Imagine you are chilling on a broad-sloping strip of land around the edge of an ocean and sipping a pina colada. How does that feel? Rejuvenating, right? Well, traveling is always refreshing, whether you visit a beach or explore the mountain ranges, or go for an adventurous sport such as a skydive or scuba diving or even visit some of the renowned places around the world. Also, not to mention traveling is meeting local people and enjoying new foods and cultures. So one can never stop traveling but have you ever given a thought about how the entire industry works? More importantly, how technology plays its role to keep the industry growing. Well, this is what we will be discussing further in the following post.
Technology Trends Emerging in the Travel Industry 3
How is AI transforming the travel industry? 4
Introduction
We all know that technology seems to have penetrated across all the mainstream industries and travel no longer seems to be an exception. In fact, the emerging disruptive technology seems to have assisted lots and lots of businesses in different manners whether it’s about conducting day-to-day operations or taking care of all the complex tasks. As a result, everyone from healthcare to education to entertainment, hotels, and the aviation industry, are found gushing over all the trending technologies and making the most of them.
Now you must be wondering what’s the point in keeping up with the latest technology trends. Well, one of the obvious reasons could be that your competitor is doing so and your customers are simply loving it. In fact, after the massive COVID hit, people are willing more to travel just to make up for the lost time. So one must better gear up!
Further, I would like to mention some of the key technology trends to consider especially for the travel industry.
Technology Trends Emerging in the Travel Industry
#1 Mobile Technology
Smartphones have become one of the most crucial aspects of our lives, no two ways about it. For any need, whether it’s buying lip-smacking food, or ordering groceries, buying apparel, and accessories, watching movies, booking tickets for your latest travel diaries and so more, all we do is just try reaching our mobile devices and it’s done within a span of a few minutes. No wonder mobile technology seems to have become pretty vital among all industries and travel is definitely not an exception.
From mobile apps to in-app chat, virtual queues, and QR codes, all these have become pretty crucial and not making the most of these technical aspects would be quite a foolish step to take.
#2 Augmented Reality
The next interesting tech trend that everyone seems to be gushing about in the travel industry is augmented reality. Now I am pretty sure that you already know what exactly augmented and virtual reality is, especially after the insane popularity of ‘Pokemon Go’. The tech seems to be pretty much a trend due to an insane amount of its popularity. Who imagined themselves to be able to teleport across the globe and that too while sitting in your homes?
So yes, Augmented reality and virtual reality are other interesting technological trends to focus on within the travel industry.
#3 Artificial Intelligence
The next one in line is artificial intelligence. With time passing by, more and more travel agencies, and hoteliers are finding themselves leveraging the power of customized and personalized services. You see when you are using AI tools, you can receive a quick insight into the customer’s behavior, interests, and preferences, and ensure to offer an amazing experience in terms of the amenities, activities, car rental options, pricing and a lot more.
Of course, there are numerous other technology trends such as Big data, Blockchain, Internet of Things but since we don’t have much time we won’t get into the nitty-gritty of every option available around. Let’s just simply focus on one of them for a while, i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Other than the travel industry, Artificial Intelligence seems to be enhancing and turning out to become a more reliable solution in comparison to other tech trends. So let us discuss what exactly this is.
Well, the concept of artificial intelligence is not new. In fact, it may quite interest you to know that it seems to have existed for decades now, it’s just that with the passing years, the concept seems to have gained momentum. After all, what’s there not to like about the idea of automating different tasks without much human intervention? Moreover, such technologies can perform different tasks such as analyzing data, problem-solving, translating speech, direct messaging, enhancing personalization and whatnot! No wonder, the entire travel and tourism industry seems to be striving hard to implement the little joys of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology.
Further, Let us find out how the power of artificial intelligence is used in the travel and tourism industry.
How is AI transforming the travel industry?
The role of artificial intelligence keeps on evolving time and again. Let us find out how the entire industry can be significantly transformed by the use of such technologies.
