When you think, “travel disruption,” you might imagine delayed flights, lost luggage and lengthy airport layovers.

Well, global travel distribution leader Amadeus has identified travellers themselves as the next source of major disruption for the travel industry.

Speaking at the 2015 Travel DAZE conference on Monday, Amadeus IT Pacific managing director Tony Carter said that the travel industry is currently experiencing the “Age of the Traveller.”

“We see the travel industry as an ecosystem, and right at the middle of it we see the traveller,” said Carter.

It’s a time where people are travelling more than ever with an abundance of information at their fingertips thanks to smartphones and tablets.

What does this mean for the industry, though?

To manage the disruptive traveller, Carter stressed the importance of understanding the traveller by predicting future behavioural trends.

Amadeus recently released a white paper looking at travel in 2030 with a specific focus on the travellers.

It divides Australia’s travellers of the future into six “Traveller Tribes”, each of which has distinctive characteristics and needs that have certain implications for the industry.

So what’s the main message to take home from this? Know your client’s traveller tribe…

1. Reward Hunters

Who are they? Travellers that want to reward themselves with a real holiday.

You might assume these travellers seek frequent flyer points, but Carter explains that these are hardworking individuals seeking to reward themselves for long hours in the office.

What do they want? A real break.

These clients are seeking a high-end, luxury product that nobody else can get. It might be health-focused, like a spa retreat.

Implications for the travel industry? Specific, perhaps demanding clients, but the luxury items they seek mean big profit margins.

Image: Dubai Holiday Villas – Luxury on The Palm/Flickr

2. Cultural Purists

Who are they? Travellers that want to experience authentic culture and live like a local.

What do they want? Probably heavy users of the share economy, these travellers might want to stay in someone’s home to gain a richer sense of local life, and will use services like Uber or BlaBlaCar.

Implications for the travel industry?

These travellers book flights now and organise itineraries later, even on location.

They’re also unlikely to want pre-packaged deals, so this tribe won’t be a focus for traditional high-end travel agencies specialising in package tours.

The culture of the Dorze Tribes of the country’s south is a major attraction in Ethiopia

Image: Julie/Flickr

3. Social Capital Seekers

Who are they? People who pick a travel destination largely based on the potential value it has on social media.

What do they want? Likes and comments on their Instagrams and Facebook posts of photogenic destinations.

Implications for the travel industry? While this tribe researches trips on social media, there are examples of the industry adapting.

Mandarin Oriental in Paris offered the “Selfie in Paris” package throughout 2015 that gave guests a map of all the best selfie destinations in the city at check in.

Carter says we’ll also see “social media only” agents develop specifically for this tribe.

In June 2015, 21 year old David Karnauch took this selfie atop the Brooklyn Bridge. It certainly would’ve raked in the likes on social media, but it also resulted in his arrest.

Image: David Karnauch via digitaltrends.com

4. Simplicity Searchers

Who are they? Travellers that are just too busy to organise things.

What do they want? To outsource someone else who will organise the trip for them.

Implications for the travel industry? While they don’t have time to organise things, Carter stresses this doesn’t mean they want to sacrifice holiday satisfaction.

“They’ll share information about themselves like nobody has shared in the past.”

Carter explains that for Amadeus, building search algorithms that can take this detailed information on board to produce tailored results for travellers is a priority.

Image: hari roser/Flickr

5. Ethical Travellers

Who are they? This tribe makes decisions about travel based on their concerns about the environment, countries and geographies.

What do they want? A company that aligns with their ethical concerns.

Implications for the travel industry? Ethical Travellers are more likely to buy from companies that do good things for the environment or society.

Image: Jondaar_1/Flickr

6. Obligation Meeters

Who are they? This tribe has to be in a certain place, at a certain time, for a particular reason. For example, business travellers.

What do they want? Someone else to book everything for them and ensure they make it on time.

Implications for the travel industry? As Obligation Meeters are primarily concerned with meeting their time/place deadlines, if something goes wrong they want it resolved by someone else as quickly as possible with minor disruptions to their tight schedules.

Image: gail/Flickr

Featured Image: Wilerson S Andrade/Flickr