When I think back to traveling for business at this time last year, hand sanitizer, personal space and the option of video calls versus a plane ride might have been on my list of nice-to-haves. A year later they are at the top of everyone's must-have list.
I look forward to my first trip to see a customer in 2021. When it happens, I want to be assured every touch point of my trip prioritizes my health and safety and that of my fellow travelers.
Amadeus is among the few companies in the world at the intersection of travel and technology across airlines, airports, hospitality, payments, travel sellers and others in the travel ecosystem. As we worked with customers through crisis mitigation, it became clear that technology would be at the core of recovery, particularly business travel recovery, because business travelers have historically shown higher adoption of new travel technologies compared to leisure travelers.
Our global survey proved this once again: More than four of five travelers said technology would increase their confidence to travel in the next 12 months and business travelers were the most likely traveler type to be reassured by technology. U.S. travelers, specifically, wanted technology to reduce lines and congestion, protect financial and personal data, and minimize face-to-face or physical contact.
Enter Touchless Technologies
Touchless technologies will answer that call in 2021. They will digitize the passenger journey with biometric screening, digital payments and mobile applications.
While the check-in process has been evolving over the years with remote check-in and mobile boarding passes, travelers are likely to experience an evolution of the boarding process in 2021, with biometric screening at more gates and with more airlines. U.S. business travelers, in particular, expressed the most interest in facial recognition technology to increase their confidence to travel in the next year.
While we've all been grounded, we've become more accustomed to digital and alternate forms of payment. As we return to travel, paying with non-cash or non-swipe methods will be preferred everywhere to eliminate the need to exchange cash or input PIN numbers.
Having easy access to information about the safety of destinations, including local outbreaks, guidelines and restrictions, is essential to me as a business traveler. I'm not alone. In Amadeus' survey, access to full information is the experience that most respondents selected where technology can address concerns and encourage travel. Both business travelers and travel advisors must have this information at their fingertips at all stages of a trip.
When global travel halted last year, technology enabled many Amadeus customers to make quick adjustments for drastic demand changes. As sights shifted to recovery and how to rethink travel for the future, these same customers accelerated implementation of new technologies and pushed better adoption of existing ones. The industry will see more of this in 2021—and it will be key to business traveler confidence and satisfaction.