How technology is enabling travel and tourism like never before.
Have Tech Will Travel
Travel technology is the application of information technology (IT) in the travel and tourism industries. The goal of travel tech is to automate travel and related processes to save customers time, reduce costs, and create a more seamless experience. It allows consumers to book their travel without the aid of a travel agent, but it's so much more than that.
Travel tech has moved way beyond just hotels, flights and rental cars now. VR and AR are being used in everything from a virtual tour of the Louvre to try-before-you-buy hotel rooms. There are self guided tours, navigation, AI and virtual assistant, chatbots, all-in-one services for search, booking, reviews, and guides like TripAdvisor, and more. Travel tech isn't just B2C though. Technology-driven companies and startups are helping every corner of the travel and tourism industries to implement travel technology. Companies are using big data for product development, marketing and improving services. There’s also software, IT, UX/UI, cloud services, cybersecurity, and API integrations that are part of the travel tech sector.
The driving forces behind the travel tech sector are numerous but two of the biggest ones in today's world are smartphones and the covid-19 pandemic.
The world of travel tech was blown wide open with the evolution of the modern smartphone. Smartphones changed everything about the way people consume and interact with media, marketing, and services online. Today the potential for travel tech is almost unlimited (at least until the physicists finally give us actual teleportation) and travel tech companies and startups are racing to build software and products that utilize the advanced capabilities of today’s digital devices.
Factor number 2 is this post Covid world we live in. There was a sudden and ubiquitous need to minimize person to person contact in our society, travel and tourism sectors included. QR codes replaced menus, tickets and tour guides, and are even used to prove our testing and vaccination status. Contactless hotel and flight check-ins ramped up in a hurry and the trend is continuing and even expanding. Facial recognition is being tested for use at airport security and other checkpoints to increase ease and efficiency for travelers.
There are certainly some internationally known companies in the travel tech game but there’s also tons of small startups out there making great products and services as well. Here are some examples of current travel tech, big and small, in action;
- TripAdvisor. As I mentioned above, TripAdvisor is a one stop shop web service and app where consumers can explore destinations, services, and accommodations as well as book online and read reviews. It's been reported that 80% of travelers rely on reviews on Trip Advisor before making bookings and 72% of consumers won't make a booking before reading online reviews. (hotelmize.com)
- Jewel Trek. This is a new service by ESR Tech, that arranges guided trekking experiences in the vast and rugged Himalayas of Nepal. Jewel Trek disrupts the status quo by connecting trekkers directly with the service providers, cutting the foreign-owned big outfitters out of the deal altogether. This travel tech service allows users to customize their trip and save money but at the same time puts more money in the pockets of the local guides and porters who lead the trekkers on their adventure.
- Expedia. Expedia Group Inc. owns sites and services that serve as metasearch engines and travel fare aggregators. Its websites include expedia.com, orbitz, travelocity, vrbo, trivago, and hotels.com, among others, that consumers can use to shop for their travel, compare rates, and book online.
- Amadeus. This company provides B2B services for companies in the travel industry. The company has two services at its core; its global distribution system (GDS), which provides real time pricing, booking, ticketing and more to its clients, and computer software that automates many of the back office processes.
Looking Forward
It's a very diverse sector and the limits of technology are ever-expanding. The 2022 CES in Las Vegas premiered some dazzling possibilities for the near future. Companies presented flying taxis, un-lose-able luggage, AR on your windshield, real-time metaverse meets AR, a personal instant breathalyzer for flu and covid, and a palm-sized portable modem that works in over 100 countries. (thrillist) It's true what they say, the one constant is change.
Leave us a comment below and let us know what’s got you excited in travel tech today.