Saudi business travelers ‘influenced’ by travel agents advice: report

Tech savvy business travelers in Saudi Arabia seek agent advice, digital solutions and hybrid support delivered throughout their travel experience, according to travel commerce platform Travelport.

In its “Digital Business Traveler Research 2019” report, the company said that over two thirds (77 percent) of business travelers in the Kingdom felt recommendations from travel agents carry the greatest influence over their travel choices.

However, almost two thirds have both used voice search to investigate flight times, hotel options and local activities (63 percent), and researched and booked business trips entirely on their smartphone (58 percent). Close to 60 percent of business travelers want hybrid support delivered through live chat functions on smartphone apps.

The report further revealed that in the transit phase, 39 percent of business travelers find it “very painful” when they are unable to access their booking information on all of their devices and nearly 80 percent are open to providing biometric data if it can reduce waiting times.

When travel is disrupted, the report found 35 percent of business travelers in Saudi Arabia like to have face-to-face conversations or phone calls with a person to find solutions. Interestingly, one third of the survey takers said they would be happy to be serviced through a chat service such as WhatsApp on their smartphone.

Once they have reached their destination, over half of business travelers prefer concierge services delivered through their smartphone (59 percent), rather than face-to-face, and 54 percent prefer a digital room key to unlock their hotel room door.

“Demand from business travelers in Saudi Arabia for seamless omni-channel support throughout their journey is rising rapidly. Our study clearly shows the need today for a true blend of digital and offline solutions, as travelers increasingly turn to travel agents to solve complex issues and real-time digital solutions for more straight-forward or immediate support,” said Mohammed Khair, country manager for Saudi Arabia, Travelport.

The report was based on responses from 8,100 business travelers across 25 countries.