The world as a travel destination hasn’t changed all that much in the past 50 years. What has changed is its accessibility: not only in terms of getting to the different continents, countries and regions, but also how we access information about far-flung places, what to do there, what to eat, where to sleep, and much, much more.
Thanks to the rise and rise of social media, today’s travellers and would-be travellers are better informed than ever before. When a Ulysees butterfly elegantly flaps its gauze-like, azure blue wings in northern Queensland, for example, it’s mere nanoseconds before someone on the other side of the world knows about it and starts thinking about making a trip Down Under to witness such wonders of nature for themselves.
Likewise, if something untoward happens to a tech-savvy tourist somewhere, social media will spread the word just as quickly.
Thanks to the popularity of travel websites that allow holidaymakers to report on and rate their experiences, there has been a shift of power. These days, the tourist is taking charge.
Adam Radwanski, Country Manager of Australasia, Qatar Airways, says that ultimately, the travel industry customer is the big winner thanks to more choice, more transparency and more power than ever before.
“Due to the emergence of the internet, social media and so on, the travel market has become much more transparent and automated,” Radwanski says. “Now, the customer dictates the rules of the game. They are in charge of the decision-making process.”
It wasn’t that long ago that would-be holidaymakers had to rely on travel agents to advise them about the best places to go, when to go there and how. Now, thanks to up-to-the-minute online opinions featured on websites such as Tripadvisor and My Destination, customers are armed with the latest information – both good and bad – about virtually any destination in the world.
“In the past, travel trends might have been more isolated to particular countries,” Radwanski says. “Now, because of globalisation, these trends are more fluid and transferrable between countries.”
So, while a general destination such as Italy might have been the choice-of-the-moment two decades ago, now, thanks to social media, a much more specific travel trend – for example, a particular architectural tour of Pisa in Tuscany, Italy – can become a hot global trend in the blink of a virtual eye.
“The circulation and exchange of information on various forms of social media means that travel trends are global and amplified,” Radwanski says. “It’s a double whammy, though: if something goes wrong in a given destination, then people around the world will know about it in no time. And they will almost instantly switch to somewhere else.”
The influx of information about travel destinations has also affected the types of holidays that people want to take. Radwanski is witnessing a trend for cultural immersion, with customers seeking unique experiences that they can then share with their friends, family, and (of course) social media.
“This trend for ‘experience’ travel is really pushing people to embark on multi-stop itineraries,” Radwanski says. “For instance, when customers from Australia might be travelling to Spain, they will go to more than one destination in Spain itself. Customers these days are also very fond of multiple country itineraries, such as taking on the capitals of Eastern Europe.”
In response to this emerging thirst for cultural experiences, stopovers are becoming more than just a chance for passengers on long haul flights to stretch their legs (and spend a bit of their holiday money on duty free goods). Some airlines offer free stopover city tours, even if the stop is only for a few hours, while longer stops provide the chance to explore a city more fully.
“If you are flying long haul, you might as well stop over somewhere like Doha and immerse yourself in the culture while you are there,” Radwanski says. “For a small fraction of your holiday budget you are able to add another experience that you can share.”
This new playing field has not just put customers in charge of their own travel experience. It has also forced travel operators to lift their game, Radwanski says. “These changes have pushed airlines and travel agents to adapt and evolve. At Qatar we are keeping up with the changes. We constantly enhance our website, the booking process, the whole experience, with added value for the customer.
“We realise that air travel is usually the beginning and end of a holiday. So we want to make the first and last experience of a person’s holiday memorable. That’s really important to us.”
Qatar Airways has daily services from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide (starting 3rd May 2016) to London, Paris, Rome, and Pisa (starting 2nd August 2016). Fly from Adelaide to Pisa from $1,360* return in Economy Class, and $6,395* in Business Class. Book by 28th April 2016.
*Conditions apply
Book now at qatarairways.com/au
