Challenges faced by the tourism industry using digital media and technology

We all know technology has changed our travelling experience by reducing face-to-face interaction with travel agents. Nowadays, one can conveniently book hotels, and transport at any time from any place due to the development of digital media and technology. But the travel industry witnessed different challenges in the modern era irrespective of receiving different benefits from technology. The industry has suffered the most in the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Further, currently, there are eight major challenges faced by the industry.

Differentiating the brand

Major companies in the travel industries serve similar products. Organisations in the travel industry have similar kinds of accommodation, travel packages or transport rental services (Digital Travel Connect US, 2020). That’s why organisations are more focused on developing a brand in a particular niche like adventure travel, and rejuvenating travel because most travel agencies provide similar kinds of holiday packages. The major organisation has a website where they provide all the details does it become challenging to differentiate the services from each other in a particular tourist destination. Further, technology allows customers to easily compare the price and services from one organisation to another which enhances their expectations from organisations.

Challenges of small travel agencies

Technology is rapidly changing but it becomes difficult for small travel organisations to keep up with constantly updated technology. Travel organisations cannot operate their business without using digital technology like social media, and websites. Therefore, small travel organisations could not able to understand how to make a lack of personal touch in the digital presence of the organisation and protect the customer data from cyber fraud (‌Sharma et al., 2020). Further, high competition in the market also enhances these challenges for small travel companies. It is challenging for them to invest in advanced technologies and maximise the utility of technologies for enhancing profitability.

Risk of cyber fraud

Risk of Cyber fraud has increased with the increasing application of digital technology in businesses. The Real Economic report has indicated that 27% of middle market businesses of the travel industry in the UK experienced cyber-attacks in 2021 (RSM UK, 2021). The study has also identified that there is a 120% increase in travel and holiday-related fraud from consumers. The risk of cyber fraud is higher for travel organisations because they do multichannel marketing and a high amount of sensitive data like passport details, credit cards and driving license details are used.

Multichannel marketing

Multi-channel marketing is one of the major challenges for travel organisations because they need to not services, websites, blogs and social media search engines. Different travel agencies need to select different marketing channels for driving the sales of the organisation (Sakas et al., 2022). However, it is difficult to select a particular channel as per the customer demographic and market need. The organisation also needs to know which social media platform and which marketing channel is beneficial for their niche in order to effectively use digital technology in the travel industry. It is important to identify because organisations are required to give attention to it and distribute the budget on each marketing channel for converting the leads into sales.

Social media

Social media supports the travel industry to develop direct communication with its target customers. However, the presence of different kinds of social media platforms challenges travels organisations to maximize their utilisation of it for enhancing the sales of the organisation. Creating effective social media content, grabbing the attention of potential customers and influencing their purchasing decision is challenging tasks (Allcott et al., 2019). Further, keeping up with social media trends and reaching people requires an appropriate strategy. It is difficult for every organisation in the travel industry to communicate effectively through social media platforms.

Financial challenges

Financial challenges become significant in the travel industry after witnessing a significant amount of loss during the pandemic. It combines different other industries like transport, hotel and travel agencies (Dredge et al., 2019). Therefore, all the sectors were going through losses during the pandemic. These financial challenges are enhanced because after the pandemic the industry needs to invest more in technologies for safety purposes. Therefore, it becomes difficult for this industry to cope with the environmental challenges because of poor performances in previous years.

Acquiring the loyalty of customers

Acquiring the loyalty of the customer is a challenging task for the travel industry due to the increasing application of technology. It is easy for customers to switch as they can easily book any organisation as per their requirements (Mohamad et al., 2019). Price to service every aspect of travel organisation can be compared within a few seconds which enhances the challenges of acquiring loyal customers. Further, there is an innovative platform like Airbnb that provides easy booking services for everything from flights to hotels. Thus, increasing competition reduces customer loyalty in the travel industry.

Acquiring customer trust

The increasing problem of safety and security and health challenges face difficulty for the travel industry to acquire customer trust. The challenges of customer trust were enhanced after the Covid-19 pandemic. The travel industry is desperate to recover its loss after the pandemic situation where it is challenging to acquire customer trust and ensure their safety (Baker, 2021). Every organisation in the travelling industry mentions safety and security on their website but it is important to find out how many of these organisations actually ensure the safety of customers while serving them. Therefore, organisations in the travel industry need to initiate effective measures by including technology rather than only virtually mentioning them.

Conclusion

It can be realised that technology has created several challenges for the tourism industry irrespective of having several benefits. It becomes challenging for travel organisations to create different identities, prevent cyber fraud and gain customer trust. Further, the challenges are enhanced by financial issues and the demand for multichannel marketing in the market. The industry has witnessed a major downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The challenges are enhanced by the demand of implementing advanced technology after the pandemic for ensuring the safety of customers.

References

Allcott, H., Gentzkow, M. and Yu, C., 2019. Trends in the diffusion of misinformation on social media. Research & Politics, 6(2), p.2053168019848554.

Baker, L. (2021). The 3 Biggest Challenges Facing the Travel & Tourism Industry Since the Pandemic — Business in the News. [online] Business in the News. Available at: https://businessinthenews.co.uk/2021/11/29/the-3-biggest-challenges-facing-the-travel-tourism-industry-since-the-pandemic/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].

Digital Travel Connect US. (2020). Top 8 Challenges Affecting the Digital Travel Industry, Right Now. [online] Available at: https://digitaltravelconnectus.wbresearch.com/blog/digital-travel-industry-top-8-challenges-strategy [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].

Dredge, D., Phi, G.T.L., Mahadevan, R., Meehan, E. and Popescu, E., 2019. Digitalisation in Tourism: In-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities.

Mohamad, M., Ab Ghani, N.I. and Nasir, M.N.M., 2019. The impact of perceived value, destination service quality and tourist satisfaction on destination loyalty among international tourists visiting Malaysia. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management, 4(16), pp.10–26.

‌RSM UK. (2021). Cybercrime: How can travel and tourism businesses mitigate the risk? [online] Available at: https://www.rsmuk.com/ideas-and-insights/cybercrime-how-can-travel-tourism-businesses-mitigate-risk [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].

Sakas, D.P., Reklitis, D.P., Terzi, M.C. and Vassilakis, C., 2022. Multichannel Digital Marketing Optimizations through Big Data Analytics in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 17(4), pp.1383–1408.‌

‌Sharma, A., Sharma, S. and Chaudhary, M. (2020). Are small travel agencies ready for digital marketing? Views of travel agency managers. Tourism Management, [online] 79, p.104078. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104078.