Elevating Online Travel Customer Experience: A Journey

Travel customer experience is the complete journey a traveller goes through when interacting with a travel brand online (from booking to feedback). As a travel agency, you can improve it by offering personalised services, adopting a customer-first mindset, and using the latest technologies, like AI and ML.

Today’s travellers are more online than ever before! Studies show that (in 2023) about 65% of all travel bookings were made online! Also, about 35% of those bookings were made via mobile devices. It is expected that by 2029, 75% of sector revenue is forecasted to come from online sales.

But, with countless touchpoints (from social media to booking platforms), don’t you think the online travel customer experience has become a complex maze? 

Even if it’s a yes, you have to clear this maze with precision! Businesses that fail to deal with it risk losing customers to competitors. 

The good news? As a travel company, you can use digital tools and follow data-driven strategies to turn every interaction into an opportunity. Also, through social media influence, social media support services, and adopting a 100% customer-first mindset, you can significantly increase your sales.

So, want to become a travel brand that exceeds customer expectations? In this article, let’s first learn what travel customer experience is, how it is delivered, and the factors that influence it. Next, we will study five surefire techniques that you can use to boost travel customer experience​ in 2025.

What is Travel Customer Experience?

Travel customer experience refers to the complete process a traveller goes through when interacting with your travel company online. It covers all the major steps, such as:

• Researching a destination
• Booking a trip
• Sharing feedback after the journey

Let’s understand in detail how a travel customer experience is delivered:

Now, once the trip is complete, travel companies reach out to gather feedback. This lets you know the areas for improvement. By acting on them, your travel company can improve future travel customer experience. 

What Factors Impact Customer Experience Travel Industry​?

Recently, a regression analysis was conducted on the travel industry. The analysis found that three main factors significantly influence customer satisfaction:

• Factor I: Service Quality

This has the strongest impact on customer satisfaction, with a coefficient of 0.38. This means that as service quality improves, customer satisfaction increases the most.

• Factor II: Perceived Value

This has the second strongest impact, with a coefficient of 0.30. Perceived value refers to how worthwhile customers feel their purchase was compared to what they received.

• Factor III: Trust in Travel Agency

This factor has a coefficient of 0.22. It indicates that when customers trust the travel agency, their satisfaction and travel customer experience increase.

Additionally, the overall model explains 68% of the variation in customer satisfaction. This means that the three factors combined are strong predictors of customer satisfaction. It is indicated by the R-squared value of 0.68.

These results suggest that your travel agency can enhance travel customer experience by focusing on:

• Service quality
• Perceived value
• Building trust

An Important Note

This regression study has the F-statistic of 89.23 with a p-value of less than 0.01. This shows that the model is statistically significant. The findings mentioned above are not merely due to chance.

The Picture is Gloomy! Confirmed by an ASCI Study 2025

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Travel Study 2025 shows that customer satisfaction or travel customer experience with various travel services has significantly decreased compared to previous measurements. 

There has been an overall decline in customer satisfaction across all major travel services, including:

• Airlines
• Lodging
• Car rentals
• Rideshare services
• Online travel agencies (OTAs)

Let’s see how:

5 Tactics to Boost Travel Customer Experience in 2025

Is the CSAT score of your travel agency also falling? Don’t lose your customers to your competitors! Below are five tactics you can follow to boost the travel customer experience​ offered by your business:

1. Win Using Your Social Media Handles

Social media is a powerful tool for connecting with customers. And, it is in vogue! A Deloitte study shows that about 42% of Gen-Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) plan their vacations after getting inspired by the short videos they see on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. 

By using social media, your agency can reach a wide audience without significant costs. You can use it to:

• Share promotions
• Gather customer feedback
• Monitor trends

Additionally, you can analyse social media conversations and learn which destinations are trending. Next, you can accordingly create targeted marketing campaigns.

2. Develop a Customer-First Mindset

Customer-centricity means focusing on the specific needs and preferences of each customer. In it, you offer customised travel experiences​. You try to tailor services based on whether a traveller is a:

• Business traveller 

         or

• Leisure traveller

Let’s understand better through an example:

Say you analysed the booking data for two customers:

By tailoring recommendations based on each traveller’s preferences and booking patterns, you also increase the chances of upselling relevant services.

3. Create 100% Seamless “Digital” Customer Journeys

Did you know? According to Hilton’s latest Trends Global Survey, it was found that about 80% of travellers prefer to plan their vacations entirely online. 

