Data is new oil in travel, but extracting its value still confounds agents

Data in the 21^st century, like oil in the 18^th century, will offer huge rewards for those who see its fundamental value and learn to extract it. In travel, data has the transformative potential to drive growth and change in the sector.

“Data is the new oil in travel. With data explosion, we know so much in the last few years than the entire previous history of the human race,” said Mike Croucher, chief architect, Travelport, speaking at Travelport Live 2018, which took place in Bangkok last week.

The importance of data in this digital age was continually underscored throughout the two-day conference, with Travelport executives repeatedly urging travel agents to be more proactive in adopting technology into their business, including data-centric strategies.

“It’s no longer about having a technology strategy but data strategy. If you don’t have a data strategy, you won’t be here long,” stressed Rob Brown, group vice president and managing director – OTA at Travelport.

Travelport’s business intelligence manager Matthew Webb also advised travel agencies to adopt “customer data first” strategies. In an age where travellers increasingly value experiences, having data will enable companies to differentiate themselves through personalisation and in turn earn loyalty, he explained.

Major OTA players like Expedia has already invested in data and the extraction of it for market intelligence. “We have invested a lot on data to make sure we are getting one source of truth, and that we’re talking in the same language,” said Expedia’s vice president partner services Asia-Pacific, James Marshall.

B2B travel consolidator Via.com also understands the importance of data mining as a backbone of the company’s growth. “Without data, we’re nothing,” noted product manager Syed Faizan Admed, as data is used to understand behaviour of agents, airline performance, market trends, among others.

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