Technology Is Redefining Travel Industry Today- And For The Better

Do you know the volume of people spending time abroad has increased to 4 percent in the recent years? You might be wondering what the push behind such a rise is. Is it a raise in office or more leaves? Well, the answer, quite simply, lies in the revolutionary technological advances that have been changing the way we see the world now – and the travel industry is definitely a big part of it. Yes, technology is redefining the travel industry today and that too for the better. If you ask me, thanks to such advancements, we are getting a versatile range of variables today which have made travels more convenient and more practical. The handy impacts of social media, mobile technology, cloud & analytics have led to huge transformative impacts in the treading route.

Let's see how the technological advances are redefining the tourism sector.

The in-home comfort

I personally feel that it's the comfort of searching and organizing your entire travel right from your own den – which commands a huge impact in the growth of travel industry and rising popular inclination to tours. Thanks to the acceleration of internet technology, you can arrange the entire tour from your home and that too any time. Whether it's about booking a flight or cruise or bus or railway, finalizing your accommodation in a foreign land, booking the car rental services for an easy transport in an alien country or spotting the major tourist attractions for your travel itinerary- everything is more convenient due to the virtual assistance. You don't need to physically visit a travel agency today as you have sites like Priceline or Expedia to help you in booking your entire trip anytime from home.

Easier access to compatible & affordable hotels

Earlier, we had to settle with whatever accommodation we had before us since it was really difficult to shop around & compare hotel prices & availability. Such a situation had forced me & many of you to get overboard with the budget a number of times. But courtesy the new technological advances, there is a good number of hotel review and booking sites out there that allow us with a handy comparative study so that we can dig out the most compatible and affordable stay for us. "No wonder, 57 percent of the whole of travel reservations these days are made online and hotel reservations are accountable for 39 percent of total virtual travel revenues", stated Travel-Ticker. The hotel booking sites even enable the travelers to choose hotels as per different criteria.

The bliss of Virtual Reality

When it comes to the biggest thing in technological advancements this year, it's Virtual Reality headset that tops the list and it holds huge influence in the travel sector as well. Honchos from the travel scene such as Qantas Airways or Thomas Cook have already opted for VR experience which can bring aspiring tourists nearer to adventure. The VR headsets come with a revolutionary forward-facing camera which merges the physical and virtual world together creating a never-seen-before experience. The headset would not only enable you a tour across major landmarks as they are now but also will time-travel you to centuries back offering a glimpse of those attractions hundreds of years ago.

Apps helping travelers on the go

If the discussion is about technology redefining the travel sector, it would be unethical not to bring in the mobile apps. With the whole world suddenly getting "smart" today, the developers have come up with a bevy of apps that could be your travel aide on the go. There are hotel apps offering selection of different tours & recommendations on local hotspots for dining or shopping or clubbing. Some of the most advanced apps guide with tours voiced by various celeb guides for a unique travel experience. Major travel companies such as Airbnb reports of receiving 25% of traffic through mobile & expects a major rise in the proportion anytime soon.

The most happening trends when it comes to the travel mobile apps include- cross-device services & marketing, innovative image features, personalized algorithm-driven localized search results as well as integration of travel data into the augmented reality applications & wearables.

Cloud enablement

The cloud facility allows new modes of interaction between organization & individuals which helps with the growth of cross-portal data analytics. Examples include on-demand cross platform content & computing activities without boundaries.

Better consumer insights through big data analytics

Advanced analytics drawn from big data derived from massive social networking activities help the companies in travel sector to gain descriptive & predictive insights about consumer behavior & expectations from them. This has made easier for such companies to mould their services according to specific customer wants, making the travel world more popular among aspiring tourists.

Winding up

For me, a techie by passion & a traveler by heart, one of the most remarkable news this year was the endeavors towards a futuristic robot who could be your expert travel companion. Just imagine how cool would it be to have a robot acting as your tour and transport guide!!