Vijetha Shastry
Aug 27, 2017 · 3 min read
At Cochin with artists showcasing Kerala culture and heritage

The future of Travel Industry and global trends 2017 is important to understand and be part of as the creation of jobs,building quality infrastructure is key for progress .

Tourism is a key factor to bring in new technology adaption too.. Seeing how Virtual reality is driving marketing to new age customers.Bloggers and Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet are influencers and trusted by travelers.

Colorful Goa and the vibrant history,musical legacy

The recent ATM 2017 held in Dubai this April, IITM,SATTE, TTF and all the national tourism roadshows that I have been at and interacting with Travel agents, hoteliers brought in many facets of how explorers,travellers and corporates are behaving, and understanding how their very high expectations from the airline,hotel and destination management company is justified.

Spices,traditional food makes travel so very interesting
  • Service has to be of the highest standards. When guests land at the airport, they must be met,greeted and escorted to the transportation really fast with minimal walking .
  • Check in and check out must be super fast, smooth and very welcoming .Today this means they must not struggle with luggage,go to the room and not know how to operate the TV etc. And yes- super fast wifi for atleast 3 devices is a must!!
  • Language must not be a barrier for enjoying the liesure,adventure or culture of any destination. Of course having a guide is awesome- or better use tech and have multi lingual audio aids present free/ or at low cost.
  • Hygiene,cleanliness,super friendly staff and noise free ambience in the room, state of art AV at a conference is a critical need when it comes to events,conferences.
  • Diverse culture of the traveller- Indians,Chinese,Americans, Arabs are all different with their own lifetyles,food habits etc. Understand and deliver as each market is just too big to ignore.
  • Combine biz with some great team activity, cultural tours, fun and immersive experiences like a cruise.heritage or museum visits, culinary tours, parties and me time like shopping, wellness experiences.
  • Airports are getting to be more fun and showcasing of culture,heritage,final shopping plus affordable wellness,family activity is what makes Singapore, Bangalore, Mumbai,Dubai,abu dhabi so very popular.
  • Apps that share real time events,best places to shop, where to eat,where to party, getting best deals is awesome for solo,family explorers.
  • For groups, MICE the DMC and tour teams have to be flexible ,ready for anything and at same time prepare and stick to a very tight schedule while service is 24/7 with a smile. Training, building strong rapport is a SKILL to invest in!!
  • Sleep,rest and staying fit is a must- Hotels must gear for it or will loose clients.24/7 safe gyms,healthy breakfast options and a cosy room,quality mattresses are all marketing tools that will get guests to stay and say great things on online reviews etc which will fuel more biz.

There is surely a need for even closer cordination and active partnering between DMC’s,NTO’s, travel agents,students,guides,attractions to come together and make travel a memorable,life changing experience.

My respect for staff working in the hotel and aviation industry keeps increasing by the day. As an ex hotelier know how tough it is in terms of being on the button and working long hours

The upcoming holiday seasons across India, Middle east and Europe will be crucial to boost GDP’s of several economies.

Note : All photos taken by me during personal travel across the world.

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Written by

Executive Director- TiE Bangalore.Volunteer @Headstart, Ex-Nasscom CoE:Lead- Open Innovation.Connector.Enabler.Mentor-KSUM.Coach/Trainer-SAARC CCI

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