Travel Tech Redefined: Fareportal's Innovations and the AI Revolution in Travel

As the travel industry continues to evolve rapidly, staying ahead of the curve requires a combination of cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of customer needs. In the realm of travel, Information Technology (IT) has become an indispensable driving force, shaping the way Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) operate and cater to modern travellers. As the digital era continues to evolve, OTAs leverage advanced IT solutions to provide seamless booking experiences, personalized recommendations, and efficient customer service. These technological innovations have transformed the travel industry, empowering travellers to explore the world with ease and convenience. From mobile app development to AI-powered algorithms, IT has unlocked a new era of possibilities for OTAs, making travel planning more accessible and enjoyable for globetrotters worldwide

Fareportal, an Online Travel Agency (OTA), is revolutionizing the travel experience. With cutting-edge advancements in technology, including the successful migration of CheapOair's mobile apps to React Native, the OTA has improved productivity and customer satisfaction. Embracing artificial intelligence (AI), the company offers personalized travel suggestions, optimizes pricing strategies, and stays ahead of industry trends.

In this exclusive interview, we converse with Vikas Banga, the Vice President of Products at Fareportal, a global travel technology leader. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, Fareportal claims to have redefined the travel experience for millions worldwide. Vikas is a seasoned professional with over 21 years of experience, has been at the forefront of Fareportal's technological advancements, driving global product and technology strategy. His expertise spans across product development, technology, operations, and consulting, making him a true digital and automation evangelist within the company.

In this conversation, we delve into the latest technological innovations introduced by Fareportal and explore how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of travel. Vikas shares his thoughts on the company's journey, its vision for the industry, and the impact of AI on travel.

With a significant shift towards technology, what trends are you seeing in the OTA industry in terms of artificial intelligence?

There has been a significant investment in AI Technologies over the last few years in OTA Industry to drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge. I've observed several trends in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) that are shaping the industry

1. Personalized Recommendations in Booking Journey: AI is being leveraged to provide more accurate and tailored recommendations to travellers. By analyzing user data, including preferences, past bookings, and behaviour patterns, OTA platforms can offer personalized travel suggestions, such as destination recommendations, accommodation options, and activities that align with individual interests.
2. Intelligent Itinerary Planning: AI can assist travellers in creating optimized travel itineraries based on their preferences, budget, and time constraints. By considering multiple variables, including transportation options, sightseeing opportunities, and accommodation availability, AI algorithms can generate personalized itineraries that provide a seamless travel experience.
3. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly prevalent in the OTA industry. These conversational interfaces are designed to handle customer inquiries, provide support, and assist with bookings. They utilize natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to understand and respond to customer queries in a human-like manner, enhancing customer service efficiency and accessibility.
4. Leveraging Machine Learning Model for Customer Friendly products like CFAR (Cancel for Any Reason), Price Lock and Price Drop Assurance: By analyzing large volumes of data, AI can help predict prices going up or down, and the probability of customers cancelling their travel. Products like this not only improve the OTA revenue, but also give the customers peace of mind during the flight/hotel purchase.
5. Natural Language Processing for Customer Insights: AI-powered natural language processing techniques enable OTA platforms to gain insights from customer feedback and reviews. By analyzing the sentiment and content of customer reviews, companies can identify areas for improvement, evaluate customer satisfaction levels, and enhance their offerings accordingly.
6.  Fraud Detection and Risk Management: AI is playing a vital role in detecting and preventing fraud in the OTA industry. Advanced AI algorithms analyze transactional data and patterns to identify suspicious activities, potentially fraudulent bookings, and other security risks. By using machine learning techniques, OTA companies can proactively protect themselves and their customers from fraudulent activities.
7. Intelligent Pricing and Dynamic Pricing: AI algorithms are being employed to optimize pricing strategies for OTA platforms. These algorithms consider various factors such as demand patterns, competitor pricing, historical data, and market trends to dynamically adjust prices in real time. By analyzing large volumes of data, AI can help maximize revenue by offering competitive prices while ensuring profitability.
8. Image and Video Analysis: AI technologies are increasingly being used to analyze visual content, such as images and videos, to enhance the user experience. For instance, OTA platforms can utilize AI algorithms to recognize landmarks, attractions, or scenic spots in user-uploaded images and provide relevant information or suggestions to users.

These trends highlight the growing influence of artificial intelligence in the OTA industry, enabling companies to offer more personalized, efficient, and secure travel experiences to their customers.

How has the OTA industry in India responded to AI Intelligence and what new measures or technologies have been implemented in response?

The OTA industry in India recognizes the potential of AI intelligence in improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer satisfaction, and driving business growth. By leveraging AI technologies, OTA companies are able to offer personalized recommendations, streamline booking processes, improve customer service, optimize pricing strategies, and enhance security measures. These measures collectively contribute to a more seamless and user-friendly travel booking experience for customers.

