who travels with you?
TRANSCRIPT
Who travels with you?- A segmentation analysis of today’s travellers
1. ExEcutivE Summary 42. introduction 6
3. mEthodology 84. cuStomEr SEgmEntS 10- digital nativES 12- young adultS 16
- Family travEllErS 20
- Empty nEStErS 24- goldEn oldiES 28
5. concluSionS 326. wEbSitE hintS 347. about amadEuS 36
Contents
Executive SummaryThe report is based on a segment analysis
of the results of a web-based survey.
This report by Amadeus aims to give Scandinavian travel agencies,
regardless of their channel, an increased understanding of
their customers’ needs, what inspires them, how they search
for travel related information and how they travel. Armed with
this knowledge, travel companies can adapt their services and
activities to attract new travellers while also strengthening
their relationships with existing customers.
The consumers have been divided into five different customer
segments, each with their own opportunities and challenges
for travel providers. The customer groups are Digital Natives,
Young Adults, Family Travellers, Empty Nesters
and Golden Oldies.
The five customer segments create different
conditions for travel providers, depending
on the travellers’ varying needs, knowledge and
habits. Although there are clear similarities
between the different segments, it is impossible
to generalise. However, some conclusions
can still be drawn, giving us an idea of how
people travel today and how developments
4
can create opportunities for all players in the travel
industry.
Family Travellers represent the largest customer group
based on volume, accounting for a third of all flight
bookings in Scandinavia. Golden Oldies are neverthe-
less the most frequent air travellers. Aside from Empty
Nesters, they also spend the most money on travel.
Together, these two segments account for more than
half of the total travel spend. Family Travellers thus
account for the largest number of flight bookings
while Golden Oldies and Empty Nesters generate the
most revenue.
Digital Natives is the group with the greatest overall
potential. Within this group, 65 percent of flight
bookings are made through channels other than
travel agencies and tour operators1. Instead, travellers
tend to book ‘flight only’. Young Adults represent the
group with the largest realistic potential for travel
agencies: A third of flight bookings in this customer
group not made through a travel agency or tour operator,
are bookings where travellers have purchased flights
and accommodation separately, and that could po-
tentially have been booked through a travel agency.
Although not the most profitable segments, Digital
Natives and Young Adults are important to the travel
industry as they represent future high consumption
travellers.
For travel providers, it is of key importance to offer
competitive prices in order to attract consumers.
However, to stay successful, Amadeus suggests that
travel providers should analyse their various customer
segments, adapt their offering to those with the
largest potential and offer the best user experience in
order to increase conversion and create loyalty – just like
all successful e-retailers.
5
“Armed with this knowledge, travel companiescan adapt their services and activities to
attract new travellers while also strengtheningtheir relationships with existing customers.”
1 By tour operators we mean vertically integrated travel providers or “charter operators”.
IntroductionConsumer confidence in online shopping
continues to grow.
Consumer confidence in online shopping continues to grow2.
This strong trend means that more and more companies are
adapting their activities to the Internet, for example banks,
shops and travel companies. Consumers are increasingly
getting used to handling their business online, regardless of
whether that means finding a restaurant, a new place to live,
health information or filing a tax return3.
The development of mobile technology plays
an important part in this transition. Mobile
devices such as smartphones and tablets
are increasingly popular and play a big role in
consumers’ day-to-day lives. This results in
expectations on information available around
the clock and consumption opportunities via
6 2 78 percent use the Internet to make purchases. Source: Findahl, Olle (2011). Svenskarna och Internet 2011. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur.
mobile devices. By looking at the development potential
of mobile devices and associated business opportunities,
it is possible to meet customer needs as they develop.
Social media are developing rapidly and more and more
people are using them4, meaning that they are becoming
a natural channel for interacting with customers. It also
means that anyone can have a say and share their
opinions, which can be both positive and negative.
Addressing opinions and statements can help build
trust, thus making it easier to reach new customers
and retain existing ones. At the same time, it becomes
harder for consumers to determine which players
they can trust. This has led to an increased use of so
called review sites, also within the travel industry.
In the travel industry, the aforementioned factors
have together resulted in the creation of the concept
‘empowered travellers’; well-informed travellers who
know what they want and have a true interest in
what they are looking for. These type of travellers use
various strategies to find the information they need
depending on what customer segment they fall into,
which is based on, for example, disposable income,
lifecycle, Internet maturity, travel companions and
type of travel.
For the travel industry, consumers’ increased use of
the Internet means that an increasing number of
trips are booked via channels other than physical
travel agencies. For many of these, the challenge lies
in recreating the physical meeting with the customer
in their online channel. Being able to offer customers
the right products calls for knowledge of customer
needs. However, all customers are not equally
profitable. Some customers are harder to convert
than others. The level of specialisation in the industry
has increased, meaning that more and more travel
agencies are choosing to specialise in one specific
type of travel. What needs do these travellers have?
How can we ensure their loyalty?
Since 2009, Amadeus Scandinavia has performed
two market surveys each year in order to gain an
understanding of how Scandinavian consumers
behave when searching for and booking trips. In
order to gain further insights into what motivates
travellers, Amadeus has performed a segmentation
analysis based on a web-based survey. The consumers
have been divided into five customer segments.
Digital Natives, Young Adults, Family Travellers, Empty
Nesters and Golden Oldies. These segments have
been chosen because trends show that they represent
important travellers today and will continue to do so
in the future, and also because they represent
different opportunities and challenges for travel
providers. The purpose of this report is to give travel
agencies, both traditional and online focused, better
knowledge of how to best approach these customer
segments.
7
Never Sometimes Every time
16%
44%
66%78%
89%71%
53%
31%19%
11%13% 3% 3% 3% 0%DIGITAlNATIvES
YOuNG ADulTS
EMpTY NESTErS
GOlDEN OlDIES
FAMIlY TrAvEllErS
How often is travel-related information
shared through social networks?
3 Danmarks Statistik (2011). Befolkningens brug av internet 2010. 4 Knut-Arne Futsæter, TNS Gallup (2012). Medie Trender 2011.
MethodologyThe survey was commissioned by Amadeus and conducted to highlight various consumer segments in the travel industry.
