Five Things to Worry About for Tour Operators Who Didn’t Digitalize and Didn’t Get Ready For the Travel Rebound

digitalize tourism

Travel companies are aware of the new trend on the market, which is looking for innovative and contactless technology. They are also mindful of the need to embrace the importance of tour operators’ digitalization and automation of their business processes to compete on the market once travel bounces back to its full strength.


Everyone is talking about why you should digitalize. But, we’ve decided to turn things around, and as a digital-first product company, sum up what can happen to a travel business if they choose not to digitalize.

  • If you’re not digitalizing, you’re risking the market share you currently have.

    There were several disruptors of the travel industry in the past, with OTAs being the last one. With the shift in the mindset of the (future) customers and travelers, tour operators that don’t change the way they do business now and disregard the importance of digitalization, will lose market share and possibly face closing.
  • If you’re not digitalizing, you can be sure your competitors are.

    There are new players coming. We’ve received over 200 requests for our solution from newly formed, digital-first companies. They may seem small now, but with their way of work being in line with the (future) customer behavior, they’re here to disrupt the market. Everyone who sees the importance of digitalization is on a trajectory to success, while others will stay behind in the race for every customer.
Multi-Day Tours Sector: Lack of Technology Adoption and Online Travel Agencies’ Support
  • If you’re not digitalizing, you’re losing relevance in the eyes of your customers.

    Without a digital presence and with the shift of generations, you’re on a road to becoming irrelevant in the customers’ eyes. Make sure to be present where your customers are.

Related: Travel in 2021: Four Reasons Why People Will Use Tour Operators More Than Ever

  • If you’re not digitalizing, how are you monitoring your business performance?

    Now, more than ever, you need to know what works and what doesn’t. Selling products that you’re not earning any money from could have worked before, but now it’s important to focus on the 20-30% of your top-performing products, and stop losing money on the lower performing ones. If you don’t know how your business is performing on a product and staff member level, how will you be able to make data-driven decisions, and scale your business?
  • If you’re not digitalizing, are you ready for your costs to rise?

    With the workers’ shortage the travel industry is currently facing, the cost of work has increased and will continue to do so in the future to be in line with other industries. With digitalization, you’re able to harness the power technology brings to automate your processes which leads to your costs reducing, not increasing.

Related: Why Should a CEO of a Tour Operator Care About Digitalization?

If you’re reading this, it means you’ve probably survived the big Covid-19 crisis that has hit the travel industry. Ensure that disregarding digitalization is not the reason for the stagnation or decline of your business.

Digitalization does not mean only moving to the web (although that’s one of the key customer-facing elements). It means having processes behind that support this move, allowing your customers to have a fantastic experience from the very first contact to the after-travel.