Travelling abroad can be an exciting adventure, but it also comes with potential risks and uncertainties. To safeguard yourself from unexpected financial losses and emergencies during your trips, travel insurance is your best ally. This blog is tailored for our travel technology users, providing essential information about travel insurance, its benefits, and why travel agencies should offer it to their clients.
Why Do I Need Travel Insurance?
1. Trip Cancellation and Flight Delay:
Travel insurance protects you from financial losses in case your trip gets cancelled or your flight is significantly delayed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond your control.
2. Emergency Medical Expenses:
Medical emergencies can occur anytime during travel. Travel insurance covers the costs of medical treatment, emergency medical evacuation, and repatriation in case of demise.
3. Hospital Allowance:
If you require hospitalization due to an accident, injury, or illness covered under the policy, travel insurance can reimburse your expenses.
4. Personal Accident:
Travel insurance provides coverage for accidents resulting in injuries, loss of limbs, loss of sight, or death.
5. Loss of Luggage or Damage:
In case your luggage is lost, delayed, or damaged by an airline, travel insurance covers the cost of replacing essential items.
6. Passport and Document Replacement:
If you lose your travel documents, travel insurance assists in obtaining replacements.
7. Personal Liability:
Travel insurance protects you from legal liabilities for accidental injuries to third parties or accidental damage to their property.
8. Legal Expenses:
In the event of legal proceedings abroad for physical injury or death during travel, travel insurance can cover the associated legal costs.
What Else Should I Know About Travel Insurance?
Beyond the basic coverage, travel insurance can offer additional benefits at a minimal fee, such as coverage for terrorism and COVID-19. Before selecting a plan, travellers should assess their needs and budget, seeking guidance from travel consultants if necessary. In Kenya, some reputable travel insurance providers include ICEA Lion and Heritage Insurance.
Why Should Travel Agencies Offer Travel Insurance?
1. Client Satisfaction and Loyalty:
By offering travel insurance, travel agencies enhance the level of service and care for their clients. Satisfied customers are more likely to return for future bookings and recommend the agency to others.
2. Risk Mitigation:
Travel agencies face various risks in the industry, but by recommending travel insurance to clients, they can mitigate potential financial losses from trip cancellations and disruptions.
3. Liability Protection:
Travel agencies can transfer some liability to the insurance provider, protecting their financial interests in case issues arise during a client’s trip.
4. Competitive Advantage:
Offering travel insurance sets a travel agency apart from competitors and attracts more clients seeking comprehensive services.
5. Revenue Generation:
Selling travel insurance policies provides an additional revenue stream for travel agencies, contributing to their financial success.
6. Assistance Services:
Many travel insurance policies include 24/7 emergency assistance services, offering additional support during travel-related emergencies and enhancing the overall travel experience.
Conclusion:
Travel insurance is a vital component of any travel plan, providing financial protection and peace of mind during international journeys. For travel technology users, understanding the benefits of travel insurance is crucial for a safe and enjoyable travel experience. Additionally, travel agencies can benefit from offering travel insurance, as it fosters client satisfaction, reduces risks, and adds a competitive edge to their services. By working together, travel insurance and travel agencies create a harmonious and secure travel ecosystem for travellers worldwide.
In the current online era, a number of us have been involved in a data breach. Data breaches are security incidents we now hear about every day. They strike every industry, every sector, and every country. Victims might be individuals, small, independent businesses, non-profits, or large companies. While avoiding attacks is the goal, there is no such thing as perfect security. How you respond in a crisis helps determine the future of your organisation, often cyberattack victims do not know what to do next.
With that in mind, let’s look at some best practices to cyberattack response.
1.Freeze everything
Do not shut down the affected devices or make changes to them immediately, instead take them offline. The idea is to stop the attackers from going on with their activity and also to avoid tampering with evidence that might be beneficial during forensics investigations (in case you intend on taking that route)
2. Change passwords or lock credentials
This is a common tactic in preparing to investigate a data breach since it will help ensure the cessation of the said breach if it is ongoing, and data breaches commonly rely on compromised passwords and credentials. Make sure to apply this step to all involved accounts, whether confirmed or suspected.
