What is the meaning of travel technology? Today, we will be discussing about what is the meaning of travel technology? The rapid development of technology in the travel sector has changed society. These profound changes have not been lost in tourism and travel. That is why new terms have emerged to describe these advances, and one of them is Travel tech, also known as travel technology or tourism technology.
Travel tech applies the latest information and Communication Technologies advances to the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors. Would you be interested in training in a tourism course and knowing more about this specialization? Continue with us, and we’ll tell you!

Travel technology

New technologies, as you know, are a much more modern sector than tourism, so we must take a brief tour of their history and know when, how, and why they were incorporated into this industry.
Incorporating new technologies in tourism has multiple advantages. They allow us to meet the needs of potential customers, provide personalized responses, offer competitive products and services, and optimize resources, increasing profitability. In short, implementing these technologies improves the interaction between hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and airlines with their clients. This synergy will result in great benefits for companies and a high level of satisfaction for the client.

A bit about new travel technologies

Originally, travel technology was associated with the computer reservation systems (CRS) of the main airlines in the United States in the late 1980s. From then on, “Travel tech” was gradually incorporated into the tourism sector. Until today, when we all travel with our smartphones, that small but powerful device with great capabilities. Nowadays, Travel technology encompasses the analysis, design, implementation, and application of technological solutions to the travel and tourism industry. Still, it also aims to meet the needs of 21st-century travelers, who need to be always connected, share their experiences through social networks, and have immediate access to all kinds of online services. But there is more: the concept of Travel technology can also be applied to any gadget that can make the travel experience easier and more enjoyable. The travel industry has been made easier by using technology solutions, hardware, and software. Technology has enabled efficiency, automation, customer insight with data, more business opportunities, rapid market development, innovation in product offerings, travel data, and new opportunities for those industries that are often called disturbances. The travel industry is rapidly moving from traffic patterns to web/mobile histories, where data can easily be stored and analyzed to suit individual needs. Additionally, travel technology is the driving force behind the automation of the travel industry. It connects travel agents with suppliers and chains. This interface allows travel agencies to book flights, hotels, transfers, and other services via an interface that connects with hotel wholesalers, GDS systems, travel service integrators, distribution channels and channel managers, and travel service providers. This allows travel agents instant access to dynamic, contracted inventory, which allows them to sell more to their customers and offer better options. Companies that are good at travel technology are always innovating to develop travel software that allows travel agencies worldwide to manage all aspects from one platform. Adivaha works with digital technologies and offers various services and projects to clients. For more information on your needs and to discuss how Adivaha can help you achieve the digital transformation project that you desire, please get in touch with Adivaha.

Importance of technology in the travel sector

Undoubtedly, technology has always been hand in hand with the hospitality industry. They are the perfect duo for changing the way we travel: from the destination we choose for our adventure and the activities we want to do to the return of the trip. Who has resisted buying a very cheap flight to any destination? If we are excited to travel, we need to go online, take advantage of low-cost airlines’ promotions and pack our bags. Dynamics those four years ago were unthinkable. New technologies in tourism allow planning the entire trip online. 74% of travelers do it this way, while only 13% do it through travel agencies, according to a recent study by Google Travel. Also, we now have millennials who set trends when choosing how to travel, thanks to their passion for adventures and the use of new technologies, social networks, applications, and blogs. The digital transformation of the hotel industry has proved to be the best tool to combat the effects of the pandemic. Tourism has been the hardest-hit sector and has had to adapt its business model to accommodate new customers. Suppose you are interested in this sector and want to obtain a global vision, develop management skills, improve business strategy and management, and lead teams. In that case, you will find everything you are looking for.

What is the use of technology in travel?

To help you better understand the role of technology in tourism, we’ve already touched on some basic applications. Let’s now look at how technology is used in travel. Among the most important tourist information technologies, the internet stands out as essential for communicating, disseminating, and accessing information from anywhere in the world and also favors the incorporation of new tools in various sectors. Next, we will briefly tour the technologies that are changing the tourism sector and will make a difference in the coming years. These are the top travel technology trends that you should know about.