Thus, your travel agency must offer a consistent travel customer experience across all touchpoints. This covers omnichannel messaging solutions, such as:

• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Email support services
• Live chat service for website
• Other customer service interactions

By integrating all these digital platforms, your company can provide a seamless journey for customers (from booking a ticket to receiving post-trip feedback requests). Now, you must be aware of some common issues that significantly reduce the digital travel customer experience:

• Confusing website navigation
• Slow response times
• Disjointed communication

4. Clear The Loyalty Maze With Out-of-the-Box Thinking!

Retaining customers is a challenge! Particularly, when they have many travel options. To build loyalty and boost travel customer experience, you need to go beyond generic offers. Instead, you should focus on delivering unique and memorable experiences. 

This can be done through “data analysis”. Through it, you can reveal customer preferences, which lets you create personalised loyalty programs. 

For example, 

• A hotel can use data on past stays.
• Post-analysis, it can offer a customised weekend spa package to a frequent guest. 

This approach not only drives repeat business but also builds stronger connections with customers.

5. Start Using Advanced Technologies

In this cut-throat competition, you can’t be a late adopter of technology! Nowadays, about 90% of travel managers are using AI for:

• Cost savings
• Operational efficiency
• Customer experience improvements

The travellers are not behind either! A study found that about 14% of millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) rely mostly on generative AI tools like Copilot, Gemini, and ChatGPT to plan their trips.

Thus, you can safely assume that AI and ML are now standard tools for travel companies of all sizes. Let’s see how you can use them to boost travel customer experience:

• Chatbots
  • Chatbots handle common inquiries like:
    • Booking confirmations
    • Flight status updates
    • FAQs
  • They reduce response times and free staff to focus on complex customer issues.

• Virtual Agents

• • Virtual agents provide 24/7 support.
  • They assist with:
    • Reservations
    • Cancellations
    • Itinerary changes
  • They offer consistent service even outside business hours.

• Advanced Data Analytics

• • Using AI models, you can perform data analytics.
  • Such an analysis lets you:
    • Identify travel patterns
    • Predict customer preferences
    • Tailors offers
    • Do targeted marketing
    • Set competitive pricing

Several major brands such as Booking.com, Priceline, Tripadvisor, and Airbnb are investing heavily in AI-driven solutions. This will further accelerate industry-wide adoption of AI and ML!

Travel CX Giving Headaches? Pass Your Stress To Atidiv, a CX Specialist!

The travel customer experience is the difference between a struggling and a successful organisation! To remain competitive, travel companies must refine their strategies. As a business owner, you can:

• Increase social media engagement
• Adopt a customer-first approach
• Create seamless digital journeys
• Start using the advanced technologies

By doing so, you can not only enhance travel customer experience but also achieve long-term brand loyalty.

Will these techniques divert your core focus? Feeling the need to hire a reliable digital customer experience solutions provider? Atidiv is a CX specialist! Our expert team offers AI-powered customer support along with omnichannel messaging solutions.

To our travel agency clients, we deliver consistent and high-quality support across all touchpoints.

We at Atidiv also ensure:

• Ensure rapid issue resolution
• Offer personalised recommendations
• Deliver proactive service

So, want to achieve up to 60% cost savings compared to in-house teams? With over 200,000 customer experiences managed annually, Atidiv is your trusted partner.

Hire us today!

FAQs On Elevating Online Travel Customer Experience

1. How can I use social media to attract more travel customers?

You can use your social media handles to:

• Share travel deals
• Highlight customer success stories
• Promote trending destinations

Ideally, before posting, you should always analyse comments and direct messages. This lets you understand customer preferences. Next, use targeted ads to reach specific traveller segments (such as business travellers or families) to maximise sales and travel customer experience.

2. I want to make a customer-first strategy. Tell me how?

Firstly, start segmenting customers (like business vs. leisure travellers). Secondly, use booking data to identify key preferences. Once identified, try to personalise services, such as:

• Offering airport lounge access for business travellers 

           or

• Family-friendly packages for vacationers

Such an approach lets you offer customised travel experiences​. Also, train your staff to anticipate needs and provide tailored recommendations.

3. How do I create a seamless digital customer journey without investing heavily in tech?

Try to establish consistent communications by integrating your existing platforms:

• Website
• Mobile app
• Email 

Also, start using AI chatbots to automate basic inquiries and follow-ups. To enhance the travel customer experience, make the booking process simple, with minimal clicks and clear instructions.

4. How can I retain customers without expensive loyalty programs?

Always remember that personalisation is key! You should send your existing customers customised offers based on past bookings, such as:

• Discounted spa packages
• Complimentary night stays
• Free Wi-fi vouchers, and more.

Also, create exclusive content, such as travel guides or destination tips. This allows you to keep your customers engaged. Don’t forget to follow up after each trip to collect feedback!