#1 Chatbots
One of the basic yet interesting ways through which artificial intelligence is changing the dynamics of the travel industry is through chatbots. One of the widespread adoptions of chatbots is already seen on different social media platforms or instant messaging apps.
In today’s fast paced times, customers are looking for instant replies and nothing works wonders than these AI-based chatbots. You see here even if the representative is not available, these bots are right here to answer. Now what exactly do they answer? Well, they end up providing some valuable information, be it regarding a particular product or where exactly their parcel is right now, what is the refund or cancellation policy, etc. It has been proven that chatbots have become the most indispensable part that results in boosting customer experience to a great extent. Everything seems to have changed right from booking searches to handling all the booking queries, information on the room, flight reservation, car rentals and whatnot! As a result, the entire journey becomes meaningful, convenient and more enjoyable. Basically, AI-based chatbots lead to instantaneous responses and effective engagement with customers. Some of the known companies such as Booking and Skyscanner have incorporated travel chatbots that not just provide all the relevant information but also send alert messages in case of any flight cancellation or discounts.
#2 Voice-Assistant
The next one in line is voice-based assistants. When you have these voice-based digital services, a visitor/guest can make quick reception desk requests, automate room control, and an internet connection, do hands-free calling, weather forecast, and the list goes on. In fact, through these voice assistants, it is possible for guests to set the overall ambience of the room right in accordance with the mood or vibe. Wondering how? Simply by maintaining a set temperature or adjusting the lights, and a lot more.
#3 Facial Recognition
A notable aspect of artificial intelligence in the travel industry is facial recognition. As the name implies, it’s all about identifying individuals depending on their facial features. Biometrics such as eyes, lips, ears, and chin can be used to recognize different people. Also, it turns out to be pretty safe and secure. The concept of facial recognition seems to be widely deployed at airports, train stations, hotels, restaurants and so more. Also, by applying biometrics, a lot of time of the customer’s time is saved.
#4 Robot Technologies
With the incorporation of robotics among several mainstream industries, travel agencies, and hotels seem to have gained an amazing sense of relief through the self-services offered by these robots and virtual assistants. There was a time when developing robots and deploying across the globe was a mere dream; fortunately, that’s not the case anymore! With the increase in usage of robots, human intervention seems to have reduced pretty significantly. All the check-in procedures have speed up, and not just that they can assist well with other activities such as housekeeping, baggage and so forth. One must know that robots have the potential to multitask way beyond human potential. Now this was from the industry point of view, robots can even enhance the overall experience of the end users, wondering how? By greeting them and accompanying them to their particular rooms, suggesting places to visit nearby or what leisure activities they must seek for, etc. No one would have ever wondered how useful these robots can be when incorporated with artificial intelligence, right? Also, these robots are pretty known for offering personalized experiences. This brings us to our next point.
#5 Personalization
Last but certainly not least comes personalization. By incorporating artificial intelligence, you can enhance the experience of your beloved customers to a great extent. Data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence can assist well in understanding their behavior, what are they craving for in particular and how were their past traveling experiences, and anything they didn’t like about it, you can use it to your advantage. For your organization, this leads to enhanced decision-making, planning, scheduling accurate procedures and of course, an increase in return on investments.
Final Words
I can simply go on and on when it comes to artificial intelligence and how it is changing the travel industry across the globe. You see with such disruptive technologies being incorporated every now and then, the future of every industry seems to be rosy and there is no turning back. This is no longer just a passing fad, it is an insane revolution that doesn’t seem to stop anytime soon. In fact, this turns out to be just the beginning, what else can one expect?
- Smart travels
- Smart Cities
- Self-driving cars
- Flight Forecasting apps
- Profound analysis
I hope you did find the following post Justifying its title. If so, feel free to share this with your peers and enlighten them as far as disruptive technologies are concerned and the way they are changing different industries. If you still have any doubts or queries, feel free to get in touch by mentioning them in the comment section below.
Keep watching the space to know more about the topic and get a better perspective regarding the same.
Author Bio: Akash Biswa is a community manager in a software development company TatvaSoft.com.
