Maximizing Traveler Experiences Through Effective Data Governance

As data becomes increasingly vital across all sectors, understanding its role in the travel industry is pivotal for making informed business decisions and enhancing travel experiences. According to a World Travel and Tourism Council report , the travel industry is expected to grow 5.8% annually through 2032, faster than the overall economy at 2.7%.

Introduction

However, travel companies cannot simply rely on this growth. Effective data management—tracking, recording, storing, and organizing data—is essential for success. Companies that excel in this area can improve business decision-making, run more efficient marketing campaigns, reduce operational costs, optimize processes, and ultimately increase profitability.

In 2024, 67% of travelers plan to make their arrangements online (according to EHL Insights ), with 80% relying on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) (according to research made by Expedia Group) . This gives travel companies a significant opportunity to leverage data and deliver top-notch services by embracing technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Yet, many organizations struggle to achieve meaningful outcomes from their tech investments due to a lack of data maturity. This leads to several challenges that hinder the adoption and scalability of AI and other technologies, including:

• Data Silos and Fragmentation: Data silos occur when information is isolated within different systems or departments, preventing seamless access and integration. In the travel industry, this results in fragmented service offerings and a disjointed customer experience, as travelers are forced to assemble their trips from disconnected sources. At the same time, operators miss the opportunity to reach a broader market.
• Data Privacy, Security, and Compliance Gaps: Without robust data governance, businesses face data security, privacy, and compliance issues. Data governance gaps in the travel industry lead to compliance issues with regulations like GDPR or CCPA, creating security vulnerabilities that expose sensitive customer information, damage reputations, and erode customer trust.
• Data Quality Issues: Inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent data—such as outdated or incorrect information about hotels, flights, or customer preferences—can harm the user experience and lead to flawed AI models and unreliable insights.
• Limited Data Analytics Capabilities: The travel industry generates vast amounts of structured and unstructured data from travelers, agencies, vendors, and partners. The inability to extract meaningful insights from this data interferes with AI development and its application.

These challenges highlight the need for strong data governance by managing data effectively to drive business growth, save money, and support new technologies. However, many companies fall short in this area, increasing their exposure to risks. This article explores how better data governance can help OTAs meet the evolving needs of today’s travelers.

Understanding Data Governance

Data governance is about maximizing the value of data while keeping it safe and organized. It involves setting rules and processes to guarantee that data is accurate, secure, and accessible. For OTAs, this means managing large volumes of data from various sources, like bookings and customer preferences, to ensure its reliability and accessibility.

Main Challenges Faced by OTAs

• Data Privacy and Security: Risks of data breaches and loss of sensitive customer information.
• Data Quality: Incomplete or duplicated data can harm customer experiences and damage brand reputation.
• Data Integration: Managing large volumes of data from various sources can be complex and overwhelming.

How Data Governance Addresses These Challenges

• Enhancing Transparency and Trust: Ensures consistent and reliable data, building user confidence.
• Improving Data Quality: Maintains accuracy and reduces errors for better decision-making.
• Facilitating Data Access: Increases data availability, enabling deeper analysis and insights.
• Mitigating Compliance Risks: Ensures adherence to regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and CCPA.
• Strengthening Data Security: Protects sensitive data, fostering innovation.
• Establishing Data Accountability: Clarifies roles and responsibilities for data maintenance.
• Simplifying Data Interpretation: Makes data easier to understand and apply effectively.
• Streamlining Report Preparation: Automates workflows, speeding up data processing and reporting.

DataArt’s Approach to Data Governance for OTAs

According to Gartner? “by 2027, 80% of D&A governance initiatives will fail due to a lack of a real or manufactured crisis.”[1] And Gartner predicts that “by 2027, 75% of data, digital or analytics products will be made obsolete, or marketplaces shut down, as “too few ‘customers’ came to use them.”[2]

To avoid these pitfalls, data governance must be practical and aligned with business goals. DataArt’s approach, inspired by Robert S. Seiner's non-invasive data governance , focuses on integrating people, processes, and technology seamlessly. This approach enhances data quality, lineage, profiling, and cataloging without disrupting existing workflows.

Key Solutions Provided by DataArt

Effective data governance can help OTAs overcome key business challenges and customer satisfaction by enhancing transparency, improving data quality, and ensuring compliance. DataArt’s scalable solutions are designed to empower OTAs to?leverage data as a valuable business asset.

1. Data Catalog: Centralizes data indexing, facilitates quick data discovery, and supports compliance with regulations.
2. Data Quality: Ensures reliable, accurate data for decision-making, enhances analytics confidence, and improves customer satisfaction.
3. Master Data Management: Provides a unified data source, eliminates silos, and boosts operational efficiency.

Case Study

A leading OTA in the US partnered with DataArt to enhance their data analytics and machine learning processes. By migrating to the cloud, they achieved significant outcomes: reduced time-to-insights from 48 hours to real-time analytics, increased cost efficiency by refactoring services, and automated their data and ML lifecycle with full observability.

By leveraging robust data analytics, OTAs can make faster, more cost-effective decisions to improve their overall service delivery and operational performance.

Conclusion

Effective data governance is key for OTAs to fully capitalize on their data, improve customer experiences, and maintain a competitive edge. Many companies struggle with establishing the right framework, tools, and processes. DataArt’s approach fits easily into existing workflows, helping solve these issues without causing disruptions.

If you are interested in assessing your company’s current data governance framework, tools, or processes, we can help. Let us schedule a call to discuss how our approach can enhance your data strategy, support better decision-making, and drive business growth. Contact us to get started!

1 Gartner, 2024 Strategic Roadmap for Data and Analytics Governance, Saul Judah, 13 December 2023 GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

2 Gartner, Predicts 2024: Data and Analytics Governance Requires a Reset, Andrew White, Guido De Simoni, et al., 20 December 2023.

Originally published here .