Nomadic personalizes your travel experience with advanced technology. Simplify visa applications, ensure compliance, and manage bleisure trips – all in one secure platform.
In an exclusive interview with NextTech Today, Brendan Ryan, Partner at Fragomen and CEO of Nomadic, dives into how they leverage advanced technology and data analytics to personalize and streamline the travel experience.
Discover how Nomadic utilizes Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to simplify visa applications and ensure efficient compliance. Brendan also offers valuable insights on ethical considerations in data privacy and security, fostering diversity and innovation within their teams, adapting to the evolving landscape of post-pandemic travel, and measuring the impact of Nomadic’s services on achieving cross-border mobility goals.
Excerpts from the interview;
How do you leverage data and analytics to understand the needs and preferences of your customers and deliver a personalized and seamless travel experience?
Leveraging our advanced technology and data analytics, Nomadic delivers a personalized and seamless travel experience by understanding and anticipating the needs and preferences of our customers. For instance, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology dramatically simplifies the visa application process by using data stored in clients’ traveler profiles, reducing a task that manually takes about 35 minutes to just four minutes. This efficiency streamlines the application process and ensures accuracy and compliance.
Our comprehensive pre-travel compliance assessment, enriched by Fragomen’s vast knowledge and data from over 170 countries, allows us to advise travelers accurately on entry requirements, whether it’s visa-on-arrival, visa-free access, or if a tourist/business visa is needed for destinations such as the UAE.
Real-time GPS tracking functionality and regular updates on travel requirements ensure compliance with immigration jurisdictions and provide timely reminders about visa validity. Our API integration further personalizes the experience by seamlessly incorporating travel data into client systems and reporting tools. The unique traveler profile features securely store travel history and data, minimizing the need for repetitive information entry and enhancing the customization of our services. Through these cutting-edge solutions, Nomadic meets the evolving needs of global travelers, offering a tailored, efficient, and hassle-free travel experience.
How do you ensure Nomadic’s practices align with ethical considerations, data privacy, and security compliance?
We prioritize the ethical handling of sensitive and personal immigration data seriously. Recognizing the critical nature of the information we manage, stringent security measures have been implemented across the Nomadic platform, software, processes, and tools. Key practices include secure storage of individual traveler histories and the seamless integration of encrypted data via APIs, ensuring transparency and privacy. Our rigorous approach to data security and privacy, coupled with a deep understanding of local customs, positions us as a trusted partner in managing the complexities of international travel, always keeping our client’s data integrity and confidentiality at the forefront.
How do you foster a diversity, inclusion, and innovation culture among your team and network?
At Nomadic, we are a community. Our knowledgeable professionals are passionate about client service, technology, and managing global short-term immigration programs. Nomadic is a fast-paced, dynamic, and forward-thinking environment, and our people are talented professionals who share collective pride and enthusiasm to help others achieve their travel goals.
Open and honest dialogue is encouraged, and we promote discussion and collaboration where diverse perspectives are valued and respected. We foster cross-functional projects, assignments, and networking opportunities that unite individuals with different backgrounds, skills, and perspectives. We recognize and celebrate the achievements of individuals and teams who contribute to creating a more diverse, inclusive, and innovative environment.
How do you adapt to the changing dynamics of work and travel in the post-pandemic world, and what are the key trends you observe?
The post-pandemic world has brought about a resurgence in business travel, especially in the MENA region. Travelers and their employers seek efficient, innovative tools to navigate the world swiftly while complying with ever-changing visa regulations. This demand aligns with the observed trends of increasing international travel, with Dubai’s 2023 statistics recording 15.37 million overnight international visitors, up by about 20% from last year.
The business travel landscape is transforming, driven by technological advancements and evolving traveler expectations. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized the travel experience, streamlining the visa application process, ensuring compliance, and making business travel more efficient for travelers and managers. Additionally, the trend of blending business trips with leisure, known as bleisure, has gained popularity, with a significant portion of travelers extending their business trips with additional vacation days, supported by more flexible travel policies from companies.
Moreover, the shift towards longer-term visits, highlighted by the increasing popularity of digital nomad visas, indicates a structural change in travel. Businesses need to harness travel tech like Nomadic, which leverages RPA, to adapt to these changes and streamline the process. These tools establish travel profiles, automate application processes, and provide real-time monitoring and updates, removing the administrative aspect of company travel. Employees are ensured seamless, compliant travel experiences in a dynamically evolving landscape, marking a significant shift towards more extended, tech-integrated business travel experiences.
How do you measure the impact and value of Nomadic’s services on your customers’ cross-border mobility objectives?
Within our technology and workflow for the team, we have developed an integrated customer feedback loop at both the individual and program management levels to measure the extent to which our clients achieve desired outcomes. Client retention rates—and the longevity of client relationships—are monitored. We encourage regular feedback from our clients on how Nomadic’s services support their travel managers and their traveling workforces; we need to learn about our clients’ experience and how our services are helping them achieve their objectives.