• At Fareportal, we have launched Chatbot/Virtual Asssistant which offers instant responses to customer queries, provide assistance in booking processes, and offer personalized recommendations
• Almost all the OTAs are offering personalized recommendations to their customers during the buying journey
• Bigger OTAs like Makemytrip and Fareportal are also investing in integrating and leveraging LLM (Large Language Model) like OpenAI for use cases like intelligent itineraries, recommendations and more.
• Indian OTA platforms do employ AI algorithms to analyze data related to demand patterns, competitor prices, and market trends. This enables them to dynamically adjust prices and offer customized deals and discounts to customers, ensuring competitiveness while maximizing revenue
• Most of Indian OTAs leverage AI-powered data analytics tools to gain valuable insights from customer data.

How do you see the Artificial Intelligence landscape in India evolving over the next 5-10 years, and what impact might this have for the OTA industry?

Over the next 5-10 years, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape in India is expected to witness significant growth and evolution.  Here are some key-trends and potential impacts for the OTA industry:

1. Expansion of AI Adoption: AI adoption is likely to expand across various industries in India, including the OTA sector. As AI technologies mature and become more accessible, OTA companies will increasingly integrate AI-powered solutions into their operations to enhance customer experiences, optimize processes, and drive efficiency.
2. Hyper-Personalization: AI will enable OTA platforms to offer hyper-personalized experiences to travellers. By leveraging AI algorithms, OTA companies can analyze vast amounts of data, including customer preferences, travel history, social media activity, and real-time inputs, to deliver highly customized travel recommendations, tailored promotions, and personalized itineraries. This level of personalization can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Voice and Natural Language Processing: The adoption of voice assistants and natural language processing (NLP) technologies will continue to rise. OTA platforms will integrate voice-enabled search, booking, and customer support functionalities, allowing users to interact with the platform using voice commands. NLP advancements will enable better understanding of user queries, leading to more seamless and intuitive conversational experiences.
4. Intelligent Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants will become more advanced and human-like, providing highly responsive and personalized customer service. OTA platforms will leverage AI to handle complex inquiries, resolve issues, and provide instant assistance throughout the customer journey. This will lead to improved customer satisfaction and reduced response times.
5. Advanced Recommendation Engines: AI-powered recommendation engines will become more sophisticated, leveraging techniques like deep learning and reinforcement learning. OTA platforms will be able to provide travellers with more accurate and contextually relevant recommendations for destinations, accommodations, activities, and ancillary services. This will help users discover new travel options and streamline the booking process.

Overall, the evolving AI landscape in India will transform the OTA industry by enabling enhanced personalization, advanced recommendation systems, immersive experiences, improved security measures, and superior customer service. OTA companies that effectively leverage AI technologies will have a competitive advantage, as they can deliver tailored travel experiences and cater to the evolving expectations of travellers in the digital era

How has React Native been used in the OTA Industry? And how is it helping Fareportal?

React Native, is a popular JavaScript framework for building mobile applications. It allows developers to build cross-platform mobile applications for iOS and Android using the same codebase. Here are some ways React Native has been used in the OTA industry and also how Fareportal is leveraging it

1. Mobile App Development: React Native has been widely utilized for developing cross-platform mobile applications in the OTA industry. OTA companies can leverage React Native's ability to build apps that work seamlessly on both iOS and Android platforms with a single codebase. This helps in reducing development time and costs while ensuring consistent user experiences across different devices.
2. User Interface (UI) Development: React Native provides a flexible and efficient way to create engaging and intuitive user interfaces. OTA companies can utilize React Native's component-based architecture and pre-built UI elements to develop visually appealing and responsive interfaces for their mobile apps. This allows for a faster UI development process and ensures a smooth user experience.
3. Real-Time Updates and Notifications: React Native's integration with push notification services enables OTA companies to provide real-time updates and notifications to their app users. This can include important travel information, booking confirmations, flight status updates, special offers, and personalized recommendations. React Native simplifies the implementation of push notification functionality, enhancing communication with travellers.
4. Performance Optimization: React Native offers performance optimization features, such as a just-in-time (JIT) compiler and a native code rendering engine. This enables OTA apps built with React Native to deliver native-like performance and responsiveness. By utilizing React Native, OTA companies can create mobile apps that provide fast loading times, smooth animations, and efficient memory usage.
5. Code Reusability: One of the key advantages of React Native is its code reusability. OTA companies can leverage the same codebase to develop both their iOS and Android apps, resulting in reduced development efforts and maintenance costs. This allows for faster iteration cycles, easier updates, and consistent feature deployments across platforms.
6. A/B Testing and Experimentation: React Native's Hot Reloading feature enables OTA companies to quickly test and experiment with different UI components, features, and user flows. This facilitates A/B testing, where multiple variations of an app's UI or functionality can be tested simultaneously to determine the most effective design or feature implementation.

By leveraging the capabilities of React Native, Fareportal has developed high-quality mobile apps that provide seamless user experiences, efficient performance, and cross-platform compatibility. The flexibility, code reusability, and extensive ecosystem of React Native make it a popular choice for mobile app development in the OTA industry.

