How can technology meet the expectations of travellers in Africa?

I was fortunate enough to moderate a panel exploring the aviation industry in Africa and some of the key themes included:

• Current state of Africa:

  There’s optimism about the collaboration going on between travel players to develop custom solutions that could be used elsewhere in the future.

• Improving customer touchpoints:

  Mobile technology was cited as one of the keys to reaching travellers and pushing messages – but Africa needs to catch up with the rest of the world in this space.

• Personalisation:

  Travellers in Africa have simple needs – but travel players need the basic cornerstones correct to offer better personalisation. Though it may seem far off in Africa – the impact it can have on bottom lines can’t be ignored.

• Improving airport – airline experience:

  With each airline controlling at least one major airport there is room for more collaboration and technology can enables this.

• Key future innovation:

  Mobile was cited as the key innovation with an emphasis on taking simple elements and optimising them for mobile.

Overall, I was quite encouraged by the lively discussions as they further underlined that there is great potential in the region, though cooperation is needed to get the basics right.

Have a look at this video of the panel discussion and be sure to read the guest posts in our Fly Africa series from ECAir and ASKY Airlines.

series where Amadeus airline partners in Africa share their experiences and strategies to serve the continent.