Losing the race for technology?

The trend among travel companies in the Gulf region has been to invest in expanding their human resources rather than spending on IT

Technology in travel is racing ahead in leaps and bounds, but companies in the Middle East are lagging behind. ATN spoke to top travel technology experts to find out why

The dire warning from a travel tech expert that half the agencies in the region face annihilation by online travel agencies in just three years is bound to send shivers down the spine of the industry.

Faisal Memon, CEO, Illusions Online predicted that those without a proper online presence will be wiped out as a growing number of online players enter the market. But which travel companies are leading the way and who will be left standing in the technology race?

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It might be hard to believe but according to Memon there are still no travel companies in the region which offer a bookable website — meaning customers can go online, search for a holiday, whip out a credit card and book without the need for human interaction.

“If we talk about the ‘bricks and mortar’ companies I can’t think of any who are completely online,” said Memon.

“Look at the biggest operators —Emirates Holidays and Etihad Holidays — I can’t get a price online, I can’t book online, I can’t do anything online. You have to pick up the phone, fill out a very old static form and wait for them to get back to you. For me that is a clear indication of the fact that the level of technology they have in the business internally is very poor or completely missing.”

Travel agencies are “completely struggling” said Memon, when it comes to establishing an online presence. “There is a lot of talk. We have been hearing it for years now but how much is converted into real action?”

Back office lags behind
And it’s not just in the online sphere that travel companies are lagging behind said the experts, but off-line too.

Bicky Carla, president of travel consultancy firm TraVision said: “Adoption of technology for point of sale, mid and back-office has been weak too.” Carla puts this down to a “lack of understanding of enhancing operational efficiency, which has led to a lack of investment and low adoption.”

Kabir Ali Baig, managing director of Dubai-based travel technology firm Global Innovations International agrees that agencies here face huge hurdles due to their antiquated back-office systems.

“The tourism industry works in a very ad-hoc way and manual way,” said Baig. He estimated that less than 25% of travel firms in the Gulf have automated their back-office functions; while the overwhelming majority still rely on outdated processes such as Excel spreadsheets and even fax machines.

A major downside, explained Baig, is that without an automated system companies do not have the business intelligence at their fingertips to properly manage their business.

“Companies here do not have automation at all. You can make a booking, print a voucher, but the moment you ask the system to tell you the particular production of a hotel; or how many room nights you have done with an operator in Europe, it fails. So that in-depth knowledge, is completely lacking in this business.

“Business intelligence is key for growth of an organisation,” he continued. “You look at your past you predict your future and you plan. But if you ask a company head here what his finances look like, he looks at his accountant. That’s sad unfortunately.”

Baig added that by not being automated travel companies have failed to keep up with one of the key innovations in travel — XML technology — which means different systems can talk to each other, removing the need for any human interaction in booking process whatsoever.

“XML services is the buzz word in the travel industry today,” said Baig. “One system sends a request and the other system sends the response — the language used is XML language. But this is only possible when you have a proper software solution in place at your end.”