How does Fareportal balance the need for strong technology with the need to provide a seamless, user-friendly experience for its customers?

Balancing the need for strong technology with the goal of providing a seamless, user-friendly experience is crucial for Fareportal. Here are some key considerations we use for achieving this balance:

1. User-Centric Design: We prioritize user-centric design principles when developing technology solutions. By understanding customer needs, preferences, and pain points, we can create intuitive interfaces, streamline the booking process, and optimize the user journey. User research, feedback, and usability testing can help ensure that technology implementations align with the expectations and behaviours of the target user base.
2. Performance and Reliability: While incorporating advanced technology, Fareportal Technology Team ensures that our platforms are performant and reliable. Strong technology infrastructure, including robust servers, scalable databases, and efficient APIs, is essential to provide a seamless user experience. We invest in adequate resources to maintain high uptime, fast loading times, and smooth performance, ensuring that our customers can access and navigate the platform without interruptions or delays.
3. Mobile Optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices for travel bookings, we always prioritize mobile optimization. We use React Native which ensures that we are responsive, adaptive, and provide a consistent user experience across various screen sizes and operating systems.
4. Personalization and Customization: Strong technology should support personalized experiences for users.  Fareportal Product Team, Technology Team, and Data Science Team work together to build technology solutions, such as AI algorithms and machine learning, to analyze customer data and deliver tailored recommendations, customized offers, and relevant content. By providing personalized experiences, we enhance customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, ultimately improving the user-friendly nature of their services.
5. Integration of Emerging Technologies: At Fareportal, our Product and Technology leadership team keeps abreast of emerging technologies and carefully evaluates their potential impact on the user experience. Technologies like AI, chatbots, voice assistants, virtual reality, and augmented reality can enhance the user experience when implemented strategically. However, it is essential to assess whether these technologies align with user needs and preferences and if they add value without overwhelming or complicating the user interface.
6. Customer Support and Assistance: While strong technology is crucial, providing reliable customer support and assistance is equally important. Fareportal will potentially be the only OTA in the world which lists down a phone number multiple times on each webpage and each email on our website www.cheapoair.com and www.onetravel.com.  While we have integrated technology solutions, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, to offer instant support and guidance throughout the customer journey, we are also backed by our inhouse customer support team which is available 24*7 to support our customers through phone/chat/email.

By carefully balancing strong technology with a user-friendly approach, OTAs can deliver an optimal travel booking experience. This requires a deep understanding of user needs, a commitment to continuous improvement, and a strategic integration of technology solutions that enhance personalization, performance, and usability.

Technology has played a pivotal role in shaping the travel industry. How do you see emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, influencing the future of travel and the customer experience?

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are poised to have a transformative impact on the future of travel and the customer experience. Here's how these technologies are likely to shape the travel industry:

1. Enhanced Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle customer queries in real-time, providing instant support throughout the travel journey. These intelligent agents can offer personalized recommendations, assist with itinerary changes, provide information about destinations, and resolve customer issues. By leveraging AI, travel companies can deliver efficient and round-the-clock customer service, enhancing customer satisfaction.
2. Advanced Travel Planning and Itinerary Management: AI technologies can simplify travel planning by automating various tasks. AI-powered platforms can suggest optimal itineraries based on preferences, budget, and time constraints. They can also assist in booking flights, accommodations, and activities seamlessly. AI algorithms can optimize travel routes, considering factors like traffic, weather, and local events, ensuring efficient and enjoyable travel experiences.
3. Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences: VR has the potential to revolutionize the way people research and experience destinations. Virtual tours and immersive experiences allow travelers to explore and interact with locations before their trip, providing a realistic preview of attractions, accommodations, and cultural experiences. VR can also be used for virtual meetings, conferences, and remote collaboration, reducing the need for physical travel.
4. Augmented Reality (AR) for On-site Assistance: AR overlays digital information onto the physical environment, enriching the travel experience. Travelers can use AR applications to access real-time information about landmarks, historical sites, and points of interest. AR can also provide directions, translation services, and virtual guides, enhancing the understanding and enjoyment of a destination.
5. Data-Driven Insights and Safety: AI analytics can process large volumes of travel data to identify patterns and trends, enabling travel companies to make data-driven decisions. This includes optimizing pricing strategies, predicting demand, and enhancing operational efficiency. AI algorithms can also analyze real-time data to provide safety recommendations, such as monitoring crowd densities, predicting travel disruptions, and suggesting alternate routes or accommodations in case of emergencies.
6. Hyper-Personalization and Loyalty Programs: AI enables the creation of hyper-personalized travel experiences. By analyzing customer data, AI algorithms can recommend personalized offers, upgrades, and ancillary services based on individual preferences and behaviors. This fosters customer loyalty and enhances the overall travel experience.

The convergence of AI and VR, along with other emerging technologies, will create a more immersive and personalized travel experience. It will enable travelers to make informed decisions, access tailored recommendations, and enjoy seamless and memorable journeys. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize how people plan, book, and experience travel, enhancing customer satisfaction and driving innovation within the industry.