Increased understanding of the various customer segments gives
travel industry players a better understanding of their customers’
needs, what inspires them, how they search for travel products
and how they travel. With this knowledge, travel companies can
tailor their services and activities to attract new travellers while
at the same time strengthening relationships with existing
customers, with the purpose to generate higher revenues.
Segmentation modelSegmentation is about division. The market
is divided into different groups that share
mutual needs and can be expected to react
in the same way to different offers. This
division could be applied to customers,
products or markets. Segmentation makes
8
it easier to focus more specifically on the customer
groups of interest. Customers can be divided into
segments based on, for example, gender, age and
location. products can, for example, be segmented
into groups based on price and quality.
Different segmentation may be required depending
on whether one offers consumer goods, industrial
products or services. The key is to identify the
segmentation variables that best describe the
behaviours in the industry in question. These
variables may be of physical, psychological and/
or behavioral character.
physical criteria such as age, gender and family
situation have been the basis for defining the various
customer segments for this survey. The reason is that
age and consumer lifecycle affect how consumers
travel, search for and book trips. In addition, customer
segments based on demographic variables are easier
to identify.
telephone recruited panel. All respondents had
booked at least one over-night leisure travel by air or
train in the last 12 months. The sample represented
the whole of Scandinavia’s population according to
the criteria age, gender, family situation and country.
The respondents were divided into segments based
on a series of background questions. Subsequently,
the survey was conducted online during January and
February 2011 in each of the Nordic languages.
9
“Physical criteriasuch as age, genderand family situation
have been the basis for defining the various customer segments
for this survey.”
Survey methodThe survey was conducted in collaboration with
Norstat AB who selected 1,206 consumers from a
Complementaryin-depth interviewsIn order to better define and highlight needs and
values among travellers in the various customer
segments, in-depth interviews were conducted with
around 15 people who had all searched for or booked at
least one trip using the Internet in the past 12
months. The interview subjects sat at a computer to
demonstrate how they searched for and/or booked
their last two or three trips. The Internet session was
recorded for further analysis. This background constitutes
the recommendations relating to the website made at
the end of the report.
DIGITAl NATIvES11% YOu
NG
ADu
lTS
11%
GOlDEN
OlDIES
18%
EMpTY
NESTErS
25%
FAMIlY
TrAvEllErS
35%
Segments
Digital Natives
Family Travellers
Golden Oldies
Young Adults
Empty Nesters
Brief description
Young consumers aged 18 to 24 who have grown up in the digital age.
This customer group experiences a strong need to travel and discover the
world, and unlike previous generations, they are more able to do so thanks
to more affordable air travel options. The Internet represents the main
booking channel for this segment.
Travellers aged 18 to 64 with at least one child living at home. This group
has very specific requirements as to when and where to travel, which
governs their search for information and travel planning. Half of all trips
are to a destination within Europe and they often book through a tour
operator and/or travel brands that they are familiar with.
Pensioners who have time to travel and can be flexible on dates. They
are active and enjoy travels that focus on experiences, e.g. theme travels,
cruise or golf holidays. They usually travel to southern Europe, but more
adventurous destinations also appeal to them. There is some hesitation
when it comes to purchasing travel products online, but Golden Oldies are
happy to use the Internet for travel inspiration. They are happy to book via
travel agencies.
Travellers aged 25 to 44 without children. They have little free time, which
means that their travelling is limited to the holiday periods and public
holidays. Nevertheless, they can afford to take almost as many holidays as
younger travellers. This segment tends to book via airline websites or using
online travel agencies.
Travellers aged 45 to 64 without children or with children who have left
home. They have stable finances, new-found flexibility and are more active
than the younger generations. They also feel a strong need to travel. They
like to go on beach holidays and weekend breaks and book via an airline,
tour operator or traditional travel agency.
Customer segmentsThe five segments included in the survey are described below.
11
They use computers and the Internet
daily6 and the majority began using
mobile phones at an early age. Digital
Natives use technology such as social
media to interact with each other and
also spend a lot of time on enter-
tainment such as games, video and
music7. This means that they often
multitask. A full 60 percent tend to do
other things while using the Internet,
for example talk on the phone or
watch Tv8.
12 6 Findahl, Olle (2011). Svenskarna och Internet 2011. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur. 7 Amadeus (2010). Digital Natives and the future of travel, a study conducted by PeclercsParis. 8 Findahl, Olle (2010). Svenskarna och Internet 2010. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur.
Digital NativesThe customer group, also known as Generation Y or
Millennials, comprises young consumers (aged between 18 and 24) who have grown up in the digital age.
“This customer segment is highly
likely to starttheir search for
information using a search engine such as Google.”
Digital Natives prefer visual information
in photo, video or sound format over
text. When looking for information
they expect to find what they are
looking for immediately. At the same
13
time, this customer segment prefers random access
to information through integrated hyperlinks9. This
customer segment is well accustomed to online
shopping: 82 percent of Swedish consumers aged
between 16 and 24 shopped online in 2010 and only
a small number worry about payment card fraud.10
This customer group generally begins their working
lives later and leaves home at the age of 22 or later,
somewhat later than previous generations did11. At
the same time, they become independent more
quickly when it comes to social activities such as
leisure and travel and have a global view of the world.
TravelDigital Natives feel a strong urge to travel and
experience the world. Having grown up with low cost
airlines, they started travelling earlier than younger
generations before them. They often opt for popular
destinations and activities12. Amadeus’ survey shows
that despite spending less money on travel overall,
they travel more frequently by air and train than
other customer segments. However, Digital Natives
often travel locally and like to travel as cheaply as
possible. 40 percent of their flights or train journeys
are domestic; often to visit friends and family. One
third of their travels by air were booked ‘flight only’.
84 percent share travel related information or upload
holiday photos in social media ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’.
“84 percentshare travel related
information or upload holiday photos in social
media ‘sometimes’or ‘often’.”
“Their focus is onkeeping the price down,as this determines both
the choice of destination and the timing of the trip. Trips are therefore often booked far in advance or
last minute. “
Booking and inspirationThe Internet is the obvious choice for this group
when it comes to finding travel information and
booking. Family and friends influence the choice of
destination, but one third also visit tour operator
websites for inspiration for the trip that they intend
to take. Digital Natives also use meta search engines
to some extent when looking for trips. However,
knowledge of these is rather limited. This customer
segment is highly likely to start their search for
information using a search engine such as Google.
