Skyscanner has announced partnership with ForwardKeys to deliver two new analytical techniques within ForwardKeys’ Flight Searches tool, branded ‘Travel Willingness’ and ‘Catchment Area’, which aim to provide insights into macro traveller trends.

As one of the world’s leading travel search sites, with over 70 million monthly active users and over 1,200 global partners, Skyscanner has the global reach and scale to provide internet search data that correlates to a high degree with the flight booking data captured by ForwardKeys. These new analytical techniques will combine ForwardKeys’ data science capabilities with the travel intent data that Skyscanner holds to provide businesses with intelligent insights into where people begin their journeys – in addition to where they fly from and to.

“Thanks to our partnership with Skyscanner, we are now able to provide even greater insight into tomorrow’s travellers – firstly by identifying their location and secondly by uncovering their intention to travel, even before they have booked,” commented Laurens van den Oever, chief marketing officer, ForwardKeys.

The analysis available through this new partnership will benefit a range of businesses: from airports and hotels, to destination marketing organisations and outdoor advertising companies. With the unique ability to identify the demand for destinations, segmented by the traveller’s location, an improved understanding can be gained for:

• Leakage areas – the analysis can highlight where one airport is losing business to a competitor and what they might be able to do to reduce this issue (for example, fare adjustments)

• Marketing and merchandising opportunities – the analysis can highlight the geographic make-up of the future footfall to a destination and suggest ways to optimise marketing investments

• Return on investment – the analysis can provide insights into the effectiveness of efforts by destination marketing organisations, tourism boards and even airports who have sought to promote a specific location

“Partnering with ForwardKeys presents a great opportunity to support a wider range of businesses with Skyscanner data and the unique insights that this can provide. We look forward to seeing the varied applications of these new techniques and the returns that they deliver in the future,” concluded Hugh Aitken, senior director, Strategic Partnerships, Skyscanner.