Sabre Corporation, a global technology leader powering the travel industry, has appointed Sam Machado as the new Managing Director for the India market. With extensive experience in the travel and hospitality sector, Machado brings a wealth of knowledge to Sabre, having previously served in various leadership roles within the industry. His return to Sabre marks a significant milestone as the company reinforces its commitment to driving innovation and customer success in the region.
In an exclusive conversation with ETTravelWorld, Machado highlighted trends he sees in the marketplace, Sabre’s plans, and what agencies need to be thinking about to harness India’s huge tourism industry growth.
Vision for growth
Machado’s professional journey in the travel industry has been characterised by continuous growth and a deep understanding of market dynamics. Having previously joined Sabre in 2011 and later progressing to lead sales across the Asia Pacific region, Sam’s decision to rejoin Sabre stems from his belief in the company’s vision to be the most valued technology platform in travel. He expresses his excitement about returning to India and South Asia, where he began his journey with Sabre and forged lifelong connections.
“In the dynamic and ever-evolving Indian market, there are immense growth possibilities, I’m thrilled to be back at Sabre, where I can make a significant positive impact on our customers’ businesses and the wider travel ecosystem,” he mentioned.
Focus areas and responsibilities
As the Managing Director for India, Machado will lay special emphasis on a customer-centric approach, with a primary focus on supporting both online and brick-and-mortar agency customers. He underscores Sabre’s commitment to providing innovative technology solutions that anticipate future trends and meet the evolving needs of travellers and agencies alike.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that our innovative technology solutions are at the forefront of the digital transformation happening across the travel marketplace. We aim to leverage strategic partnerships, enhanced customer relations, and relentless pursuit of technology-driven solutions to propel Sabre’s growth and presence in the region,” Machado explained.
Navigating market dynamics & unlocking growth opportunities
The new Sabre India MD identifies the Indian travel marketplace as one of the most dynamic and exciting markets globally. With predictions indicating India’s rise as the fourth largest spender on travel by 2030, there are significant opportunities for growth. To navigate these changes, Machado emphasises the importance of understanding the unique needs of diverse clientele and providing them with the necessary tools and expertise to capitalize on this growth.
“We focus on providing our travel agency partners with the necessary tools and expertise to capitalise on this growth. Our strategic partnerships, like the one with Air India, showcase our commitment to aligning with local market needs.”
Facilitating digital transformation & enhancing customer experience
Sabre’s commitment to digital transformation is evident in its comprehensive suite of AI-powered microservices and automation tools designed to enhance customer success. Sam emphasises Sabre’s role in facilitating digital transformation within the travel sector in India, highlighting the importance of reducing manual work and enabling better business decision-making through advanced technology solutions.
“Through everything we’ve been talking about! It’s about bringing our technological transformation and our customer-centric approach together with our advanced solutions and our deep expertise in the market. It’s through working with our technology partners and our travel partners across the entire travel ecosystem. We’re proud to sit at the beating heart of the travel ecosystem and we take that responsibility very seriously, giving us countless opportunities to create positive momentum not just for Sabre but for our customers and their travellers,” he said.
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Growth plans for 2024 and beyond
Machado feels that 2024 is a pivotal year for technological transformation at Sabre. “This will be the year we fully complete our move to the Cloud. We’re on schedule and right on the cusp of being completely migrated to the Google Cloud. We went into that tech transformation to deliver all sorts of benefits and capabilities for Sabre and the travel industry at large – to reduce costs, unlock greater efficiencies and capabilities, and enhance our ability to deliver transformative products and services at speed for the wider travel ecosystem,” he mentioned.
He further added that the company now have 100 per cent of Sabre agency and airline shopping in the Cloud, which is giving them greater scalability to meet the needs of their regional and global partners. “Our data scientists, engineers and travel technology experts from Sabre and Google are working together every day and our team in Bangalore has been involved in regular hackathons and tech talks to solve real-life challenges and provide platforms to share ideas as we work together to reshape the future of travel.”
This year, Sabre in India will be working with their customers to support its own digital transformation. The company has a range of products and solutions, including booking tools, APIs and automation products, that significantly reduce manual work and allow agents to operate online and from mobile devices, allowing them to service customers better and in more ways.
“We anticipate greater and greater demand for these products as agencies transform from traditional to hybrid models. In the years to come, we expect to see more and more unique content offerings that will provide opportunities for growth, but also complexity in adoption. Fortunately, with Sabre Red 360 and our unique marketplace, Sabre is best positioned to solve for this complexity and ensure our customers continue to have access to the widest breadth of content and seamless workflow,” Machado further said while talking about strategic vision for the Indian market.
How can Sabre support travel agencies?
While answering the question on agencies’ perspective on harnessing growth potential of the tourism industry and how Sabre can support travel agencies in adopting to the evolving needs of the market, Machado said agencies need to ensure they have the right technology to compete in the complex travel landscape of today and tomorrow, and what is vital is that they start from the back to the front.
“They need to start with what they want to achieve so we can help them get there. They need to be thinking about both automation and innovation. It’s vital they can increase efficiencies by replacing repetitive, manual tasks with automation, which is why we’re seeing such interest in our Automation Hub and TicketExpress, and Automated Exchanges and Automated Refunds. By reducing time spent on back-end tasks, agencies can focus more on their customers and future business strategy,” he suggested.
Agencies also need to ensure they aren’t passive bystanders in the new world of offer-and-order. The travel industry is on the brink of a seismic shift, driven by tech innovation and a new wave of consumer demand. So, for travel agencies looking to up their game, the time for introspection is now. Modern travel retailing is not just about selling flight tickets from Point A to Point B, but about improving the entire journey from dreaming about a trip to landing back home. Airlines are already adopting a model of offers and orders in which NDC lets airlines offer personalized bundles.
