How much does the traveler spend at our airport?
More and more people are beginning to enjoy the airport experience. Research conducted by Collinson in 2018 revealed that only 50 % of travelers enjoyed the airport experience. However, for the 2019 report, where 6,667 people across 11 countries in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions were surveyed, to track evolving traveler preferences and behaviours, the research found that overall traveler satisfaction with the airport experience is on the up. Last year, 63% of global travelers said they enjoyed the airport experience - a 13% point’s jump from 2018.
4.4 billion Passengers flew in 2018; an increase of 6.9% from 2017 and it is expected that 2020 will set a new record in terms of the number of scheduled passengers with over 4.72 billion, around 137% higher than in 2004. The International Airport Transport Association (IATA) predicts that by the year 2037, 8.2 billion passengers will take to the sky.
More people on the move mean more passengers leading to bigger crowds and heightened security measures - resulting in lengthy queues and a greater potential for breakdown in activity. The airport experience is staged by a cast drawn from airlines, airport authorities, security and operational service providers. Dissatisfaction at any point of the airport-to-boarding plane journey can negatively impact on the traveler’s overall satisfaction.
No surprise then, that when one adds all these factors, travelers are increasingly placing comfort well above other concerns such as cost and efficiency. Craving for comfort, many travelers are willing to pay for additional benefits to obtain it. Collinson’s new survey “Love the Journey’ which examined traveler wellbeing among more than 25,000 participants globally discovered that ‘comfort’ was a priority for 74% of traveler - overshadowing other factors such as value for money (60%) and efficiency (49%).
The research done by Collinson points out that travelers are more likely to spend more at the airport – provided their experience is right. Put simply, the time spent by passengers in airports presents an opportunity for airports to optimize and monetize the travelers’ journey.
Traveler satisfaction in Asia / Middle East airports seems to have a vast level of satisfaction when compared to the US / Europe regions. On average, 3 in 4 travelers (74%) across markets like India, China and the UAE enjoy the airport experience, compared to less than half (48%) across markets like the US, the UK and Germany.
The research goes on to tell us that happy travelers spend more. 88% of travelers (9 in 10) who regularly spend over US$200 at the airport, count the airport experience as an enjoyable part of the travel journey. Sadly, (I.e. for those airports), travelers who rate the airport experience as less than satisfactory, spend less than US$ 28.
Wonder how much on average travelers spent at Colombo Airport in 2019.
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