Broadly viewed, the Travel and Transportation industries have gone through a period of tremendous change, driven by both demand as well as supply side issues, all made more complex by social and political demands for greater and more acceptable environmental standards. The industry is closely linked to the health of a country’s economy (and these days, multiple economies), driven by the health of both businesses in general (in the case of the transportation and logistics spaces) and the individual consumer in particular (in large part by personal disposable income levels and more specifically discretionary consumer spend – as is the case for the travel and hospitality industry). It is no surprise, therefore, that the industry was severely impacted by the global economic crisis of the last several years and, indeed, is still reeling from the impact.

From a Transportation and Logistics perspective, organizations are grappling with a host of key issues, ranging the ability to manage and respond to their customer’s global, complex supply chains, the increasing adoption of alternate supply chain configurations (incorporating greater outsourcing and partnering to deliver value), continual regulatory shifts, deeper financial management and risk mitigation, volatile commodity prices as well as a concerted political and customer emphasis on lowering carbon emissions.

In terms of the Travel industry, the issues are as pressing, as businesses and consumers continue a stop-start pattern of spending, buffeted by the uncertain winds of economic change across many major economies. In addition, in terms of corporate travel, the emergence and growth of new technologies such as virtual meeting rooms and audio conferencing continues to further impact corporate demand. Emerging economies, particularly China and India, are expected to spur growth, which would boost domestic and international travel and hospitality services. Across the board, the growth of the ‘online travel market’ will continue to present both challenges and opportunities to companies in the space.

At The Smart Cube, we deliver customized research solutions to companies in the Travel and Hospitality sector. Our work has spanned all key subsectors, and covered the range of organization requirements from strategy to market to operations. To learn more about our offerings in Travel & Transportation space, please contact us.