The future of travel can be so different from today. It is too soon to even explain the definition of a new normal travel. Pandemic situations like this are always unprecedented, no one is ready for it, but it is also the opportunity to rethink the whole idea of travel. We could redefine together what is normal, and how could it be not only new, but also better.
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Go Near and Get Lost
To stay relevant, we need to know what really happens when we travel during this pandemic. Our design team decided to go on two different kinds of trips to get comprehensive answers to those questions. We “go near” for a staycation in Jakarta and “get lost” to unique domestic destinations such as Sumba and Labuan Bajo that exposed us to travel agents and local guides.
We then divide our stories from the journey into four big chunks of travel stages which are Discover & Book, Plan & Depart, Arrive In Destination, and Coming Home. We found unique findings from different phases of the journey that we see as interesting. Some of them are quite counter-intuitive stories that have only emerged from this pandemic situation.
From the stories of going near and getting lost, we extracted some insights from the findings. Using the psychosocial dimension we group the insights into five themes which are motivation, emotion, social, cognitive, and physical. All of these dimensions might intertwine in some aspects but they have their own unique objectives that are quite fundamental to people and generalizable to a bigger population.
Our process in uncovering insights from the journey
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Key Takeaways
After we extracted some insights and discover some new ideas, we then reflect on our journey and findings to learn what pandemic really brings about. Here are the things we’ve learned:
We Design for Desire
Regardless of the challenges that emerged during the pandemic, we need to realize that we design for desire. If we want to help humans solve their problems, we need to acknowledge that the root of those problems, more often than not, is the desire in itself. Therefore, we need to cater to this aspect of desirability as an essential entry point to designated experience, especially in the travel and hospitality industry.
The desire to travel has naturally declined in some ways because of the pandemic. However, there are also some desires that are elevated because the situation restricts and confines people in their homes. A lower travel frequency creates scarcity and longing that makes travel and hospitality no longer being taken for granted.
These built-up desires might create a slingshot momentum that launches the travel industry to its recovery and beyond. It is, in fact, our opportunity to build up the capability of our platform to cater to those emerging desires and determine the future of travel and how technology can enable it better.
Information Crisis
While the pandemic is obviously a health crisis, it also creates an economic crisis. But what we often forget is that the pandemic is essentially an information crisis. This is because we can’t see the virus, we don’t know where it is, we don’t know whether what we do to prevent it from spreading is enough, and we basically don’t have enough clarity on the threats we are facing right now.
As an information aggregator, technology is supposed to offer the solution for these problems. However, sometimes news and other information sources can overwhelm people. Even the validity of some of the information that has circulated around might even be questionable. Dissemination of information is best when delivered in a timely manner, when people need it the most, and where it is the most relevant to what they are trying to do.
As an OTA company, we play a role as an information aggregator that helps travellers to make an informed decision to travel. Therefore, it is our responsibility to deliver helpful and precise pandemic-related information that travellers need in the right place and at the right time.
Guided Experience
Digital technology holds a vital role in pushing the progression of economic value. Pine & Gilmore (1999) explains the progression from commodity to goods, service, and now experience. The pandemic has accelerated this progression because, right now, digital transformation occurs in multiple sectors. However, with travel, the experience itself doesn’t necessarily need to be transformed into a digital experience.
Technology’s role in travel is both an information aggregator and an enabler of the travel activity itself. This enabler role can be translated into a guided experience for our users.
A guided experience means we don’t only play our role as a platform that sells tickets but also go beyond the post-purchase stage and to the actual travel experience itself. We need to provide a guided experience and be a helpful assistant that helps our users during their travel, especially during this pandemic when our users need our help the most.
Beyond Technology
In travel and hospitality, human interaction and physical experience are still irreplaceable. We learn from the pandemic that technology alone can’t solve everything in the context of tourism. In fact, digital fatigue and cabin fever are rising amidst the social restrictions and stay-at-home policy, which makes the digitalized tourism experience seem a little bit futile.
According to Pine & Gilmore (1999), there are four realms of experience: Entertainment, Education, Aesthetic, and Escapism. The travel and hospitality sectors are more inclined toward Aesthetic and Escapism experiences that are more immersive in their dimension. This means that tourism requires not only digital but also physical touchpoints.
As an OTA company, we can advance ourselves to become a travel and hospitality company in a more holistic way if we venture beyond digital. By creating a physical supporting facility and actually developing the physical experience constructs, we can achieve what we call cohesive and connected travel.
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Reference
Pine, B. J., Pine, J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1999). The experience economy: Work is theatre & every business a stage. Harvard Business Press.