Their focus is on keeping the price down, as this
determines both the choice of destination and the
timing of the trip. Trips are therefore often booked far
in advance or last minute.
The majority of bookings are made directly with the
airlines, often in the low-fare segment but also via
tour operators if the trip is a beach holiday. When the
trip is not a traditional package holiday, Digital Natives
often book their accommodation at the destination
themselves using various hotel sites or try to organise
accommodation with friends and family.
9 Amadeus (2010). Digital Natives and the future of travel, a study conducted by PeclercsParis. 10 Findahl, Olle (2010). Svenskarna och Internet 2010. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur. 11 Ungdomsstyrelsen (2011). Fokus 11 – En analys av ungas bostadssituation. 12 PhoCusWright. Rheem, Carrol (2009). Top U.S. Consumer trends: travel behavior and beyond.
final year of school she travelled to Thailand to teach English to
Thai children as a volunteer. Most recently she travelled with her
best friend Isabelle to Central and latin America where they spent
two months backpacking. Ida blogged about her experiences on
these journeys and logged into Facebook as often as possible to
keep in touch with friends and family.
Travelling is important to Ida and if it was up to her and if her
finances allowed, she would choose exotic destinations. Her dream
is a trip to Antarctica! However, as she tends to travel with friends
she usually picks ‘safe bets’. She finds inspiration through
destination sites, but mainly through chats and blogs. reviews by
other travellers are good but feel less personal and relevant than
chats with a person who is of the same age and/or shares the same
interests.
Ida’s father has helped her book some trips although she has made
most of the bookings herself. She usually checks a number of airline
14
ProfileName: ida hansen
Age: 20 years
Nationality: norwegian
Occupation: Starting a degree in
political Science at uio (universitetet
i oslo) in the autumn.
Main reason for travelling: Explore
the world, see something new. Spend
quality time together with family
and friends.
Digital Natives
Ida has travelled with her family to
exotic destinations such as South
Africa and major cities such as Hong
Kong. The first time she travelled alone
was in her late teens when she went to
visit cousins in london. She loves
london and has been there several
times. She has also travelled to Berlin
with a friend for a music concert. In her
15
websites and online travel agencies to compare
prices by swapping between the different open tabs
(she can keep up to six tabs open at the same time).
ryanair is always among the websites that she looks
at. Ida rarely opts for package holidays but likes to
create her own unique trip by booking accommodation
separately, usually by searching on Google. Ida often
tries to organise accommodation in other ways, for
example by looking into the possibility of staying
with friends and family.
The trip to Central and latin America, which covered
eight countries, was a package holiday booked
through a travel agency that specialised in young
people, “a travel agency that knows where you can go
bungee jumping and things like that”.
group the opportunity rests in the fact that Digital
Natives do not have an established search pattern. It
is therefore desirable to attract these travellers in the
early stages of the search process.
“One challengehere is the customer group’s lack of brand awareness, a certain
distrust of traditional marketing and a
tendency to alwayswant to validate
information.”
“Reviews by other travellers are good butfeel less personal and
relevant than chats witha person who is of the
same age and/or shares the same interests.”
Key learningsDigital Natives are very price sensitive. They travel a
lot but rarely make complex journeys. The majority of
their trips are domestic or to European cities. One
challenge here is the customer group’s lack of brand
awareness, a certain distrust of traditional marketing
and a tendency to always want to validate information.
They are ‘early adopters’ and discerning when it
comes to channels and user interfaces. With this
1. Relevance. In order to build lasting relationships
with Digital Natives, travel providers should meet the
segment’s expectations with regard to information
and offers, while also establishing brand recognition
early on.
2. Channel optimisation. Digital Natives expect
accessible applications for smartphones, tablets and
social networks. Travel providers should therefore
strive towards an optimisation of search and meta
search channels, social networks and forums, as well
as mobile channels.
3. Easily navigated and broad selection. Choice and
relevant content are important to these travellers
who prefer offers relating to, for example, low cost
airlines, railway companies, a broad range of
accommodation including hostels and Bed &
Breakfast hotels. Make it easy for the segment to
search for the information they want and the most
relevant alternatives through the use of e.g. low fare
calendars or similar shopping tools that help them to
search for a trip based on their preferences.
Half of them live in single households
while the rest live with a partner (also
known as DINKS, Double Income No
Kids). Just over half of those selected
have an above-average income and
like to spend their money on
themselves. unlike Digital Natives,
Young Adults are more likely to spend
a larger share of their income on travel.
Consumption, including travel products,
is seen as an expression of one’s
personality.
16 13 PhoCusWright. Rheem, Carrol (2009). Top U.S. Consumer trends: travel behavior and beyond.
Young AdultsThis customer segment comprises travellers aged
between 25 and 44 without children.
“Consumption, including travel
products, is seen as an expression of
one’s personality.”
Compared with other groups, Young
Adults’ travel is more limited to
holidays and weekends as they tend to
have less free time than other
segments. Their trips therefore need
to be time efficient. like Digital
17
Natives, they can still be relatively spontaneous when
it comes to booking. They take ‘mini holidays’ and
long weekends rather than long summer holidays.
The segment has high expectations of the services
they use and just over half are innovators or
early adopters with high expectations of specific
technology13.
This segment has the highest level of overall online
shopping. 85 percent of 25-34 year olds shop online
compared to 83 percent of 35-44 year olds14. The
greatest number of mobile Internet users can be found
in the 24-44 age bracket15. They spend less time on
social media than the youngest traveller segment.
56 percent share travel related information or upload
holiday photos in social media ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’.
TravelYoung Adults feel a strong need to travel and explore
the world. Almost half travel together with another
person, such as a friend or partner. They travel less
often than younger travellers, but tend to travel
abroad more. They also travel less by train.
It is often the popular destinations that attract Young
Adults. About one fourth of trips taken by the
“80 percentprefer to organise
everything to do withthe trip themselves,
which sometimes means booking travel and
accommodation separately.”
