What is Understood by Travel Technology?

Technology dominates every significant as well as insignificant aspect of our lives, from the time we wake up in the morning to the sound of alarms going off, to searching for UBER rides on our phones, it is safe to say that we are very much reliant on it for our day-to-day life. So the integration of technology into the travel industry to enhance the overall performance should be expected.

Generally, all types of automation that help to ease the process of travelling for tour operators and travellers can be categorised as Travel Technology. Thanks to them, we can now book rides, flights, hotels, tours and other activities indoors and outdoors just with a touch on your mobile screens. It has restructured the entire travel industry and the way people travel more convenient. Now let’s take a deeper dive into the world and impact of travel technology in the industry.

Define Travel Technology

Basically, using IT in planning trips in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry is known as travel technology. This enables a tour agent to book flight tickets, accommodations, transport and any other activities related to the trip. In other words, it helps a travel agent customize a trip according to the preferences of each client.

Hotels and airlines are now able to handle all reservations with ease because of computerized reservation systems (CRSs). All travel-related reservations are constantly being updated, so the travel agents get access to and retrieve real-time data.

The incorporation of IT and e-commerce solutions in the tourism and hospitality industry can also save tons of time for both ends. Travel technology can help provide customers with a cost-effective solution for all their travel requirements and create an ideal travel experience.

Impact of Travel Technology on the Industry

Data from FCM Travels suggests that 39% of hotel bookings and 22% of flight bookings are done from mobile phones. Numbers and stats published by Condor Ferries regarding online travel bookings reveal some interesting facts.

• 33% of travellers use virtual travel assistants to plan their trips
• 66% of travellers make online bookings
• 70% of travel research is conducted on smartphones
• 80% of travellers rely on reviews on TripAdvisor
• 82% of 2018 travel bookings were made without a travel agent

We are on the path to becoming a fully-digital world with the rise of Travel technology.

The changes Travel Technology has brought to the Industry

1. Thanks to travel automation, the process of planning a trip became less time-consuming.
2. As the perfect travel buddy, you can get access to your entire itinerary, from flight details to accommodations to other travel-related activities, on your mobile devices.
3. The ability to always stay connected.
4. Personalise your travel experience.
5. Break down all language barriers.
6. Makes planning a trip more exciting for the travellers.

Now let’s look at some of the most common applications of travel technology to give you a general overview.

Internet of Things

IoT in the travel and tourism industry can provide a more personalised travel experience that caters to each individual consumer. Many top-notch hotels use IoT to give their clients access to their room appliances. Moreover, companies create targeted, personalised marketing campaigns by using data gathered from IoT-enabled devices.

IoT can also be used to remember a customer's preferences in case of a return visit. For instance, if you visit the same hotel or resort every summer or winter vacation, and when you enter the room, everything is preset to your preference, from the temperature of the air conditioning to the intensity of the lighting in the room. These personalised details may seem insignificant, but can play a remarkable role in attaining customer satisfaction.

AI

AI-powered solutions are heavily used in the travelling sector to create a more personalised travel experience. Now, travellers do not need to visit agencies for booking flights and hotels thanks to automated booking systems. Even the necessity to interact with travel agents has become almost obsolete, as AI assistants and Intelligent chatbots are slowly taking over. They have been deployed on various social media platforms, like Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber and Skype to provide 24/7 customer support like an ideal travel companion.

There are some AI-Driven Applications that can now aid in Flight Forecasting. Suppose, they can look for the best deals on flights, hotels, amenities, car rental companies, and more based on the insights gathered from consumer behaviour, interests, and preferences regarding travel destinations.

With the use of machine learning algorithms that predicts optimal hotel and flight rates to provide clients with personalised recommendations about the most suitable time to book a flight by using flight databases.

AR and VR

Thanks to VR, you are able to visually experience the picturesque sceneries of a destination virtually. It enables you to take virtual tours of any location, hotel, resort or restaurant before making the final decision to reserve a spot or not. This will allow you to teleport yourself completely to that location, for instance, you could be standing in Time Square or the Taj Mahal, cross the Grand Canyon or stand on the peak of Mount Everest without actually moving a muscle or spending tons of money and time in actually travelling to that spot.

And AR or augmented reality takes it a step further as you can change or interact with your surrounding giving you a real-world environment, so you can tour rooms and engage with different hotel amenities. You can also tour a plane and check out the seats and overhead cabins to make sure your carry-on luggage fits.

Smartphone as Travel Buddy

As we have already seen from stats published by Condor Ferries that 70% of travel research is done from smartphones. Travellers who belong to this demography plan their entire trip itinerary with the intervention of a third party, like travel agents. This is less time-consuming, cost-effective and hassle-free.

Smartphones can be your personal tour guide wherever you go as they can give you access to real-time updates regarding your check-in and out, your current location to help you navigate through the unknown place, and instantly locates nearby cafés, restaurants, museums, and any other place you would like to visit.