Experience the Wonders of Go Slow Tours

6 Key Digital Trends in the Tourism Industry 

Mobile Booking 

Mobile Booking is becoming popular with tourists and companies with the use of contactless payment, convenient cancellations, notifications, loyalty programs and more personalisation and the company can get insightful customer analytics. With technological advances and more affordable phones there is growth of mobile traffic worldwide and with the emergence of new features for mobile devices mobile bookings is becoming a common practice while using desktops and laptops to book holidays is declining. For example, travellers can make their plane reservations and choose their seats using a mobile app. 

Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence 

In the travel sector chatbots are widely used with mobile apps. They can make communication easier and more affordable. Companies can use chatbots to offer reservations, get customer data and offer assistance. Travelers can find out more about their destination and book directly through a chatbot. 

Contactless  

Contactless mobile payment is one of the leading travel technology trends that increase customers’ confidence in travelling according to the Statista Research Department. The possibility of making purchases with different devices more convenient, faster and more securely is one of the biggest benefits. Contactless technologies can be used for payment, digital keys, QR codes, eSignature and passport scans. 

Augmented and Virtual Reality  

Virtual touring is used mainly as a marketing tool by helping the traveller plan their trip and adds an emotional aspect to the traveller's decision. Studies show it can boost customer engagement and change buying behaviour. Hotels and vacation venues are increasingly integrating virtual reality technologies. The Louvre and the British Museum already have virtual touring in their services. 

Internet of Things (IoT) 

IoT refers to a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances and other physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software and network connectivity that allows them to collect and share data. It can help hotels deliver an improved experience to their guests. It can improve internal operations and reduce expenses as it helps to fine tune and optimise conditions. It can benefit everyone in the travel sector as well as hotels it can benefit airlines and resorts. There are upfront costs to install and set up IoT infrastructure, but maintenance is more affordable. An example is a hotel that equipped its guest rooms with blind, locks, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and thermostat sensors. All guests reported high satisfaction rates with their stay at the hotel and the hotel saved up to 40% on energy bills. This cuts costs but also is a step in the right direction of the tourist industry becoming more sustainable. 

Big Data  

Big Data refers to compiling big data sets to streamline business decision-making processes, price optimisation, getting insights and to streamline decision-making processes.  

As a business it is important to define your goals to make decisions around what key digital trends to invest it. 

Bibliography 

1. Computools (2023) Top 10 Tecnology Trends in the Travel Industry in 2023 [online], available https://computools.com/10-technology-trends-in-travel-industry/ [accessed 21 November 2023]. 
2. HotelMize.com 4 Key Travel Industry Digital Transformation Trends That You Should Know [online], available 4 Key Travel Industry Digital Transformation Trends That you Should Know - Mize (hotelmize.com) [accessed 21 November 2023]. 
3. CTech (2023) The top travel-tech trends set to revolutionize tourism in 2023 [online], availablehttps://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ska3xxjs2#:~:text=Augmented%20and%20virtual%20reality%20(AR,destinations%2C%20attractions%2C%20and%20landmarks [accessed 22 November 2023].