“About onefourth of trips
taken by the segmentare so called beach
holidays, but they also take more city breaks
than any othercustomer segment.”
segment are so called beach holidays, but they also
take more city breaks than any other customer
segment. They like being active once they arrive at
their destination. Inspiration comes from friends and
family, but also to some extent from travel literature.
Just like Digital Natives, price still remains an important
factor when it comes to selecting a destination.
Booking and inspirationThe majority of Young Adults book trips directly with
the airline, a low cost airline or online travel agency.
Out of all the segments in our selection, Young Adults
is the one that most consistently avoids tour
operators. 80 percent prefer to organise everything
to do with the trip themselves, which sometimes
means booking travel and accommodation separately.
They have strong brand awareness and return to the
same brands during the search process more often
than the youngest segments. This doesn’t necessarily
make them loyal when it comes to booking since they
want to feel smart when they search.
Amadeus Scandinavia’s survey showed that in the
information search phase, this segment searched the
largest number of travel sites, including meta search
sites, of all the segments. Young Adults like to use
new technology such as mobile applications to search
for trips when and where it is convenient for them.
14 Danmarks Statistik (2011). Befolkningens brug av internet 2010. 15 Knut-Arne Futsæter, TNS Gallup (2012). Medie Trender 2011.
Slovakia. She feels equally at home in Copenhagen as she does in
Beirut and Bratislava. Her partner Christian is not as well travelled
but likes travelling with his partner and is happy to let her book
their trips.
Aside from weekend breaks, they try to find the time for at least
one beach holiday and one sports holiday (skiing or golf) each year.
Most recently they travelled to Turkey where they combined a
beach holiday with golf and a few days in buzzing Istanbul. They
also went skiing for a week in the French Alps recently. They usually
travel with friends.
As Mette is the more experienced traveller, she also takes the lead
when it comes to booking. Often she will have an idea of where she
wants to go, but because they don’t always agree on the purpose of
the trip there’s usually a fair bit of searching and compromising
involved. Mette likes to experience things, ideally of a cultural
nature, while Christian likes to slow down and just have a nice
18
Profile Name: mette nielsen
and christian Jensen
Age: 30 and 29 years
Nationality: danish
Occupation: brand consultant and
re-insurance broker.
Main reason for travelling: they
both work a lot and like to travel to
take breaks from their hectic day-
to-day lives. they also travel to see
friends that work abroad and to
attend friends’ weddings.
Young Adults
As her family lived abroad for several
years, Mette has travelled a lot ever
since childhood. Her best friend lives in
Beirut. While studying at Copenhagen
Business School, she organised
internships for herself in France and
“She is notfamiliar with manyonline travel agency
brands and sometimes confuses these withmeta search sites.”
“Mette bookedthe trip through anonline travel agency
but spent a lot of timeon Tripadvisor before
deciding on the hotel.”
19
time. Once they have agreed on one or two alternative
destinations, Mette always starts searching for
flights using the same meta search site and the same
online travel agency, either by checking their websites
or their Facebook presence. Mette feels that these
two sites are the best at generating the lowest prices
combined with a user-friendly interface.
She then looks at the airlines’ websites before going
back to ‘book’ via the meta search site. She is not
familiar with many online travel agency brands and
sometimes confuses these with meta search sites.
She usually looks for suitable hotels by reading
Tripadvisor reviews by other travellers.
Mette used to subscribe to email newsletters
communicating special offers from various travel
providers but cancelled these a long time ago: ”They
were too general and felt more like spam”.
The trip to Istanbul was, unusually, a package holiday
that included flights and accommodation. Mette
booked the trip through an online travel agency but
spent a lot of time on Tripadvisor before deciding on
the hotel. She booked the skiing trip through Club
Med: “When it comes to skiing it is easier when
everything’s included, such as food and ski school”.
Key learningsIncreasing the conversion rate and making travellers
more loyal are examples of challenges that characterise
the Young Adults segment.
1. One-stop shop. Online travel agency bookings can
be increased by attracting this group early on in the
search process. Competitive prices are one key element.
Another important aim is to market the travel agency
channel as the ultimate one-stop shop, saving
travellers’ time.
2. User experience in line with consumer expectations.
Young Adults have high expectations when it comes
to user experience and innovative technology that the
provider should be able to meet. Ideally, the user
experience should be on par with other travel industry
websites, for example meta search sites and popular
hotel booking sites. Young Adults mistrust traditional
marketing such as email campaigns. Therefore, the option
of attractive loyalty schemes could be considered as the
group is happy to participate in these if they appear
more personalised.
3. Choice. Travel providers need to offer choice in the
form of content that is relevant to the customer group.
That may mean a greater selection of hotels along
with advanced filtering. Hotel sites enjoy a strong,
positive position among Young Adults. With dynamic
packaging, users are given the opportunity to create
trips that are tailored to their needs, which is
particularly important when it comes to this
customer segment.
“The time limitation creates some frustration when it comes to
searching fortravel products
online...”
Family Travellers are travellers aged
between 18 and 64 with an average
age of 41, with children living at home.
In the Amadeus survey, just over one
third had at least one child aged 0-5
years old while the rest had older
children. Every tenth person in this
segment is a single parent and as
many have more than three children.
One third are couples with one child
while nearly half have two children.
The families in the survey have healthy
finances and 71 percent have an
income above the Swedish, Norwegian
or Danish average.
20
Family TravellersFamily Travellers are travellers aged between 18 and 64 with an average age of 41, with children living at home.
Family Travellers are competent users
of the Internet but have less time to
spend online and on social media.
31 percent upload holiday photos or
share travel-related information in some
“This segment oftenshops online. However, they don’t always wantto book via the Internet because they are unable
to find the answers toall their questions.”
“With regard to the number of consumers,
Family Travellersrepresent the largest category. At the same time, they take fewerthan two flights with
overnight stays perperson per year on
average...”
21
other way. Just three percent do so every time. The
time limitation creates some frustration when it comes
to searching for travel products online, especially before
they have decided on a destination.16
TravelFamily Travellers are by nature highly price sensitive.
