Recent EyeforTravel research finds that 75% of travel data pros expect a budget increase in 2017, versus just 4% that are expecting the axe to fall

Travel is awash with data and companies are digging deep to access insights from it, according to EyeforTravel’s new industry-wide State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017.

Close to 75% of respondents, who came from all travel verticals, said they expect budgets to rise 2017, with some increasing substantial increases. Over half of respondents expect budget to rise by 6%, and around a third forecasting and increase of 11% or more.

One explanation for this is that travel companies data efforts are coming off a relatively low base. Although 65% of the panel reports that they have a dedicated data, analysis or insight team, most have fewer than 10 employees. Just over half the respondents said their data teams were run by up to five people.

In spite this, EyeforTravel finds that the travel and tourism industry has recognised the value of strong data analysis.

Says Alex Hadwick, Head of Research for EyeforTravel: “We found that in terms of analytics, data deployment and attribution, travel is relatively advanced compared to other industries. These planned budgetary increases will help increase the depth of talent and acquire the tools needed to get maximum value out of the huge amount of data that already exists and will be generated in the future.”

According to the survey, the expectation of data professionals for a budget boost also varies by region. Respondents were most optimistic about increases in Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and then North America.

The geographic divide broadly reflected how respondents view the coming year for travel and tourism. For example, in Asia-Pacific and Europe, 16.3% of respondents are neutral or negative about growth prospects for this year, compared to 23.3% of respondents from North America.

Hadwick believes that this is indicative of wider sentiment in the region: “With the WTTC warning of changing sentiment towards the US and reports for Q1 indicating fewer flight bookings, there appears to be a bigger story here that is reflected in our data.”

Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not consider setting aside some budget for the Smart Travel Data Summit 2017 (Dec 4-5)