If you thought that travelling is not easy, you might want to think again. As long you have sound access to a Smartphone and internet, you are good to go. Here’s how…
This may not be prominent to modern day travellers, who have everything figured out with just the click of a button. But those who have travelled from ages know how different travelling has gotten.
There was a time when dot-matrix printers where used, and heavy and huge computer decided seat numbers and aisle arrangements. Booking airline tickets needed you to telephone agents who would have access to airline booking terminals.
The sudden wave of technological advancements has made travelling much more comfortable and easy to approach. It has also made travel incredibly cheaper than what it once was. And an incredible number of services have been added in the recent past that has enhanced the overall travelling experience.
Owing to this, travel has grown to be a far greater industry than ever estimated. A report by the World Tourism Organization estimates that by 2030 a global population of 8.5 billion people will take 2 billion international trips.
Let us look at it, in depth, on how technology has, and is increasingly changing the travel industry.
Ease and Affordability in Booking
There was a time when the airfare was something you could not entirely choose from. You had to get yourself the ticket that’s easily available, and that would eventually be the price you pay. That being said, there were many players in between who monopolised the whole process, adding surcharges on your airfare price. Back in the day, there wasn’t much you could do about it.
However, with the inflow of technology in the whole process, the system’s gotten a lot more transparent. You can now choose the provider you wish to book tickets from and see an accurate price breakdown. Companies now have gotten different property management systems into a single chain in order to cut down costs and offering a lower-cost alternative for travellers to choose from.
Introducing Decentralization in the Travel Knowledge industry
Earlier, when you landed to a location you never had before, all you would have to resort to was a guidebook. Tourists would have to rely on the guidebook if they wanted to learn about local attractions. The issue with guidebooks is that they get outdated soon, hindering the overall travelling experience.
Over time, guidebooks went digital and got far more interactive. Pioneers in this are Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor that made seeking local attractions easier and more insightful. Not only travellers but even locals in a specific destination get to benefit from this. If they somehow monetise their knowledge of the location and enhance the experience of travellers, it ends up being a win-win for both parties. This has been possible only because of Technological intervention.
Smarter solutions to help customers better
While considering travel, a lot of people are initially confused. Some are even scared. They want to travel, but they just don’t seem to know how. With technology, it is now possible to have travel assistants throughout the day. Statistically, it has been seen that 35 per cent of travellers would prefer having a travel agent provide them with a more personalised travel schedule. It adds to the overall security a traveller feels, and that ends up making all the difference.
Travel then becomes a more comfortable and far less intimidating affair, thereby encouraging more people to take it up some time or another. With services like Haptik, help is quite literally a text away. Many third-party services are now investing in chatbot and AI technologies that can make travelling a far easier process.
Technology renders travel unparalleled potential
One of the biggest limitations of travel was approachability. With that taken care of by technology, the potential in the travel industry has literally skyrocketed. Technological interventions have made reaching out to help easier. Customer grievances have incredibly gotten lower as it is easier now to reach out customer service, at any point in the course of travel.
Right from booking airline tickets to booking hotels, at the most reasonable prices and as many services as one can avail, technology has quite practically revolutionised the process of approaching travel.
Third-party services have sprung up at an exponential pace, to smoothen the whole process for customers, and to offer impeccable travelling experience every time. This has only made the world a much smaller place.
Augmented Reality making travelling more fun
Funny as it may seem, Pokémon Go as a game changed the way people viewed augmented reality. In ways more than one, it encouraged people to get out there in the open. Travelling companies are now incorporating the revolutionary implication of AR technology. Google is planning to amp up Google Maps, by allowing someone to find the path by putting on the camera.
Departures Switzerland is another such application which integrates with the Swiss Public Transport network. This app allows travellers to find the nearest public transport option. Such technology makes travel comfortable and safe for first-time travellers, who are rather intimated considering the novelty of everything they come across.
Encouraging Travelling Experiences
Travel is more than just going from point A to point B now. It is more of an emotional experience, a getaway that everyone needs in this increasingly stressful world. With technology easing out the whole process, newer trends in travelling have surfaced: theme travels, experiential travel, solo trips in search of oneself, etc. People are exploring cultures and experiencing things and events they otherwise would not have.
It is giving travellers a newer perspective on things, eventually leading to a better lifestyle. It truly is unbelievable, the things you can learn from the travelling experience.
Take off with this
Travelling has increasingly gotten to something unbelievably lucid over the years, courtesy technology. With the Smartphone trend coming in, technology now rests in every hand these days.
If you too have been planning a trip for a long time, but have never dared enough to take the next step, then you should know that the process is easier than you could have imagined.
The world lies in front of you to be explored, and all you practically need is a Smartphone and a sound internet connection to get about going. So pack your bags and keep those excuses for some day. Break free from the monotony and experience life to its vivid and vibrant fullest.