3. Ensure auditing and logging are still ongoing
Ensuring that existing system auditing remains intact and has been operational will be one of the most useful steps you can take to determine the scope of the breach and devise remediation methods. If auditing has been disabled (to cover someone’s trail for instance), restore it before proceeding; it will also assist in establishing whether breach activity is ongoing and when the breach can be safely determined to have concluded.
4. Determine the impact
Determine the root cause, did someone forgetfully give out their password? Was a system not patched for a particular vulnerability? Did someone plug an unauthorised laptop into the company network which then subjected the organisation to malware? Or did an employee simply click on a malicious link on some website?
5. Determine how it happened
Determine the root cause, did someone forgetfully give out their password? Was a system not patched for a particular vulnerability? Did someone plug an unauthorised laptop into the company network which then subjected the organisation to malware? Or did an employee simply click on a malicious link on some website?
6. Determine what needs to be done
Come up with a remedy to prevent future occurrences of similar nature. Establish whether, to update software, change network firewall rules, run anti-malware scans etc.
7. Communicate the details to the appropriate internal personnel
Let them know the breach occurred, how it occurred, what details were involved, and what has to be done. You may need to talk to legal, PR, the HR department, customer service or any other stack holder group which needs to be involved in the post-breach cleanup.
8. Make public announcements and prepare for responses
This is never easy but quite likely it will be up to someone to make a public announcement, perhaps in the form of a press conference, series of emails, social media announcements, website announcements or any other form of communication which exists between the company and the parties concerned. Make sure to describe what the organisation has done to remedy the breach, what it intends to do in the future, and what (if any) steps customers should take to protect themselves, such as by changing passwords, contacting credit card companies or placing fraud alerts. If possible, establish a hotline or name a specific group/contact information to address customer concerns regarding this breach so they can answer questions and provide guidance
“Innovation is the calling card of the future…” Anna Eshoo
The world is on the move. A report by World Tourism Organization (WTO), estimates that by 2030 a global population of 8.5 billion people will take approximately 2 billion international trips. People are travelling more than ever, further than before, and faster!
The travel industry has had to transform itself to adapt to this shift. The basic unit of the travel industry, the travel agency, has had to forge itself afresh from the agent of ‘yore’ to a forward-thinking, innovative travel partner of the modern age. The biggest catalyst for this reinvention has been the emergence of a savvier consumer. One driven by passions, influenced by and adaptable to whims and trends and who is harnessing the power of technology.
The modern traveler has more control over their travel. Technology has bridged the gap between those with information/experience, and those seeking it. The modern traveler is leveraging this tool, search engines, social media, aggregators and apps.
The modern traveler wants a more personalized, tailor-made travel experience. With content that speaks to individual needs. Their demands cut across conventional travel and tour packages where. For the most part, the modern traveler is calling the shots. He is a master negotiator; he does his homework on every aspect of travel. The travel agent is no longer dictating the terms. He is now a travel partner expected to facilitate the traveler’s needs.
Technology as a Tool in a Travel Agency
Like any tool in any other profession/industry/craft, wielding the right technology, the right way and harnessing it’s potential to the maximum makes all the difference. You would be hard pressed to find a business process that has not and cannot be digitized or automated. While technology has made all this possible, it is constantly adapting to consumer needs and trends.
Adopt Environmentally responsible travel: “…I’m am Green…”
Technology gave us a paperless environment. The world is embracing eco-friendly, sustainable, renewable, recyclable, green business practices more and more. No more paper airline tickets, boarding passes and hotel vouchers. E-tickets and E-vouchers, QR codes and NFC. The new traveler abhors waste and will pay more to save the planet and reduce his carbon foot-print. Technology allows us to buy and check-in online. No need to commute for this. Airbnb’s beat a hotel in that the running costs for the owner are lower, and the experience is more ‘home-like’ & cheaper for the traveler.
Adopt Cost and Time saving practices: “…Click-Click-Cash…”
Online transactions mean we save time otherwise spent commuting to the travel agency. The traveler saves time and money that they could very well put back in the travel package. The agency too no longer needs to set up shop at every corner up every street. This means a leaner staff, lower wage bill (medical, insurance, benefits etc.) Running costs are lower for the agency so they can afford to offer their customers discounts.
