Technology And Its Impact On Global Travel
Updated: Jan 1, 2022
The global travel and tourism market is huge… According to the World Tourism Organization, by 2030 approximately 8.5 billion people will go on 2 billion international trips. The demand for unique travel experiences and customised travel activities is increasing everywhere, and thereby forcing the travel industry to evolve and improvise from technology to sustainability. Be it a personal trip or a business travel, technology has impact travel experiences by making it more interactive and personable.
Simply put, blend travel with technology and you will get an awesome combination. Artificial intelligence, social media, smartphones and electronic payments are some examples of how technology has affected travelling in its own ways. According to a Google Travel study, about 74% of travellers depend on the internet to plan their trips and just a mere 13% depend on travel agents for their travel needs.
Gone are the days when the travel industry had to rely on traditional channels and processes. Today, the travel industry is automating everything from hotel bookings to flight tracking. At the same time, it deploys a common interface to bring customers and travel industry under the same roof. Moreover, the adoption of SaaS and AI based models are also expanding the market of travel and tourism. Let us check out a few more examples below.
For streamlining and processing applications, or managing travel bookings and paperwork, companies are employing robotic process automation.
Machine Learning and AI enable price comparison on various travel booking platforms, and thus provide the best deals to travellers.
To address the queries and concerns of customers, companies are using AI-based interactive conversational platforms like chatbots and virtual support agents.
To speed up the guest activities, technologies like gesture-activated interfaces and voice recognition are being deployed at hotels.
Digital platforms in restaurants, hotels and airports allow easy and contactless experience while using the services.
Facial recognition and biometric systems are being used in hotels as well as public spaces for automated check-ins, faster check-outs and payments.
To improve the in-room guest service, virtual technology is being considered.
Augmented reality/virtual reality solutions are implemented to provide travellers with a better feel of the tourist attraction that they will be visiting.
In the words of Tamara Lohan, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at boutique hotel booking website Mr & Mrs Smith, “Digitalisation has given us choice in a big way”. Noticing the increase in travellers and their preferences, companies like Airbnb are assisting customers like companions by encouraging them to explore more. Technology enables us to get information about the interesting places around us when we go travelling.
In the past, travellers were somewhat inhibited when travelling to countries where there is a language barrier issue. Keeping a phrasebook in the native language of the destination was a prerequisite for an enjoyable and frictionless travel experiences. However, things a little bit different today. Mobile apps like iTranslate and Google Translate have resolved such struggles and interacting with the locals now has become so much easier. The Google Translate app even allows you to use the mobile phone’s camera to scan text and instantaneously translate that into your native language.
Conclusion:
Smooth and transparent interaction with customers tops the priority list of service providers in the travel and tourism industry. By deploying state-of-the-art technology, the service providers is able to share a more cordial bond with their customers and in a better position to understand their needs. The application of technology and innovative solutions is unstoppable, so service providers by embracing these technologies are able to provide their guests better travel experiences and make travelling just what they are meant to be, exciting, seamless, fun and memorable!
Please check back to our blog as we produce more content pertaining to travel and tourism industry, and how xTripz Network will utilise the technological advancement in blockchain and the decentralisation to build the world’s first community-owned decentralised travel experiences platform.
About xTripz Network:
xTripz Network aspires to become one of the best travel booking site in the world, one which is fully decentralised and community owned and governed. The xTripz platform facilitates discovery, shopping, booking and payment of travel products, with novel DeFi and NFT features, replacing travel gift cards with our $XTR travel token, and providing our users memorable travel experiences and wide offering of travel activities. Our travel guides provide up to date information, including popular searches on travel activities, glamping near me and travel cryptocurrency.