Data quality and management are the biggest challenges facing travel tech professionals, according to the 450 travel data professionals surveyed for EyeforTravel’s State of Data and Analytics in Travel report for 2017. Nearly half of all the survey’s respondents reported that data quality and cleanliness is a challenge – more so than data security (15 percent), securing buy-in from management (12 percent), and compliance with data governance laws and regulations (11 percent).
According to Alex Hadwick, head of research at EyeforTravel: “It is unlikely that this issue will diminish in the near future as the potential universe of data available to the travel and tourism industry is increasing exponentially. Travel brands will have to question whether they can adequately put in place systems to monitor data sources and prevent pollution as the potential universe of information expands way beyond what humans can respond to.”
On top of issues with data availability, the next biggest challenge reported by respondents was creating a consistent data strategy. Travel brands need to make sure that they are coordinating properly and communicating data strategies across their organizations. However, 27 percent of respondents reported that they did not have a clear understanding of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that they should be measuring and working towards.
Other major issues reported by the industry are data integration, deploying analytics in a timely manner, and skills and training. More than 38 percent said that integrating data from external sources is a challenge and 31 percent said that internal sources are an issue. More than 31 percent reported concern with getting adequate training and more than 29 percent identified finding skilled people in today’s job market a challenge.