Diversify. Language is no longer a barrier: “…Hello World…”
The modern traveler no longer considers language a barrier to selecting a travel destination. Technology exists that allows for easy translations of text in books, speech, signs, etc. This means the travel agent can offer up any destination as a choice the customer.
The travel agency would be wise to market itself with packages covering regions beyond the usual destinations. The more off the beaten path, the better. They should also build capacity to handle clients from these destinations too, because they are coming.
Offer a Seamless Experience: “…From Hero-to-Home…”
The modern traveler demands a travel experience devoid of interruptions. There are apps to notify them how long their cab will take, they get mobile alerts when their flight is delayed, they have directions to their hotel from the airport, seaport before they set off. They expect that bus or airline ticket to be a guarantee that everything has been put in place to ensure their safe and comfortable travel experience. And should any glitches arise, the turnaround in solving them should be fast. Only way this is possible is by maintain contact with the traveler at all times. Not just to fix problems for them, but also to gather feedback from them concerning their experience on real-time. The traveler is left to do the most important part of the process. Enjoy a worry-free trip.
By designing a platform that provides real time information on flights and other travel arrangements, travel agencies can help business travelers save time.
E-Commerce: “…a moment of silence for fanny packs… : -\”
Electronic payments are fast taking over commerce. They are safer, more reliable and faster. Online banking, money transfer apps, mobile payment platforms, all these and more should be modes acceptable and embraced by the modern travel agent.
Partnerships with financial institutions to assist their clients do business with them is a definite plus. Build a secure platform for online commerce with customers, and you will keep them. The technology for this is mature; tried and tested.
4IR is rapidly changing the tourism and travel industry. Consumers are in the driver’s seat and they are flexing their power by dictating terms and imposing their tastes and needs. Travel agencies are faced with better informed consumers, with more power and with higher expectations in relation to what they expect from providers.
“Everything is personal these days.
Technology has allowed us to seek out customizable travel experiences as opposed to going for prepackaged ones. Search engines, aggregator websites, internet bloggers and critiques with their reviews and insight. There is a vast pool of information about almost every imaginable travel destination and experience out there.
Millennials want their experience to be as unique as they are. There are real-time reviews on Websites and people get to post their genuine experience regarding their travel experience. The Agencies online presence can incorporate these via social media platforms and websites.
Connections: “…networks & partnerships…”
Social media is a tool of both trade and lifestyle. Leveraging this for business is no longer just a good idea. It is a requirement. Apps to connect the destinations to the agency and the traveler help track and gather feedback necessary to make smarter and more accurate/relevant decisions. Reputation translates to revenue. Shares, Likes, Follows, Tweets-Retweets, Hash-tags, Live etc. are the new currency. #travelenjoyrespect
Artificial Intelligence, albeit still relatively new, will assist with the creation of feedback loops allowing travelers to comment and rate different aspects of their trip, thus improving future experiences. Watch out for Blockchain technology too and its potential to revolutionize the industry by providing better data communication.
Big data for those that can process it is a gold mine. Access to more and more information about the tastes and activities of travelers at destinations, recognizing trends in the seasonality of demand, and other key factors of tourist behavior are fundamental in the development of product linked strategies. A travel agent and or service provider can use it to better understand trends, predict outcomes and develop more personalized services for their clients. The processing and management of Big Data by smart destinations helps to enrich the visitor experience and compete more effectively.
A recent report from the World Travel and Tourism Council and Travelport revealed that business travel accounts for $1.3 trillion of global travel spending annually, and is set to rise at 3.7% per annum over the next ten years.
One key reason for this impressive growth has been the industry’s adoption of pioneering technology. Leverage this market with some after-work leisure travel and you are a travel partner with vision.
“A dream will not become an innovation if there is no realization…” Ciputra
In a wrap, travel agencies have to adapt to the modern traveler by harnessing modern technology and looking out for emerging ones. Then use these tools for intelligent data gathering and management, analyzing the market in real time, studying and predicting travel trends, adapting business processes to change in the shortest time, all these practices are vital to stay afloat in the new travel world.