However, they have also specific requirements when it
comes to travel which govern the way in which they
search for information and plan their trips. For example,
they require direct flights and families with young
children in particular have stringent requirements with
regard to health and safety during the trip. The timing
of trips is often governed by the children’s school
holidays, in cases where the children are at school. This
customer segment wants the activities available at the
destination to be family friendly, and this may influence
their choice of destination.
Just over half of Family Travellers tend to travel within
Europe and represent the category that most favours
relaxing beach holidays. package holidays booked
through companies providing such are the natural
choice and for these, Family Travellers account for the
most important customer segment. Families with
young children often choose popular destinations
and activities while families with older children prefer
trips to more exotic places. ‘All inclusive’ options are
popular among these travellers.
With regard to the number of consumers, Family
Travellers represent the largest category. At the same
time, they take fewer than two flights with overnight
stays per person per year on average, the lowest
figure of any customer segment. Family Travellers is
also the customer segment that spends the least
amount of money on travel per person per year.
Booking and inspirationFamily Travellers visit fewer websites than Digital
Natives and Young Adults when looking for
information online. A third start by looking at the
tour operators’ websites for inspiration and make the
booking months later, either with that company or
with the airline directly. Their decision-making
process is longer as they need to plan their trip well
in advance. This segment often shops online.
However, they don’t always want to book via the
Internet because they are unable to find the answers
to all their questions. These travellers thus need to be
able to ask a representative for the travel companies
to a greater extent.
Family Travellers value reviews by other travellers but
also like to be familiar with the brand in question.
Just over half prefer to book directly with an airline
while one fourth book with tour operators.
16 Amadeus (2012). Empowering inspiration: The future of travel search, a study conducted by PhoCusWright.
she was younger she travelled to exotic destinations such as Africa,
Asia and Australia at least once a year. She likes to avoid typical tour
operator destinations.
The couple has not taken many trips since having children. Mostly,
they have travelled to visit Anna’s family in Malmö and to various
child-friendly destinations such as the Skara Sommarland theme
park and Astrid lindgren’s World in vimmerby. They have been
wanting to take a trip for a long time, especially Anna who
sometimes misses her ’old’ life, but it has been hard to find the
right time and the right destination. Fredrik’s business and the
farm that they live on take up a lot of time. However, the hardest
thing has been finding a holiday to suit the whole family: the travel
time should not be too long, there should not be too many stops,
they want to avoid too great a time difference, it should not be too
22
Profile Name: Fredrik and anna Johansson,
with children maja and oscar
Age: 41 and 39 years, and 5 and 3 years
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: Self-employed in the
agricultural sector and environment
manager for the local council.
Main reason for travelling: Spend
time with the family without stress
of the daily grind.
Family Travellers
Anna travelled plenty when she was
younger, including backpacking in Asia
and safari in Kenya. Fredrik has not
travelled quite as much. Both like
travelling, but Anna is the one who is
most keen on faraway places. When
“They havestarted to look online
numerous times without being able to get enough information to decide on
a destination.”
“Family Travellersare relatively
experienced travellersand competent usersof the Internet. Their
decision-making processis longer, but on the
other hand they haveless time to spend
on finding newtravel providers
or websites.”
23
hot for the children and the hotel needs to be as
child-friendly as possible. At the same time, they
would like to travel when the weather is at its coldest
at home, but want to avoid the periods when tickets
are the most expensive. They have started to look
online numerous times without being able to get
enough information to decide on a destination. Their
last trip was a week-long package holiday to Costa rica.
Key learnings1. One-stop-shop. Family Travellers are relatively
experienced travellers and competent users of the
Internet. Their decision-making process is longer, but
on the other hand they have less time to spend on
finding new travel providers or websites. This means
that Family Travellers are a loyal customer segment
once they find a site that they like. A ‘one-stop-shop’
makes it easy for travellers to find everything they
need in one place.
2. Detailed information. Although competitive is an
important factor and attracts this customer group,
these travellers value detailed information higher
than low prices. Family Travellers are also keen to get
help finding the right destination. User generated
content can also help attract this customer segment,
for example through traveller reviews and photos
which can inspire and create trust. providing correct,
up-to-date and detailed information that shows
exactly what is included in the price at all stages of
the booking process is appreciated.
3. Good customer service. These travellers appreciate
customer service throughout the process comprising
search, booking and the trip itself. It may nevertheless
be difficult to transfer the expertise that can be
offered in a physical encounter to the Internet
environment. Family travellers can be converted from
search to booking by offering the right content and
guidance. One example of this could be a clear matrix
showing the tickets available, as well as hotel prices
and additional services such as seat reservation or
information about in-flight food. ‘Shopping baskets’
showing the total price for the trip also tend to be a
popular feature. In addition, customer service such as
live chat may be preferable in some cases.
“EmptyNesters are more active travellers than previous
generations and they express a strong need to
travel.”
Travellers in this segment still work and
have healthy finances. Just 12 percent
of those surveyed have a lower-than-
average household income. They are
also healthy and relatively fit compared
to previous Empty Nester generations.
This segment represents a large,
growing and increasingly important
customer group. The fact that they no
longer have children living at home
means that these travellers are flexible
when it comes to dates, and do not
need to plan their trips so far in
advance.
Empty Nesters are somewhat less
Internet mature compared with the
previous customer segments but
almost 75 percent still use the Internet
24
Empty NestersEmpty Nesters are travellers aged between 45 and 64, with an average age of 56, without children or with
children who have left home.
“Consumers agedbetween 45 and 64
represent a fourth ofall travellers and take
between three and four trips with overnight stays
per year, 70 percentof which are trips
abroad.“
“This segmentrepresents a large,
growing and increasingly important customer
group. The fact that they no longer have children
living at home means that these travellers are flexible
when it comes to dates and do not need to plan
their trips so far in advance.”
17 Findahl, Olle (2011). Svenskarna och Internet 2011. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur. 18 Danmarks Statistik (2011). Befolkningens brug av internet 2010. 25
daily17. 76 percent have bought products and services
online, despite fear of payment card fraud being
more common in this group than in younger
segments18. One fifth has uploaded photos on social
networks or shared information about their trips
online.
TravelEmpty Nesters are more active travellers than
previous generations and they express a strong need
to travel. Consumers aged between 45 and 64
represent a fourth of all travellers and take between
three and four trips with overnight stays per year,
70 percent of which are trips abroad. Together with
the oldest customer group, Golden Oldies, Empty
Nesters spend the most money on travel per person
per year.
