Josep Bellés is CEO of Beroni, specialist in technological assistance for travel agencies.
Half of the companies are below the average level, there is a lot of room for improvement.
The companyñíBeroni isá specialized in technological assistance to travel agencies and is a partner of ObservaTUR. Its CEO, Josep Bellés, has been in his position for 36 years and has seen how the distributions, who has been in the position for 36 years and has seen how the distribution of travel agency services has grown over the years.ós distribution has gone from telex to telefax, and from this to mail, websites and apps.from telex to fax, and from fax to mail, websites and apps. And, on the other hand, he has seen how tourism distribution has gone from telex to telefax to mail, websites and apps.ústill remember the 'bacaladeras' and the agents' fingers inked red for the banknotes... Do you still remember the 'bacaladeras' and the agents' fingers inked red for the banknotes?WhoéWho better than éwho better than him to explain to HOSTELTUR the evolution of digitalization in this activity?
¿Cóhow to qualifyíIs there a difference between large groups, networks and independent SMEs?
Overall, I would rate it as "making good progress". According to the study we have published with ObservaTUR, 50% consider its level to be average, so we have a lot of room for improvement. For me, this is encouraging, because we need to go further in order to face the challenges that will come in the future. They need reliable partners.
As for the large groups, logically they have their specialized departments. But it must be said that technology is not expensive at this time; it is an investment in the present in order to have a future. It is an important challenge for SMEs to join the technology bandwagon; they now have the possibility of accessing technology.
It has been repeatedly stated that travel agencies are not being used as a source of revenue.áDigital Kit, what do you think?you to whaté to what do you attribute this situation and how can it be corrected?
Only two out of 10 agencies have applied, mainly because they are not sufficiently familiar with the content of the program. In fact, 41% are completely unaware of the program, claiming never to have heard of these grants. We are all responsible for this situation, but we hope to provide this information before it expires on December 31, 2024.
Through ACAVE, UNAV, AVASA, AVIBA, etc., we have already talked about the goodness of the Digital Kit, there is nothing to pay and everything is favorable. We must explain it well enough. Also, it is possible that the timing of the SME agencies is not yet good, because even though the bookings have gone up, they are still returning the ICOs they asked for at the time.
¿Qué What does it mean for an agency to take advantage of the Digital Kit grant and to tackle its digitization process?n?
It is the necessary push for the agency to start or continue its path towards digitization. The Digital Kit helps but it is not enough for an agency to seriously address its digitization. For some it is the way to start and for others a way to accelerate the process. They are non-refundable grants, which I have never seen before. That's why I don't understand why a travel agency doesn't join.
"An agency that doesn't bet on its future now will have a blacker future than the competition that does."
In our case, 25% of our turnover is invested in innovation. As a technology company, we always have to be on the crest of the wave in order not to lose the breakthrough. In our case, this is mandatory, but a travel agency also has to make an effort along these lines.
Public subsidies will end on December 31, 2024, what will happen to those that have not been digitized by then?
Clearly, they will be as they are now and will be at a competitive disadvantage to the agency next door. They will have a darker future than the competition. Clients themselves are becoming more digital and, above all, more demanding, which forces you, as an agency, to do more things that you didn't do before.
It is increasinglyáIt is becoming more and more common for travel agencies to combine physical and electronic sales.ítraditional physical sales with online marketing.online marketing. ¿Whiché What needs to be improved in this area?
Multichannel is one of the big trends in this sector. Offline agencies have already known how to sell for a long time, but now they have to get more into online sales, which require a significant investment, with their payment gateway and automated reservations. They sell their products, which in the end end up arriving at the agency via email; now the client is required to pay for the reservation directly online.
In my opinion, the online world requires the travel agent to change the chip a bit. The way of thinking and acting in e-commerce is different. Sometimes they try to put into practice online what they know how to do very well offline, and it doesn't work. So, we get into the age issue, a 30 year old will sell better online travel than a 55 year old.
"The mostíMost agencies have staff in their 40s and up, so there are few young people who are only in their 40s.are ready for this digital world.
In general, do you consider that the agencies areáAre agencies generally prepared to retrieve files in case of need?
If they have taken the necessary measures, there should be no problems. But the most important thing is to have the data in the cloud, and we have seen in the ObservaTUR study that this is often not the case. The travel agent knows how to sell travel, but there are other operations that can be outsourced, one of which is backing up.
Normally, an employee makes them, but they don't control them and, sooner or later, they call you saying that a virus has got into them. And sometimes we have seen that the copies had not been made for six months. Is there a solution to that? Yes, instead of the technological set-up they have in-house, uploading that data to the cloud, i.e. to online servers, and keeping the data safe.
So they can work from the office, their home or their car, just with a password to access the cloud. In the end, all the improvements are so that they can dedicate themselves exclusively to their own work. And if they are in the cloud, program updates are done at night, so that no one is disturbed and customers are always up to date. Our management software is in the cloud, of course. It's a huge facility.
¿Qué cybersecurity issues are being addressed?áWhat cybersecurity issues are currently being addressed by travel agencies and tour operators?
Information security is not a chapter to which agencies currently give importance, and it is vital to protect them every day. For Beroni it is an essential chapter, in the Digital Kit you must go for cybersecurity, unless you have more important issues to solve.
"By being in the cloud, we will be moreáThat's why the low level of investment that we have detected has caught our attention".
In our opinion, this is the section to which we should invest the most in an agency. In the case of the payment gateway, if you do not have a secure gateway, it is better not to use it. It has already happened to us years ago with our clients, fraudulent transactions are made and in the weeks until the bank is warned of the cyber-attack, the joke can amount to several tens of thousands of euros.
When this happens, the agency manager does not know what to do, the company stops and it is not known if the information can be recovered, because it is encrypted.
¿Cóhow to influenceá AI influence the work of travel agencies?
AI for me is the birth of a new technological era, I compare it to the industrial revolution, when all the changes were noticeable in society. Now we are witnessing a series of technological micro-revolutions, which are silent, they are here to stay, you don't realize it and they are permeating you.
By the time we realize it, it is one more resource we are used to. Let's think about what would happen if cell phones were taken away from us right now. Undoubtedly, technology companies and their customers will have to be attentive in the coming years, it is necessary to provide it with an adequate legal framework. I see this legal framework as vital, because the whole thing could get out of hand.
"IncreasinglyáSociety is moving at a speed that is passing legislators by. Now, ChatGPT either has its wings clipped or it can become a danger if it is used according to itsún whaté hands."
I see it as the big bang that started it all, artificial intelligence is that radical change. I am convinced that there could be a clone nailed to a travel agent, an avatar of a travel agent, who will answer in any language you want. In a few minutes it will solve a reservation for the client, with its itinerary, all the services and all kinds of indications and advice.
I believe that in a year or two it will be done, it just depends on someone deciding to invest. Will that be able to replace a travel agent with all his experience? Not at the moment.
¿Cow can agencies prepare for the arrival of other changes, such as the Metaverse?
Agencies should at least know what it is about and how it can affect them. Above all, we must be strong in three basic pillars: closeness to the client, because people need to talk to someone who can advise them, and that should not be lost. The second issue is staff training, and there they are already a bit weak. The third arm is technology. For this, it will be very important to have a reliable technological partner.
