In Focus: Pan World Travel & Tourism

Q: Tell us a bit about your services and what sets you apart from your competitors?

Aga: Pan World Travel Tourism LLC, is a member of Salem Ahmad Almoosa Enterprises, one of the oldest established travel agency in Dubai. The primary aim is to provide high quality travel services to business and leisure travellers.

The company’s main idea is to uphold trust, high standards of business ethics and integrity in the interest of our customers, partners, and the communities in which we serve.

Knowing customer preferences and delivering on our promise is a must. Therefore, in each request we carefully consider the smallest of details to make the travel as seamless and pleasurable as possible.

Q: What is your philosophy when it comes to ensuring customer happiness?

Aga: We are all different as our needs, wants and expectations are not the same. I don’t believe in one well-crafted customer service policy, which businesses of all sizes should practice, day in and day out. However, there are several key fundamentals of a great customer happiness philosophy.

We take care of our customers the way we wish to be treated. Understand that what we think may not always be what our customer is looking for. Therefore, we make sure to deliver on all levels, excellent product and service, designed as per customer needs.

We are flexible with our policy. When it comes to the terms and regulation we make the customer our priority, not letting policy get in the way of customer happiness. We ensure we find the best solution which satisfies the customer.

We listen to understand, not to reply. Understanding customer expectations, needs and personal preferences are key to delivering product or service the customer is looking for. We listen so we can solve problems and answer questions without turning into robots.

We deliver on our promises. We don’t commit to a promise we can’t deliver.

Q: How do you see the current Covid-19 pandemic shaping global tourism in the future?

Aga: The COVID-19 global pandemic has definitely created issues and trends that shape the current and future tourism and hospitality industry. I have no doubt that tourism is a key contributor to the economies of most countries and one of the most important industries that generates income to GDP. Also I have no doubt that travel is part of human nature, a source of joy and self-fulfillment.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 has caused pressure on international travel and tourism operations including the airline industry. We need to be more creative than before and at the same time flexible enough to adapt to new regulations. Health and wellness sector have become trendier as younger travelers are ready to travel more and spend more than older customers. The current situation has changed the way of spending on holidays. Nowadays customers are looking more for private, small boutique hotels or villas with a pool located far from the main cities. A new trend will develop with more individuals booking with private and customized services rather than group bookings.

My expectation is that travel will be closer to home countries at least during the recovery time with more self-driving option. But still there will be segments of travellers willing to travel overseas.

Q: What are some of the positive or negative effects that this pandemic has had on your business?

Aga: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on tourism industry due to lockdown and temporary suspension of domestic and international flights as well as implementation of new travel restrictions among leisure and corporate business travellers. It will take time to recover from the negative impact and how long it takes depends on the global situation.  Tourism is not limited to airline tickets and hotel bookings only. It is strongly connected with business travellers of corporate accounts, transportation, F&B, excursions, shopping and healthcare sector. As IATA agent, we recorded a drastic drop in passenger traffic due to flight cancellations, as well as holiday plans that were postponed. 

I believe that challenging times make us stronger. In the very early stage of the pandemic we planned and implemented our mission – to reshape the company again and support our customers. During the lockdown, our teams were always ready to help customers with flight ticket cancellation, refunds, repatriation flights and we stayed connected with them to share updates. We looked after the customers rights and provided them with full support.

Today we are ready to welcome our customers in our new office, fully adapted to the new health and safety regulations. We’ve also developed an Online Platform where clients have full access to the latest offers and special deals. Along with our travel technology partners, we’ve developed a B2B and B2E online platform where clients can benefit from competitive rates and manage all the bookings directly from the office or home.

Q: What mechanisms do you have in place to gather customer feedback?

Aga: I believe that customer feedback is highly valuable for improving our products and service. Therefore, we care about customer experience and analyzing reviews is a great opportunity to make us even better. However, collecting the feedback because of busy customer schedules is not always easy. In order to gather feedback, after the service, we mostly send a follow-up email; ensure direct contact and monitor social media accounts. This method is proactive, and generates the best responses.

Q: What processes do you follow to solve customer complaints?

Aga: Negative feedback is an advantage not a disadvantage. Every business will have its share of both experiences, happy customers and unsatisfied ones. I believe the company can benefit from customer complaints once they are handled well. 

In our organization we are taking several steps to resolve customer problems. We listen carefully. We believe customers want to know that someone is listening to them and willing to find a solution to their problem. We stay calm and let the customers speak without interrupting them. We ask relevant questions to investigate the problem. We acknowledge the problem and try to find the best solution. 

We believe there is no problem that doesn’t have a solution. Solving customer complaints leads to knowing the customers better.

Q: Do you offer 24/7 customer support on all your online platforms?

Aga: Yes, we offer 24/7 customer support. We have a dedicated team ready to respond anytime and provide services the customer is looking for. Customer support is active for both online platforms: business to business as well as business to customer, including national holidays.

Q: How do you plan to improve customer experience in the future?

Aga: Today customers buy experience, not products. We pay attention to customer expectations therefore we can create new experiences which bring satisfaction and happiness. 

We are constantly analyzing customer culture, personal preferences, lifestyle and needs to create a better experience and unforgettable travel memories.

We believe in being innovative. We consider each request on an individual level and continuously improve our knowledge about the travel industry to provide better products to our customers. 

It is all about customer satisfaction!

About Aga Pytlik

Aga Pytlik is the General Manager at Pan World Travel Tourism. She believes each day is an opportunity to create a masterpiece.  She is a self?motivated professional with more than 18 years of experience in managing multiple projects of small and medium?scale from the requirements gathering phase to completion.