This customer segment appreciates relaxed holidays
but barely a third prefer beach holidays and especially
the Scandinavian tour operator concept. unlike
Family Travellers, Empty Nesters often opt for more
unusual destinations featuring more adventure and
special themes. However, they also take shorter
breaks to cities due to the affordable flights available.
Booking and inspirationDespite being somewhat less online savvy than the
younger segments, these consumers do use the
Internet to find travel information, something which
they also find rather entertaining. They usually find
inspiration for their travels from tour operator
websites or catalogues, specific airlines and travel
agencies. Just over half still book their trips directly
with airlines and prefer traditional brands over low-
fare operators. Empty Nesters represent the second
most important customer segment for tour
operators.
Empty Nesters are happy to book through a travel
agency and feel that it is worth paying a service fee to
get help with booking. In these cases they use
traditional agencies rather than those with an online
presence exclusively.
have considered selling to buy a holiday property abroad. Several of
their friends have houses or flats in Spain or southern France.
However, they are still undecided and while they wait they try to
visit as many places as possible.
Both Kirsten and lars work, but they no longer need to adapt to the
children’s school holidays or similar. That is why they are now
visiting a series of cities that they always dreamt of seeing or
returning to; Barcelona, Milano, london and paris. They go on
package holidays at least once a year to get a bit of sunshine. They
try to avoid travelling in high season and are relatively flexible
when it comes to dates. The last trip, a week on Gran Canaria, was
booked one month before departure.
Kirsten and lars have a pretty good idea of where they want to go.
However, when it comes to city breaks they are not too concerned
about where they end up, as there’s so much to see! Two or three
times they have chosen their destination based on the routes
26
Profile Name: Kirsten and lars Jensen
Age: 56 and 60 years
Nationality: danish
Occupation: architect and
construction engineer
Main reason for travelling: to enjoy
good food and good company, and
to visit new places and/or old
favourite spots.
Empty Nesters
Kirsten and lars live north of Copenhagen
and have three grown up children aged
33, 30 and 24. When the children were
small, the family could not afford
expensive holidays. Back then they
mainly took driving holidays, either to
Sweden to go skiing or to southern
Europe, or bought last-minute deals.
Today the house feels empty and they
“Both Kirsten andLars work, but they no
longer need to adapt to the children’s school
holidays or similar. Thatis why they are now
visiting a series of cities that they always dreamt
of seeing or returningto; Barcelona, Milano,
London and Paris.”
27
offered by a low-fare airline. They find it rather easy
and convenient to look for flights online. Finding a
hotel can be difficult and often takes time, which is
why they have at times chosen to book flights and
accommodation together. They subscribe to several
newsletters to receive special offers. Kirsten has even
opened a Facebook account and keeps up-to-date
with various campaigns by ‘liking’ different travel
providers. The trip to Gran Canaria was booked
through a tour operator. Having ordered the catalogue
and looked through it at home, they continued their
information search on the Internet where they also
eventually made the booking.
Key learnings1. One-stop-shop. Empty Nesters are loyal once they
find a provider or website that they like. Travel
agencies are therefore able to offer a one-stop-shop
where these travellers can search and book several
options, including ready-made package holidays or
content to tailor their own holiday. Even though low
prices generate visitors to the website or to the shop,
extensive information is more important. These
travellers also value personal service, which can be
achieved through for example live chat. If they
instead choose to visit the travel agency’s shop in
order to ask questions about the destination, it may
be good if the travel agency can recreate the same
searches as they made on their home computer.
loyalty can also be achieved through customer
programmes such as points schemes.
2. Detailed information. Since Empty Nesters are
experienced travellers and competent Internet users,
they have established relationships with various travel
providers and chosen a preferred channel for booking. It
is therefore important to provide sufficient relevant
information in order to boost the conversion from
customers who search to customers who book. It is also
necessary to give travellers the right guidance in order
to achieve this. The type of content that most interests
this customer group tends to be traditional airlines but
also low cost airlines, package holidays and hotels. They
appreciate having access to a clear matrix showing
available tickets, hotel prices etc. Too complicated rules
should on the other hand be avoided while the inclusion
of ‘shopping baskets’ that show the total price of the
selected holiday tend to be a much appreciated feature.
3. Personal experience. For this segment the search
experience can be personalised through, for example,
a ‘My pages’ feature, personalised messages based on
previous bookings or suggestions along the lines of
‘Other people also booked...’. It is also becoming
increasingly important for providers to be capable of
offering additional services such as seat reservation
and in-flight meals. As Empty Nesters are interested
in trips taken by others, the inclusion of user-
generated content may be beneficial.
lars will be 60 this year and is planning to take the
whole family abroad: Kirsten, their three children
and the oldest daughter’s partner and their little girl.
He is considering either a package holiday to Thailand
or a cruise. He will probably visit a travel agency for
advice though. They will be quite a large group and
he wants there to be something for everyone to enjoy.
28
“This group isalso the largest
consumer of package tours.”
Golden Oldies are travellers aged 65 years
and above who are (usually) retired
and consequently have plenty of time
to travel. They are therefore flexible on
dates. This customer group enjoys
trips involving a large number of
organised activities more than the
younger generations. Despite this,
they do not express the same urge to
travel. This customer group’s income is
shrinking, but is still on an average to
high level, meaning that they are able
to spend their money on travel.
28
Golden OldiesTravellers aged 65 years and above who are (usually)
retired and consequently have plenty of time to travel.
This segment has the lowest level of
Internet maturity. According to Olle
Findahl’s report “Svenskarna och
Internet 2011”, 51 percent of Swedish
consumers aged 65-74 use Internet
daily while the corresponding figure for
people aged 75 and above is 27 percent19.
On average 26 percent of this age
group had shopped online in 2010 and
almost 40 percent worry when it comes
to using payment cards online20. Also,
according to a report by Danmarks
19 Findahl, Olle (2011). Svenskarna och Internet 2011. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur. 20 Findahl, Olle (2010). Svenskarna och Internet 2010. Stiftelsen för Internetinfrastruktur.
