“Explore the world” is the most popular bucket list wish for every human being. The pursuit to see and feel the unexplored paved the way for the inception and growth of the travel and tourism industry. In 2019, the economic contribution of the travel and tourism industry to global GDP was 2.9 trillion USD. Though the rise of Covid 19 altered the shape of this industry, it is regaining its past glory slowly and steadily. 

With the golden numbers and growth of the travel industry, the ground has become extremely competitive. You need to get the pulse to survive and sustain the competition. Adhering to its dynamic nature, every player needs to be updated with the latest information. Customer preferences, price fluctuations, hotel availability, and other information that influence a trip should be there at your fingertips to stay competitive. That’s when real-time data comes into the picture. You must unlock the potential of data scraping if you want to gain access to untapped resources. 

Data scraping is extensively used by numerous industries for making crucial business decisions, and the travel industry is not an exception. The digitization of this sector played a huge role in making web data a utility. Travel enterprises have developed specific online travel and tourism services to get into the digital market. Let us look at the benefits of data scraping in the travel and tourist business.

What are the types of travel data that can be scraped? 

Scraping travel data is no longer a luxury; it’s a requirement. Travel agencies can scrape different data such as travel data, customer data, location data, and hotel listings using data scraping.

• Customer data

In a competitive market realm, companies should make informed investment choices and bring products and services designed according to the needs of the consumers. Businesses can access customer opinions and preferences using web scraping. Customer reviews, feedback, their lifestyle choices, all these information can be derived by utilizing web data. Travel agencies may use this information to introduce innovative products and services that can satisfy the consumers. Customer data may also be utilized to keep tabs on a company’s online reputation and foster brand loyalty. 

• Travel data

Customer experience and service quality are the most critical components of any service-oriented business. Companies must offer exceptional service to their customers while remaining cost-effective to increase consumer loyalty. Using data scraping, companies can extract the ticket pricing of different transportation services like airlines, railways, buses, taxis, etc. to provide quality and affordable service. Scraping travel data enables travel agencies to obtain airline and other transportation service schedules and booking availability on a regular basis. 

• Hotel listings

Travel agencies can utilize web scraping to find out the availability of rooms and apartments and plan their trip around that information. Booking availability data enables these agencies to make trip decisions without any hurdle. They can also get information about ratings, hotel facilities (pet friendly, Wi-fi, swimming pool, etc.), hotel images, festive offerings which helps in the planning process of a trip. It can also extract price data of rooms or apartments for providing a memorable stay without exceeding the budget. Hotel listing data assists businesses in providing the best possible service to their consumers, emphasizing the essential tagline “value for money.”

• Location data

The travel industry’s dynamic nature demands its participants to keep up with the latest travel destination trends. The most popular travel locations may be discovered using data collected from prominent travel portals. Today’s generation seeks new experiences, hence for a travel agency, finding an unexplored spot can be a life-changing discovery. Data scraping enables companies to identify the least explored destinations and their unique features that attract people to visit those places. Scraping travel location data also provides information on rental availability, associated costs, and other factors relevant to that area.

These data enable organizations to make cost-effective decisions in real-time. Travel agencies can use this information to construct their own database for hassle-free business functioning. Using automated data scraping, travel agency databases can be updated on a regular basis.

How can the travel sector leverage the benefits of data scraping?

• Data-driven business strategies

If you are targeting a bigger market share, you need to be efficient in making well-fortified strategies. Those strategies should be backed up by accurate, valid, and reliable data. In a customer-centric industry, customer sentiments and their demands are crucial factors that impact the shape of the companies. Travel data scraping is one of the most efficient ways for your business to get consumer information and acquire new consumers. Travel agencies can make effective use of social media data to deliver products and services according to the current trends.  Customer data insights may then be utilized to create efficient marketing strategies that target the right segment with the right product at the right time. 

• Competitor analysis

Understanding what the competitors are doing and having a defensive mechanism will put you ahead in the game. A firm obtains insightful information about what the competitor is doing, their growth, and the winning strategies, by collecting pertinent competitor data. A firm can access their competitors’ product and service offerings and design theirs with improvements. Through analyzing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses every firm can find the gaps in their competitors’ strategy and identify their unique selling proposition. 

• Price monitoring

The travel industry being an oligopolistic market, pricing is a crucial factor that may build or break an organization. Hence, travel agencies must maintain track of market price variations.  Prices for hospitality services and travel expenses can be extracted for designing a budget-friendly trip. Firms can also derive market prices for similar products and services, which enables them to compare market prices and design a pricing strategy accordingly. Price information enables travel firms to keep track of price fluctuations in the market and amend strategies based on seasonal demand shifts. 

• Market analysis

The shape of the travel sector is partially determined by market forces due to its dynamic character. Data from travel sites, news publications, surveys, and relevant web pages can be used to monitor market dynamics. The accessibility of these data allows for market research which enables companies to deliver tailored products and services to the right audience. Scraping travel data aids in deconstructing ingrained patterns and focusing on innovative ways to maximize sales and customer satisfaction.

Benefits of employing data scraping

• Web scraping empowers companies to get a hold of reliable and enriched data in real-time with utmost accuracy.
• Compared to manual data collection, data scraping is faster and efficient, which saves time and money.
• The availability of cleansed data in a well-structured format makes it easier to use without additional processing.
• The automated process and further validation minimize human errors.

 Conclusion 

Data scraping is a handy tool for sectors like tourism that have a data-driven culture as a cornerstone. With the advent of digitalization, online data has become increasingly important in driving the growth of any travel company. Use a robust online scraping solution that can be tailored to your unique business requirements. Since web data scraping is a controversial tool, firms must ensure that they follow ethical data scraping. 

At Scrapeworks, we provide the most secure and reliable travel data which empowers businesses to survive in a competitive environment. We utilize a sophisticated system to deliver tailored data that delivers optimum results. Join forces with us to make data your most dependable ally.