Janet Aldworth, MD of Sure Voyager Travel, is a legend and a long-standing and respected leader in the South African retail travel industry.
How has Aldworth managed to remain successful and relevant through 43 years in the travel industry, particularly as she deals with a largely leisure-orientated market?
Aldworth spoke to Travel News and shared some of the principles behind her philosophy on the retail travel business in 2023.
“Firstly, a proper travel agent consults with a client, getting to know what they like and don’t like, what they are hoping to achieve from their holiday (action, beaching, learning, experiencing), what the budget is, what their preferences are in accommodation, and what the traveller’s overall aspirations are. The agent will get all the vital information from their client, because they need to draw from their experience, to match what the client wants with the perfect programme.
“There is currently no Artificial Intelligence that can pick up on the nuances needed to envisage the right spot for these clients to spend their hard-earned holiday. It has to be done by humans.”
Looking at the scope of available travel technology, what is available is a basic form of AI. The fact is, most artificial business intelligence presently uses Narrow AI. A Harvard Business Review article, published in March 2021, concluded that: “AI-based machines are fast, more accurate, and consistently rational, but they aren't intuitive, emotional, or culturally sensitive.” PricewaterhouseCoopers published a survey in March 2023, in which global business leaders recognised that the main value of AI in business was the automation of processes and the improvement of human decision-making processes. This is largely because business AI still requires human input and supervision, particularly in ambiguous situations, making it an extension of human intelligence rather than a substitute for human intuition or creativity.
That said, Aldworth suggested that one of the challenges facing many leisure travel agencies, was lack of real-world travel experience.
“Few travel agents (I don’t say consultants) have actually travelled more than perhaps a week in Mauritius or Phuket, or a Contiki Tour. But experienced traveller clients are going to need more than this, and will experiment with various avenues in order to obtain as much information as possible about their destinations, local experiences, and prices,” said Aldworth.
Consequently, her advice to agencies that rarely venture beyond selling point-to-point packages, is this: “Be sure you spend money on your staff experiencing travel on their own, to gain knowledge and insight that people are willing to pay for. No one is willing to pay you for what they can get off the Internet.”
In a 2017 survey of American travellers, conducted by Signature Travel Network and The Center for Generational Kinetics, 51% believed they would have to pay more for travel through a travel consultant; the perception of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ holiday was another barrier; and Millennial travellers expressed concern about having an overly ‘touristy’ trip if they booked through an agent who was accustomed to selling packaged holidays, and they would then miss out on the local culture. However, 37% of the surveyed travellers suggested that they would definitely use travel agents because of their knowledge of advantageous amenities (such as a free breakfast) and upgrades (hotel, airline, or vehicle).
It would be fair to suggest that a well-travelled consultant would certainly be equipped to guide a Millennial who’s looking for a local experience, rather than a ‘touristy’ holiday. And, that well-travelled consultant could make suggestions that aren’t included in a run-of-the-mill packaged holiday. And, of course, the financial creativity of a travel agent is not limited to value-adds and upgrades – it extends to dealing with complicated flight itineraries, which are often best navigated when broken down into a combination of cost-effective fare components.
As our Travel Legend so aptly put it: “Only when a traveller finds a real travel consultant, will they know that all AI products, including the Internet, are limited to facts and figures, but cannot provide the intuitive recommendations or create the unforgettable ideas that a travel agent can.”