29
“This customergroup also displays
more brand loyalty than others and tend to pick
well established providers to satisfy their need
for security.”
“The average sum spent per trip and person is the highest of all segments in
the survey. Sunny destinations are the most popular (26 percent) while
they tend to avoid city breaks. Instead they opt for theme travels, cruises
and golf holidays.“
29
Statistik, 31 percent of the Danish population aged 65-89
used the Internet daily in 2010, and only 20 percent
of this age group had done a purchase online during
the last 12 months21.
TravelGolden Oldies do not experience the same need to
travel as other customer segments. Travelling has
nevertheless become an ‘every-day thing’ in this
customer group. Amadeus’ survey shows that 60 percent
usually travel with their partner while only four percent
travel with their children or grand children. Multi-
generational travel is nevertheless becoming more
and more common. This customer group also displays
more brand loyalty than others and tend to pick well
established providers to satisfy their need for security.
The most popular trips among Golden Oldies are
traditional beach holidays to southern Europe, but
more adventurous destinations are also common.
A majority of trips taken are trips abroad. This customer
segment accounts for 18 percent of all consumers
and takes four trips by air or rail per year. The average
sum spent per trip and person is the highest of all
segments in the survey. Sunny destinations are the
most popular (26 percent) while they tend to avoid
city breaks. Instead they opt for theme travels, cruises
and golf holidays.
The weather at home tends to govern the timing of
trips more than anything else. When it comes to
selecting a destination, this segment is happy to go
by friends’ recommendations and the destination
itself is often the purpose of the trip. price is rarely a
determining factor for these travellers.
Booking and inspirationGolden Oldies are sceptical of buying products online,
but are happy to go online for travel inspiration if
they have access to the Internet. They use tour
operator and airline websites, as well as traditional
travel agencies. However, half book their flights
directly with the airline, a fourth are made through a
tour operator, and the remaining one fourth, the
highest share of all segments, are made through
traditional travel agencies. Golden Oldies represent
the customer group that is most positive to booking
through a travel agency offline, both because they are
accustomed to doing so and because they feel secure
having face-to-face contact. This group is also the
largest consumer of package holidays.
21 Danmarks Statistik (2011). Befolkningens brug av internet 2010.
Instead, they spent their spare time in the family holiday home in
Swedish roslagen. Each year they travelled to the Swedish
mountains for a week of skiing.
Since retiring, the couple has taken one beach holiday per year in
the Mediterranean, ideally in spring to avoid the hottest months.
They still spend the summer months in the Stockholm archipelago.
They also make one or two trips to Brussels to visit relatives each
year. Göran tends to be the one who researches their trips.
Considering that he is 75 years old, he is an ‘early adopter’ and
frequent user of the Internet. He even owns a smartphone. Eva is
not as interested in technology and spends very little time online.
They book however their holidays in a travel agency shop.
Both Eva and Göran are interested in history and culture and they
have therefore gone on several such holidays organised by one of
the Swedish broadsheets together with various travel agencies.
So far they have “Explored the architecture and paintings of venice”,
30
Profile Name: Eva and göran hansson
Age: 70 and 75 years
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: retired. Eva is a
pharmacist and göran is a doctor.
Main reason for travelling:
Exploring older cultures and history.
Golden Oldies
Eva and Göran live in Stockholm. They
retired some years ago but Göran still
works as much as he can. The couple
has travelled a lot, both in a professional
capacity and privately. Eva accompanied
Göran on various international
conferences as often as she could.
Having three children meant that they
did not take many holidays abroad.
“What appeals to them the most about the
theme travels is the entire package which includes Swedish-speaking tour guides. Sometimes they have even chosen their
destination based on the guide involved. This was
the case when well-known Swedish historian Hatte
Furuhagen guided one of the trips to Italy.”
31
learned about the “Kings, world heritage and politics
of Jordan” and taken a river cruise on the Garonne in
France. They are also still talking about their tours of
Morocco and Istanbul.
Key learnings1. Good customer service. Good support throughout
the process, from search to booking, is important to
this customer group as they value security and trust.
It is also important to be able to offer relevant
additional services such as seat reservations for more
leg room. One option could be to offer a detailed and
personal search and booking process, both online
and through the traditional travel agency channel.
For this segment, the search experience could be
personalised using, for example, ‘My pages’ and
personal messages.
2. Information equals security. One challenge with
this customer group is to offer sufficient information
in the online channel for them to feel safe. This
means providing the right type of information and
relevant offers in order to give them the chance to
tailor their trip based on their specific interests. The
offer should include both traditional and low cost
airlines, packages and theme travels as well as hotels,
and a clear matrix showing the tickets available,
hotel prices etc. These travellers demand correct and
detailed information showing exactly what is
included. On the other hand, rules should not be too
complicated and information on the total price for
the selected trip should be displayed in so called
‘shopping baskets’.
3. Customer care. Travel agencies have the opportunity
to build on their existing relationships with this
segment and create loyalty by expanding their
offering. Add-on services such as seat reservation or
in-flight meals, as well as information about trips
taken by other travellers, are appreciated. For theme
travels and group trips, get-togethers may be a good
way of giving travellers the information and the
feeling of security they require ahead of the trip while
also giving them the opportunity to meet the other
travellers. Introducing customer schemes, for
example through the allocation of points for every
trip booked, may also create loyalty.
What appeals to them the most about the theme
travels is the entire package which includes Swedish-
speaking tour guides. Sometimes they have even
chosen their destination based on the guide involved.
This was the case when well-known Swedish
historian Hatte Furuhagen guided one of the trips to
Italy. Aside from the destination itself and the
package, the couple values travelling in comfort. In the
past they have chosen to travel first class on long-
haul journeys to have more leg room.
32
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33
ConclusionsThe five customer segments represent different conditions
for travel providers depending on the varying needs ofthe travellers, their knowledge and habits.
The five customer segments represent different conditions for
travel providers depending on the varying needs of the
travellers, their knowledge and their purpose for travelling.
Although there are clear similarities between the different
segments, like the willingness to make a good deal, it is
impossible to generalise. However, some conclusions can still
be drawn, giving us an idea of how people travel today and
how developments can create opportunities for all travel
providers.
