It is the travel industry that acts as a bridge amongst the many
worlds, knitting together cultures and economies. It hopes across
the globe, traditionally through dense physical infrastructure via
travel agents, guidebooks, and uncertainty of limited information
and communications.
However, increasingly rapid technological changes have led to
profound shifts in modern travel. As technology develops, it is
increasingly acting as an enabler, transforming every aspect of
travel journeys, from making travel plans to booking trips,
exploring new destinations, and narrating stories.
This travel blog explores how the travel industry continues to
evolve by placing it within the digital context in which emerging
technologies have become the foundation of a new era of comfort and
convenience. To illustrate the increasing role of technology in
improving the travel experience and offering new modes of
transportation, we explore how digital transformation continues to
gain momentum by leveraging tech to enhance everything from travel
planning experiences to immersive augmentation and new modes of
travel.
Online travel booking sites such as Expedia, Hotels or Momondo have
changed forever the whole process of planning and booking travel,
from complex itineraries across multiple continents to even the
simplest flight, even eliminating the need to speak with a travel
agent in person, as was the case with traditional travel agencies.
Having been used to planning holidays or conducting business travel,
travelers would go to small local travel agencies to organize
flights and rooms (often based on paper brochures). In these
agencies, travelers would have to meet travel agents face-to-face,
and agents would recommend the best options available and help them
organize flights, rooms, or whole itineraries, providing expertise
for complex travel logistics. However, this involved time-consuming
visits to an agent’s office and had the disadvantage that each
agency offered different prices for the same rooms – travelers were
often not informed about room availability.
This gives more power directly into the hands of travelers. Online
platforms such as Expedia, Booking.com, and Airbnb eradicate many
old restrictions, allowing travelers to compare, book, and pay for
travel-related services as never before. Travelers can view and
compare flights, hotels, rental cars, and alternative activity
options from home, or indeed on the go and from anywhere, on mobile
devices of their own accord. The shift to online platforms
eliminates the need to visit multiple websites, draws from
third-party products, and offers a certain level of transparency in
pricing and availability that was not possible even a decade ago.
Furthermore, mobile apps have brought the latest improvements to the
travel-planning experience. Modern-day travelers can use travel
agencies and airline mobile apps to book flights and manage their
trips. Hotels have special apps that help guests reserve their
arrangements, check boarding gates, and even display virtual
boarding passes, bringing mobility and comfort to the entire
traveling experience.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are fundamentally changing travel by putting the whole world within arm’s reach and allowing people to explore destinations, attractions, and trip plans in entirely new ways.
The transformation of transportation is affecting how people move around and deciding the future of mobility thanks to technological innovations that led to disruptive modes of transportation:
By incorporating gadgets into travelers’ experiences, Internet of Things (IoT) devices are helping to redesign how airports, hotels, and tourist attractions work, thus increasing travelers’ safety and convenience and operations’ efficiency.
The challenges posed by new technologies in the travel industry are manifold, even as they create pressure to embrace novel technology – but these, in turn, promise to transform travel, too.
Personalization and democratization technology have upended every facet of travel. Technology in travel transforms everything from the spontaneous wanderlust that sends travelers to explore the world to the sharing of plans and wins via social media to the experiences travelers have. IoT devices and digital platforms free travelers from the tedious aspects of traveling and streamlining administrative and bureaucratic hurdles. New emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain are carving new channels for travel brands to reach consumers, improving travel experiences. Ride-sharing apps, hyperloop technology, and increasing offerings of electric vehicles are reinventing transport. AR and VR are offering travelers immersive, interactive experiences. Although there are challenges in transacting and monetizing this trend as data security and privacy issues loom, we believe the iterative nature of technology will push its execution in a positive direction. It will lead to limitless innovation in travel and experiences that have never been seen.
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