Last week the Airports Council International (ACI) World launched the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) 2024 Global Traveller Survey (GTS) report, revealing shifts in passenger expectations amidst a stabilising travel landscape and an increasing demand for traveller wellbeing and premium experiences.
The Airports Council International ( ACI) is the voice of the world’s airports. It is a global organisation which represents the interests of airports and also promotes airport standards and excellence in the aviation industry. ACI World is the leader globally in airport management and represents more than 2600 airports across more than 190 countries and territories.
The survey covered 4125 passengers across 30 countries who have travelled by air at least once in the past 12 months. It covered such broad headings as potential impact of external events on the air travel industry, value for money and conscious consumerism, growth in premium and personalisation, information sharing, seamless automated travel journeys, overall experience throughout the journey, among others.
Travel intentions remained positive from the report in spite of economic pressures. While the willingness to fly remains steady, the report further stated that travellers are now planning trips further in advance and show growing confidence in long-term travel arrangements, reflecting a post-COVID return of industry confidence.
Having a focus on consumer wellbeing was also considered. The expectation of travellers is that they have an enjoyable experience that will keep their stress and anxiety levels at their lowest.
With an eye on the passenger experience, the report points out that the most stressful touchpoints for travellers occur during the pre-boarding phase, with stress levels decreasing once these processes are completed. This insight for airports is an opportunity to improve the overall experience at shopping and dining facilities, as travellers are in a positive emotional state, yet their expectations are often not fully met.
Quoting Justin Erbacci, director general, ACI World, the report said, “The ASQ 2024 Global Traveller Survey report reflects a landscape where travellers’ expectations are solidifying around convenience, premium options, and sustainability. Travellers seek a reduced stress journey and are more eager than ever to enjoy enhanced airport experiences. They prioritise comfort, personalisation, and ethical engagement.”
The importance of ethical engagement as an expectation of passengers at airports is likely to be a differentiator across airports in emerging markets and African airports. It is likely to affect the choice of an airport over another in close regions. Where there is an emphasis on the Ease of Doing Business with continuous improvement on the score of such an airport on it, passengers will make choices tilted in favour of such an airport over another.
Four key consumer trends reshaping traveller preferences and setting new airport standards were highlighted in the report. These trends are seamless automated journeys, information sharing, growth in premium and personalisation and value for money and conscious consumerism.
With respect to seamless automated journeys, it states that travellers increasingly value technology that personalises and streamlines their journey, enhancing their overall wellbeing throughout the airport experience. So, airports will need to ensure that their IT strategic plans encompass both aeronautical and non-aeronautical segments of the airport business.
With respect to information sharing, the report found that many travellers are open to sharing some data, however, the industry must offer them the flexibility to choose what information they share and with whom. Data privacy should not be overlooked by airports even if many travellers in some regions are not making it an issue.
Another finding on consumer trends is that there is a growing demand for premium services, including faster check-ins and enhanced lounge experiences, with an emphasis on personalised, engaging, and entertaining journeys. This presents an opportunity for airports and airlines to improve their lounge experiences and offer improved and value-for-money services as there is a willingness to pay by the customer.
Travellers, it says, as it looks at value for money and conscious consumerism, are drawn to brands with ethical and eco-friendly practices, impacting their airport retail choices. Airport retail for Africa should increasingly focus on bringing African brands to the world. Travellers while leaving the continent should be able to buy well packaged and finished products stemming from edibles to non-perishable products. Co-operative societies of farmers should look at possible internationalisation strategies for their products to earn foreign exchange.
The young traveller trend was also highlighted. Younger travellers, it says, are eager to adjust their behaviour to support sustainability and are highly interested in airport initiatives focused on this area. Just like data privacy, airports in emerging market countries and African countries should not look away from sustainability as an important consideration as aviation is a global business.
So going forward, airports have valuable insights from this report to craft strategy and in Africa in particular, increase the number of persons per population that use air travel.
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