Family Travellers represent the largest customer group based
on volume, accounting for a third of all flight bookings in
Scandinavia. Golden Oldies are nevertheless the most frequent
air travellers. This customer group also spends the most money
on travel after Empty Nesters. Together, these two segments
account for more than half of the total travel spend. Family
Travellers thus account for the largest number of flight
bookings while the two older customer segments generate
the most revenue.
Digital Natives is the group with the greatest overall potential.
65 percent of flight bookings in this customer group are not
made through a travel agency or tour operator. Instead, these
travellers tend to book ‘flights only’. However, these consumers
represent tomorrow’s leisure and business travellers and are
thus an important segment to monitor. By attracting Digital
Natives early on in the search process, through digital services
and technology that represents broad yet relevant content,
travel providers are able to strengthen their relationships with
this customer group and expand the relevant product offering.
Young Adults, on the other hand, represent the largest real
potential for travel agencies. A third of flight bookings in this
customer group not made through a travel agency or tour
operator are bookings where travellers have
purchased flights and accommodation
separately and that could potentially have
been booked through a travel agency.
Today’s consumers are empowered. They
are in the driver’s seat with all the
information in the world just a click away. In
today’s competitive environment, one can
therefore not presume to change consumer
behaviour. It is also difficult to change
consumer attitudes towards a booking
channel or the intermediary role that travel
agencies represent. Instead, travel industry
players stand a better chance of influencing
their target group’s decision-making
processes by:
• Being present where the target group is, for example in the mobile channel or in social networks.
• Attracting the target group to the shop or website by displaying competitive prices and the right type of offers.
• Offering the target group choice.
• Meeting the target group’s expectations with regard to offer, user interface and service.
34
Website hintsThe website experience is generally
very important to consumers.
A study conducted by Tealeaf Technology Inc. for the British
market in 2011 shows that even if the price is the most important
factor (66 percent) almost half state that a positive experience at
the time of booking is highly important. When asked what
contributes to a positive impression of a website, the respondents
answered competitive prices (69 percent) followed by ease of
navigation (41 percent). 21 percent felt that a lack of errors
contributed to a positive experience and 15 percent valued access
to contact details22.
In 2011, Amadeus Scandinavia performed 15
in-depth interviews to examine what factors
characterised a positive and a negative
experience of travel sites respectively. In some
cases the subjects experienced significant
frustration. Below are some hints on what
these travellers valued and disliked the most.
The order in which they are listed does not reflect
the importance accorded to each feature.
22 Tealeaf Technology Inc.(2011). ”The ebooker: Understanding how travel customers use the web”.
Factors that create a positive experience:
Factors that create a negative experience:
• After going through several search steps,
selected alternative is not available.
• An error message appears stating what went wrong
(which affects the traveller’s trust in the provider).
• The website is not user-friendly and creates
confusion,forexamplewhenthepageforflights
has a different lay-out to the one for package holidays.
• The return journey month is not automatically
matched to the departure month.
• There is no low-fare calendar, or the low-fare
calendarisdifficulttofind.
• Aspecificdestinationmustbegivenbefore
starting the search. Sometimes travellers prefer
to search for attractive trips by date and price
instead of a list of destinations. It can also be
difficulttoseeinwhatcountrythedestination
is located.
• The website search engine does not recognise
the destination or hotel and responds stating
that the word has been misspelled, even though
it has not. There are often several ways of spelling
the name of a destination.
• Unclear from the results list whether the
alternatives generated involve stop-overs and
lack of information on transit times.
• Dates are not shown in calendar form and
travellers need to verify the date of a certain
weekday themselves.
• Visitors have to enter the same information
several times on the same website.
• It is not clear what the different additional
charges are for; if there are any additional charges
or what the total cost is.
• Thefilterfunctionworksbadlyandthewrong results are generated.
• The ‘show on map’ function for e.g. hotels is
difficulttofind.
• Notclearwhatfiltershavebeenselected,e.g. when only a few hotels are shown for a popular
destination.
• A low-fare calendar.
•Filter for preferred travel time (morning,
afternoon,evening)orfilterclearlyshowing
which options are the quickest or the cheapest.
•Clearly stated transit times.
•The information entered by the visitor is
automatically populated as he/she navigates the
website.
•Possibility of adding +-1 day without having
to restart the search.
•Mobile application that allows users to, e.g.
searchforflightswhileonthebus.
•Detailed hotel information and good quality,
descriptive images.
•Reviews and ranking of hotels.
•The website remembers information from the
previous visit, for example the number of children
and their ages.
•Transparent special offer prices.
•Broad geographic database (to come closer to the
destination sought).
About Amadeusamadeus is the chosen technology partner and transaction processor for the global
travel and tourism industry. the company provides distribution and technology solutions
to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry.
customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway
companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel
sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers).
amadeus’ solutions and services are used by our customer groups in different
ways. More than 91,350 travel agency points of sale and over 67,180 airline sales offices
use the amadeus system to run their business. many of the industry’s other leading
travel service providers use our modular technology to optimise their distribution and
internal operational requirements.
amadeus has central sites in madrid (corporate headquarters and marketing),
Nice (development) and Erding (Operations – data processing centre) and regional offices
in miami, buenos aires, bangkok and dubai. at market level, amadeus maintains customer
operations through 73 local amadeus commercial organisations covering 195 countries.
amadeus operates under a transaction-based business model that offers it solutions
to virtually all players in the travel industry. the amadeus system processed 948 million
key billed travel transactions23 in 2011. amadeus is traded on the Spanish Stock Exchanges
as of 29 april 2010 [amS].
Our tagline, “Your technology partner”, reflects the approach we take towards
our customers. We focus on building and maintaining mutually beneficial long-term
relationships. through this stability we develop an understanding of where we can
maximise our customers’ success, through the provision of technology.
To find out more about Amadeus please go to www.amadeus.com/sca
23 Key Billed travel transactions include air & non-air travel agency bookings, passengers boarded (PBs) & e-commerce passenger name records PNRs
Amadeus Scandinavia AB Gävlegatan 22, Box 6602 SE-113 84 Stockholm, SwedenTelephone: +46 8 458 05 00www.amadeus.com/sca
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