The travel & tourism industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation. Activity is driven by a greater desire from consumers for personalised offerings that heighten the traveller experience, as well as an increased focus on value among an increasingly constrained traveller base. The growing importance of technologies such as machine learning, big data analytics, cloud solutions, and cybersecurity is evident. In the last three years alone, there have been over 15,000 patents filed and granted in the travel & tourism industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Travel: Real-time ticket inventory management. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 21,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the travel & tourism industry, there are 20+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Real-time ticket inventory management is a key innovation area in travel & tourism
Real-time inventory management is an automated process of recording sales, purchases and inventory through the use of various technologies that help process that data in real-time to provide an up-to-the-minute picture of inventory levels. In travel & tourism, this technology is used by hotels, airlines, but also by sites and attractions to effectively manage visitor volumes and improve the guest experience.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 50+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established travel & tourism companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of real-time ticket inventory management.
Key players in real-time ticket inventory management – a disruptive innovation in the travel & tourism industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to real-time ticket inventory management
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Car manufacturer Toyota is the leading patent filer in this area as its technologies help companies operating fleets to track available inventory versus what is out on the road. For similar reasons, ride hailing provider Uber is also a leading assignee. Entertainment company Live Nation is also very active as one of the world’s leading event organisers and consequently ticket sellers. This technology is notable for the lack of travel & tourism companies filing for patents. In addition to the above companies, specialist tech firms such as Oracle, Alphabet, and SITA are active, suggesting that this is an area in which travel & tourism operators would prefer to partner with a specialist vendor rather than develop solutions in-house.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the travel & tourism industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Key Themes in Travel and Tourism for 2022.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
