Future-Proofing Travel: Will Advanced Technologies and New Business Models Help or Hinder a Travel Industry Recovery?

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Over the past couple of years, the term "innovation" has become annoyingly overused, especially within the travel industry. And in the world of business and education the term "hybrid" is running a very close second on that annoyance scale. But as the airline industry looks for ways to fill seats left empty by business travelers, it may need to take a closer at how innovative technology and hybrid workplaces might be a path to bringing business back to pre-pandemic levels.

There is no question the pandemic accelerated the introduction of many new technologies implemented by the airline industry, including United's Agent on Demand, Jabbrrbox Privacy Pods, and biometrics technologies, which were all detailed in a recent ExpertFlyer post – Air Travel Sector Signals Innovation Renaissance. But with the emergence of a new business travel demographic composed of remote workers and traditionally non-business travelers required to attend in-person monthly meetings, would it be enough to bring business travel back to pre-pandemic levels? ExpertFlyer recently conducted a Q&A with Kevin May, Editor-in-Chief at PhocusWire, who shared his thoughts on the subject.

"In my view, the massive shortfall in corporate travel will not be filled by some remote workers having to travel once a month," Kevin May told ExpertFlyer. "It's not a scalable new market for suppliers, such as hotels and airlines, but rather a trend that sounds optimistic for some companies but not at a huge level."

Mr. May also addressed the question of whether traditional business travel would ever get back to pre-pandemic levels. "I see pockets of it returning during 2022 and more in 2023. If it is to return to pre-pandemic levels, then it will most likely do so by 2024. If not by then, clearly something has changed and downsized for good."

While Kevin May noted that vacation rentals were a bright spot for the travel industry, he's reserving his optimism in the short term.

"The last two years have shown us all that COVID-19 can accelerate and subside far quicker than any brand or entity trying to shift their strategies at scale," he said. The best that the industry can hope for is the continued vaccination of consumers, including poorer nations around the world, and a decrease in infections.

"I think it will take at least 2-3 years for business travel to possibly return to pre-pandemic levels," says Chris Lopinto, president of ExpertFlyer.com. "I say possibly because we may see a significant cohort of workers who once traveled for business substitute virtual meetings for the real thing and never go back. Of course, only time will tell."

To read the full interview with Kevin May, visit ExpertFlyer's blog.

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SOURCE ExpertFlyer.com