Reviews, social media influence Thai travel plans
Most respondents were open to sharing personal data for more relevant offers personalised experiences
By Boonsong Kositchotethana
When planning trips, Thai travellers often ignore the glossy pictures of travel brochures and the carefully curated Instagram feeds of celebrities.
Instead, 43 per cent of respondents in a study are influenced by the reviews of like-minded individuals on online booking sites, while 40 per cent take inspiration from social media, both sponsored content and posts from their friends and family.
This is one of four findings from research conducted by global travel technology provider Amadeus entitled “The Journey of Me Insights: What Thai Travellers want”.
The study looks into how Thai travellers plan and book their trips, how and why they want to stay connected while travelling, how frequently they use sharing economy services and the types of new technologies they would be most interested in.
In a world where people expect increasingly bespoke customer service, 79 per cent of Thai respondents are revealed to be open to sharing personal data for more relevant offers and personalised experiences.
For travel providers, the mandate is clear: personalisation must be carefully balanced against rising privacy concerns, the report said.