Are Bots Worth the Bother? How Conversational Commerce Can Help the Travel Industry

whitePaper | July 8, 2021

This whitepaper explains: Travel is an ultra-high-risk sector for card acquirers because most payments are for future delivery. If merchants fail to fulfill a service for which they have taken payment (often months in advance) customers can recover their money from the acquirer by initiating chargeback. Acquirers traditionally demand substantial cash collateral (holdbacks) or other financial security from travel merchants to mitigate this risk. Holdbacks lock away substantial funds for travel companies and can therefore be highly damaging to liquidity. High-profile collapses and the COVID-19 crisis have driven acquirers to impose harsher terms or quit the travel sector completely.

whitePaper | October 14, 2022

Spontaneity is highly associated with overall well-being.Spontaneous people are dependable, agreeable and more open to experience.Generally, people who plan less for their holidays have overall better well-being.People who are more spontaneous report enjoying their holidays more,and this has a substantial positive effect on well-being.

whitePaper | September 27, 2022

The World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Sustainable Tourism has developed the following principles to guide businesses, governments, destinations, travellers and resident communities to better design and manage tourism destinations and practices for many years to come. Over the past 50 years, international arrivals have grown from 200 million to close to 1.6 billion. This tremendous growth in international connectivity and travel has had countless economic and societal benefits worldwide, not least the contribution of 10% of global GDP in recent years and as the generator of 1 in every 10 jobs

whitePaper | February 16, 2020

In the competitive hospitality industry customers are demanding a better, more personalized experience. Despite increased consumer spending, operational expenses are putting brands under pressure leading them to search for new efficiency. Mergers, new partnerships, personalization, and digitization are causing the volumes of data to grow. Older technologies aren’t keeping up with the change despite rising maintenance costs. Travel companies must contend with a complex set of ever-changing products and services. Hospitality companies require the ability to provide premium services at a lower cost. Meanwhile, airlines are forced to compete with low-cost alternatives.

whitePaper | May 10, 2022

The Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2021 is an evolution of the 15-year-old Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) series, a flagship index of the World Economic Forum’s Platform for Shaping the Future of Mobility. This revised index serves as a strategic benchmarking tool for policy-makers, companies and complementary sectors to advance the future development of the Travel and Tourism (T&T) sector by providing unique insights into the strengths and development areas of each country/economy to enhance the realization of sector potential and growth. Furthermore, it serves as a platform for multistakeholder dialogue to understand and anticipate emerging trends and risks in global T&T, direct policies, practices and investment decisions, and accelerate new models that ensure the longevity of this important sector.

whitePaper | December 7, 2022

Despite significant advances throughout travel and tourism, many aspects of international travel remain encumbered by manual processes that are susceptible to fraud. For many years, aspiring voices from government and industry have advocated a vision of better travel experiences. A vision where outdated paper-based processes are replaced by modern digital processes that include strong identity assurance; and where passengers can travel from anywhere to anywhere using just their Digital Identity1 But as both the travel and tourism sectors – and the technology that underpins them – have been transformed, it is important for governments to begin developing their own strategies to deliver safe, secure and seamless travel for all international travelers, regardless of their mode of transport.