7 Ways emerging technology has and will continue to disrupt the Travel Industry

7 Ways emerging technology has and will continue to disrupt the Travel Industry

As a business traveler, you probably remember how hectic it was to plan your travels. From the booking process all the way to the hotel check-in process.

However, with time, the process has been made easy. Thanks to the advancement of technology over the period. Here are a few of the emerging technologies that are currently reshaping both international and local travel industry by leveraging state-of-the-art technology.

Augmented Reality

Today, it’s possible to “teleport” ourselves to the most remote corners of the globe without getting off the couch.

That’s what you can get using Everest’s EVEREST VR app, which lets you see the top of the world without having to climb to the top. Or, if you would prefer, you can cross the Grand Canyon in a kayak enjoying the landmark’s sights and sounds.

AR is highly beneficial for travel app development and it is emerging as a useful tool for businesses and marketers. It allows them to transform the way customers observe their surroundings.

AR-based travel apps quickly engage customers with its interactivity and render an immersive user experience. More and more companies use it to show users a cabin on a cruise ship or transport them, for a few seconds to some of the world exciting tourist destinations globally.

Virtual Assistants

We are all familiar with Siri and Alexa, the virtual assistants that meet all our needs. Hotels are also starting to enlist this “help” thanks to the arrival of virtual assistants that are specifically designed for this environment. IBM launched Watson Assistant, an AI-powered virtual assistant that creates an interactive and personalized experience for consumers.

This is the open technology that firms can employ and adapt to their needs. This way, the virtual assistant will not be called Watson but instead, have the name that the hotel chooses. Indeed, some hotels like Hilton had already adopted the technology to aid them in

Big Data and machine learning

There has been a lot of recent talk about Big Data, but they have yet to show all the opportunities it offers for the travel industry. Nonetheless, many industry players are already using it. Data science and its cousin, machine learning, have been facilitating disruptions in a variety of industries, and the travel industry is one of those that are ripe for attendant innovations.

The travel and tourism industry, being as dispersed as it is geographically and otherwise, is poised to benefit from the increased efficiency that comes with being able to analyze big data in order to understand trends and predict the market effectively.

Blockchain

Blockchain is a technology poised to transform the world as we know it. Although it’s mainly associated with finance, it also appears that it can impact travel.  While there has not been that much experimentation with it, it is possible that it will be useful in identifying passengers at the airport, guaranteeing transparency in tourists’ opinions, and easy and secure payments.

AI and Biometrics

Security has always been a crucial part of travelling, and the focus placed by countries on identifying and ensuring the safety of people who want to travel has been increasing, along with technology available to the authorities.

One of the ways that this is being done is by employing a combination of biometric technology and AI to identify and match passengers to manifests.

These systems typically employ fingerprint and iris scans, as well as facial recognition, and are currently being used in most Airports.

And the technology is certain to spread out even wider as more countries take the chance to improve security and increase efficiency at the same time.

From boarding passes to the check-in process, mobile phones are rapidly taking the place of the usual paper documents that facilitate travel.

Mobile boarding passes have many factors going for them, including the increased security they offer both to the airlines and passengers.

They help to ensure that the boarding process is streamlined by cutting out the wait times of printing the passes and even the hassle of dealing with lost passes.

Mobile technology

The cell phone has become our tour guide, travel agency, best restaurant locator, map, and more. It’s by our side during the entire purchase journey. In fact, according to TripAdvisor, 45% of users use their smartphone for everything having to do with their vacations.

The ability to check-in online, while not new per se, is constantly being improved and has also sped things up significantly, since it’s now possible to go straight to security without having to stand in line or interact with any staff unless you have luggage. Another interesting way airports are leveraging mobile technology is by allowing passengers to synchronize their smartphones with the departure displays, thus helping them to keep a close eye on their flights and even get direct notifications wherever they are.

E-documentation

Do you remember the process of just getting a Kenyan Passport at Nyayo House? The process would take a day plus and probably you would have to part with a few cents to bribe here and there and still wait for a week to get your passport. The whole process of applying for passports or visas was a complicated one that involved a lot of waiting time and anxiousness.

Now, the advanced integration and communication features of the internet are being leveraged to ensure that you can essentially skip the red tape and have all the documents you need for smooth travel between countries delivered within a short period of time.

This represents a significant advance from the days of paper-based documentation to a position of full synchronization with the digital-first world.

As a business traveller, e-documentation has made activities so much easier and more efficient. From the perspective of businesses and other organizations, the savings in terms of time and cost could also be incredibly significant, especially at scale.

Rise of sharing applications

By now you have probably used Airbnb and Uber apps and every day there are new sharing applications that have come up. The apps have really helped to cut cost as well as help in making travel quite easy and seamless. The sharing apps have shown the potential for disruption when technology allows peer-to-peer sharing and matchmaking.

In conclusion, it is clear that the travel industry is currently in one of its most dynamic periods, with tech-driven innovations coming up every day. The only way to survive the industry will be those who are able to leverage various aspects of mobile technology and the internet to provide convenient answers to the problems of travellers around the world.