Skift Take
The technological advances tour operators are making now are long overdue. Propelling this sector of the travel industry into the future is certainly timely, considering operators needed to find ways to speed up bookings coming out a crisis that left their in-person businesses decimated.
Leigh Barnes, the chief customer officer of Melbourne, Australia-based tour operator Intrepid Travel, can attest to the challenges companies like his face when incorporating new technology.
"One day, we accidentally sent a test email to a small segment of our customers with song lyrics by Lionel Ritchie," he said. "There was no data breach, and we owned the issue straight away."
"But we did receive some very funny replies from our customers. It was a reminder of the care you need to take with embracing technology at such massive speed."
Although Barnes chuckles about the story, tech issues regularly haven't been a laughing matter for tour operators. Companies in the sector have long struggled due to their reliance on outdated technology that has inhibited their ability to make bookings.
But multi-day tour operators today are benefitting from technology advances giving those companies a much-needed boost after the pandemic significantly da
Photo Credit: Tour operators are staring at the dawn of further advances in technology. Skift / Aishwarya Agarwal