Technology no foe, says Mayo

Technology no foe, says Mayo
By admin


TravelManagers Australia chairman Barry Mayo has reminded consultants to embrace technology, stressing that it should not be seen as a competitive force for their businesses.

Speaking with Travel Today at the TravelManagers conference at the weekend, Mayo highlighted technology as a hot topic facing all travel agents in today’s operating environment.

As technology continues to transform the travel landscape, he said some parts of the industry hesitate to incorporate it into their business, while others see it as a form of competition.

But as new products enter the market, such as online feedback channels and booking platforms, Mayo said consultants would see far greater results if they embraced the potential of technology.

“Using new technology will benefit businesses and ultimately help with profitability,” he said. “We shouldn’t see technology as our competition, we should see it as making our jobs easier.”

Mayo pointed to social media as one example which has the potential to maximise opportunities for personal travel managers, but admitted that more needs to be done to boost awareness and ensure the opportunities are fully exploited.

“Social media can be an effective strategy to grow the TravelManagers brand in a cost effective way, and planning is underway to spread the knowledge of how to use it” he said.

Mayo said education would encourage personal travel managers to accept the power of technology and social media, and remained confident the group as a whole would recognise the benefits in due course.

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