Speaking at the Australian Travel Industry Association’s inaugural Beyond Borders summit, representatives from Afterpay, Webjet, and Luxury Escapes spoke on how AI and tech are transforming the travel industry.
Afterpay’s country manager and head of sales APAC, Katrina Konstas, shared insights into how the payment platform has revolutionized financing for travel expenses, especially for Generation Z and millennial consumers who prefer flexible payment options over traditional credit. She noted that the majority of Afterpay users are under 40, with 68 per cent being Gen Z or millennials. The installment payment option provided by Afterpay has proven popular for high-ticket purchases, including travel packages. In New Zealand as many as 40 per cent of Webjet transactions are financed through Afterpay, she said.
Konstas added that, given the data they have on their customers, the payment platform is keen to partner more with the travel industry.
“We’ve got over 4 million [customers] here in Australia, and we know they love to travel. We also know when they spend and where they’re spending and we’ve got a great opportunity to influence. I think we can work and partner more effectively together.”
Webjet’s CEO and MD Katrina Barry said Webjet has been leveraging AI to optimize backend operations and customer service. For example, when customers call to make changes to flights or accommodations, AI now helps streamline the interaction by summarizing case notes for agents, allowing them to address customer needs more efficiently. This AI application has reduced call wait times and improved customer satisfaction, she said. Webjet has also introduced an advanced AI-powered system capable of organizing complex multi-stop itineraries, with responses generated within seconds.
Webjet’s AI strategy was central to the conversations she was having with investors around the company’s recent demerger, Barry said.
“I went out and I did 57 investor meetings, and every one of them was like, What’s your AI strategy?” she said.
Luxury Escapes co-founder Adam Schwab said that Luxury Escapes had been using machine learning for a while now to better tailor its marketing and communications to individual customer preferences. Through sophisticated customer profiling, the company can now offer more personalized recommendations, potentially improving user engagement and retention.
“We have a hidden gems email where we’ll look at similar audience types. So if you’ve got two adults, two kids, and other people of the same demographic have bought a lot of a certain product, we will send you that product. We personalise.”
Despite the enthusiasm for AI, Barry cautioned against overuse. While AI holds immense potential, there’s a risk of deploying it excessively or in areas where it lacks clear benefit, she said.
“There’s a tendency with AI to be like ‘let’s just throw it at everything.’ I feel like there’s so much of that in corporate Australia.”
