the accuracy rate of its decision-making process and deliver a profitable outcome. It plays a prime role in addressing many revenue-impacting and operational inefficiencies in most leading industries around the world, like the travel and tourism industry.

Business intelligence in the travel industry can provide a more accurate insight into customer behaviour and preference by combining data from different external sources like online portals, private websites, social media, and travel agency databases, which can be used to customise a travel package that is more likely to be sold. Thus, it can have incredible potential when constructing business strategies and discovering new opportunities.

Now that we have that out of the way let us check out the contribution or positive impact of implementing Business Intelligence in the travel and tourism industry.

It helps a company find its Niche

Travel agencies may have been considered a mere means to an end when it came to booking tickets to your desired destinations, but that notion has changed thanks to the incorporation of business intelligence into industrial functions. Proper use of business intelligence software in a business affiliated with travel can help the company find its desired niche and gain a competitive advantage over others in the race by improving overall customer services. 

Retention of old clients and maintaining an ongoing business relationship with them can only be possible by building a connection based on loyalty. Travel businesses have faced many obstacles on their path to improving loyalty among old clients and, at the same time, finding ways to inspire loyalty in new ones. However, with the help of business intelligence software, travel companies can now get an accurate customer profile, which helps them design and streamline customised marketing campaigns while successfully implementing loyalty programs. It helps companies design an incentive program that invokes more loyalty in customers.

Higher Accuracy in Pricing Calculation

People love vacationing, true, but one thing they love even more is getting the best possible deal on their trips. Since travelling does not end with airfare, you also have to factor in transportation, accommodations, food, and sightseeing. When all the expenses add up, the final bill can become unbearable for the customer. So, accumulating all these expenses can help the travel agency design attractive offers based on season, location, and the likelihood of consumers making a purchase. The only possible solution to this task is getting real-time information about the state of the market at any particular time, which can be done through business intelligence software.

Business intelligence software in the travel and tourism industry helps a company get access to platforms that can provide them with accurate information regarding flight capacity, flight availability, flight trends, price variations across all platforms, and operating capacity for various travel destinations at any particular time of the year. This information helps the marketing managers and package-creating teams to readjust their prices to improve traffic and improve the profit margin of the company.

Improved Asset Management

Businesses in the travel and tourism market accumulate a huge number of assets throughout the longevity of their existence. The main goal the companies need to keep in mind while managing all these assets is to ensure high performance and safety. Among them, safe assets do not require any maintenance or replacement, which can cost a hefty sum of money.

The main advantage of incorporating a business Intelligence system is that it holds a detailed record of operations and analytical data on all processes within the industry. This greatly assists in making the process of asset management easy and efficient.

Also, storing a vast amount of data can be very costly. Since many industry partners and well as some travel operatives may be unclear about which data are important and which might be redundant, a Business Intelligence system can also help in making the entire process more cost-effective for the company.

In conclusion, we have explored some of the positive impacts and contributions of business intelligence in optimising the functions in the travel industry and opened doors for new improvements and opportunities. If your travel company is yet to use the assistance of a Business Intelligence System, then you should definitely start now to witness fast growth in your business.