Message to industry stakeholders
Sharing a message of collaboration, innovation, and shared success to industry stakeholders, clients, and partners, Machado expressed his excitement about the journey ahead and reaffirmed Sabre’s commitment to driving innovation and contributing to the growth and success of the travel industry in India and South Asia.
“With collaboration and innovation, we can navigate the evolving landscape, unlock new possibilities, and reshape the future of travel in India and South Asia. I’m so excited about the journey ahead and look forward to working closely with all of our stakeholders to achieve our collective goals. Together, we can navigate the evolving landscape, unlock new possibilities, and reshape the future of travel in India and South Asia,” he concluded.
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Following a strong 2023, international tourism is well on track to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
According to the first UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) World Tourism Barometer of the year, international tourism ended 2023 at 88 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 1.3 billion international arrivals. The unleashing of remaining pent-up demand, increased air connectivity, and a stronger recovery of Asian markets and destinations, are expected to underpin a full recovery by the end of 2024.
Looking ahead to 2024:
As we look ahead to 2024, there is an optimistic expectation for the full recovery of international tourism to pre-pandemic levels, with initial estimates indicating a 2 per cent growth above 2019 levels, said UNWTO. Its central forecast emphasizes the importance of the pace of recovery in Asia and the influence of existing economic and geopolitical risks on this projection.
The positive outlook is reinforced by the UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index survey, where 67 per cent of tourism professionals express confidence in better or much better prospects for 2024 compared to 2023. Notably, only 6 per cent anticipate a decline in tourism performance, while 28 per cent expect similar performance.
Key factors in the anticipated recovery include significant room for growth in Asia, boosted by the reopening of source markets and destinations. China’s tourism, both outbound and inbound, is expected to accelerate in 2024, supported by visa facilitation and improved air capacity.
Furthermore, the Middle East and Africa are set to benefit from visa and travel facilitation measures, including a unified tourist visa in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and initiatives to facilitate intra-African travel in Kenya and Rwanda.
Europe is anticipated to be a driving force in 2024, with Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area and Paris hosting the Summer Olympics in July and August. Strong travel from the United States, backed by a robust US dollar, will continue to positively impact destinations in the Americas and beyond. Robust source markets in Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East are expected to fuel global tourism flows and spending.
However, economic and geopolitical challenges persist, with factors such as inflation, high interest rates, volatile oil prices, and trade disruptions potentially affecting transport and accommodation costs in 2024. Travelers are likely to seek value for money and opt for closer-to-home destinations. Sustainable practices and adaptability will increasingly influence consumer choices.
Staff shortages remain a critical issue for tourism businesses dealing with high demand. Additionally, uncertainties stemming from conflicts such as the Hamas-Israel conflict and geopolitical tensions, including Russian aggression against Ukraine, continue to impact traveler confidence.
International tourism hit US$1.4 trillion in 2023
The most recent data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) underscores the economic implications of the ongoing recovery in the tourism sector. Preliminary estimates reveal that international tourism receipts for the year 2023 amounted to USD 1.4 trillion, representing approximately 93 per cent of the earnings recorded by destinations in 2019, which stood at USD 1.5 trillion. Moreover, the total export revenues from tourism, inclusive of passenger transport, are projected to be USD 1.6 trillion in 2023, nearly 95 per cent of the USD 1.7 trillion reported in 2019.
In terms of the economic contribution of tourism, as measured by tourism direct gross domestic product (TDGDP), preliminary estimates indicate a figure of USD 3.3 trillion in 2023, constituting 3 per cent of the global GDP. This points towards a notable recovery in TDGDP from the pre-pandemic levels, propelled by robust performance in both domestic and international tourism.
The event will feature various highlights aimed at promoting sustainable development, climate action, and enhanced collaboration within the global tourism sector. FITUR International Tourism Trade Fair, taking place in Madrid from January 23 to 26, will serve as a platform for global tourism innovation and collaboration.
Several destinations have experienced substantial growth in international tourism receipts during the initial ten to twelve months of 2023, surpassing, in some instances, the growth in arrivals. Concurrently, a number of significant source markets reported strong demand for outbound travel during this period, with many exceeding the levels observed in 2019.
The sustained recovery is further evident in key industry indicators. According to the UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker, both international air capacity and passenger demand have rebounded to approximately 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels as of October 2023 (according to IATA).
Accommodation establishments globally have shown improvement as well, with global occupancy rates reaching 65 per cent in November, slightly exceeding the 62 per cent recorded in November 2022 (based on STR data).
Middle East, Europe and Africa performed strongest in 2023
The latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer also provides a comprehensive overview of the sector’s performance in 2023, tracking recovery by global region, sub-region and destination.
The Middle East led recovery in relative terms as the only region to overcome pre-pandemic levels with arrivals 22 per cent above 2019.Europe, the world’s most visited region, reached 94 per cent of 2019 levels, supported by intra-regional demand and travel from the United States. Africa recovered 96 per cent of pre-pandemic visitors and Americas reached 90 per cent.
Asia and the Pacific reached 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels following the reopening of several markets and destinations. However, performance is mixed, with South Asia already recovering 87 per cent of 2019 levels and North-East Asia around 55 per cent.
Available data shows several destinations, including both large, established destinations as well as small and emerging ones, reporting double-digit growth in international arrivals in 2023 when compared to 2019. Four sub-regions exceeded their 2019 arrival levels: Southern Mediterranean Europe, Caribbean, Central America and North Africa.
“The latest UNWTO data underscores tourism’s resilience and rapid recovery, with pre-pandemic numbers expected by the end of 2024. The rebound is already having a significant impact on economies, jobs, growth and opportunities for communities everywhere. These numbers also recall the critical task of progressing sustainability and inclusion in tourism development,” stated UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.
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