Cloud Computing

It allows SMEs in the tourism industry to store more, meets security standards, generate reports, and import/export data.

Use your smartphone as a travel buddy.

You can easily plan your trip using your smartphone. Your smartphone can also be your tour guide. It can be used to receive real-time updates about your flight, check-in and out of hotels, and navigate around your destination. It acts as a map and compass and can instantly locate nearby restaurants, cafes, museums, and other useful information. The mobile is a great protagonist of the new way of traveling. We use the mobile to buy tickets and choose restaurants… as a map during our journey, it accompanies us all the time, so much so that it has become our travel agent; 40% of users use their smartphone for everything related to their holidays. If there is a technology that has marked the evolution of the tourism sector, it is undoubtedly this. Hence the need to adapt the services and communication of the hotel sector to these devices. Some companies have already implemented a traveler information service through Messenger, sending reservation information, boarding passes, or any changes that occur instantly. The traveler will always have the information available through a single frequently used application.

Augmented reality

Virtual reality (VR) allows you to travel virtually. Before making a reservation, you can view a virtual tour of a hotel or restaurant. You can travel to any location in the world with it. This is a great way to choose hotels, as sometimes photos can be unreliable. Virtual reality is expected to grow to 814,000 million in 2025. This makes it a great option for tourism. Augmented or virtual reality also plays an important role. This system is being used by more and more businesses to showcase their services and show customers the amazing places they can visit. It opens a thousand possibilities, transfers the potential client to the bed of what will be his room, or teleports him in a few seconds.

Internet of things (IoT)

The Internet of Things, which is used in travel, helps personalize and streamline your travel experience. Hotels that embrace IoT, for example, allow guests to control different internet-enabled devices in their rooms from their smartphones. They can also control TVs, thermostats, lights, and other devices. It is a technology that will bring great novelties to the tourism sector. It incorporates sensors connected to the internet in physical objects such as buildings, vehicles, or suitcases. Some hotels offer you the possibility of controlling the television. Some suitcases have a device to locate them from the mobile and avoid losses at airports. In addition, many hotels have already implemented management software to manage the data collected by these devices and personalize their customers’ experiences.

Voice assistant

We all know about the voice assistants from Apple and Amazon that help us with the time, weather, and music volume, among others. Currently, hotels can also count on this help thanks to the assistant with artificial intelligence, Watson Assistant, created by IBM to create a personalized and interactive experience for each client.

Big data

It is a technology that helps segment campaigns to guarantee success and improve profitability through comparative analysis of databases to determine the most appropriate target. Among the variables to be analyzed are expenses, valuations, nationality, and reasons for the trip.

Block chain

Although this tool has not been widely implemented in the sector and is more related to finance, block chain is a technology that will transform the tourism industry. It is useful for identifying travelers, verifying the validity of opinions, and controlling payments to make them easier and safer.

AI and chatbots

Chatbots perform the same tasks as humans. The robotic assistant makes it possible to automate and speed up the booking process for lodging and airline tickets. Online hotels and travel agencies increasingly use AI-powered solutions to automate bookings and offer personalized service. Chatbots are one example. Chatbots can provide 24-hour customer support. They can make reservations, answer FAQs instantly, process payments, and have intelligent conversations that resemble human conversations. They make a great travel companion. Machine learning provides insights into consumer behavior, preferences, and interests regarding travel destinations, hotels and amenities, airlines and car rental companies, pricing, as well as other aspects of the market. These insights allow OTAs to display and send relevant customer offers to hotels.

Augmented Reality

AR (augmented reality) allows you to make room tours and participate in hotel facilities. You can view the inside of an airplane and ensure you have enough luggages. Augmented reality can be used to translate signs written in foreign languages.

Geolocation

Guests can use geolocation to provide different services when they stay in a hotel.

Predictive Analytics

This technology allows travel managers and agents to track flights and reservations and find the best price through artificial intelligence. We can see great potential in technology as it is the future of humanity.

What is the role of new technologies applied in tourism?

New technologies make it possible to improve processes, services, and customer relations to simplify them and make them much easier and more accessible. However, it goes much further than this. These tools represent a change in the business model, which seeks to not only meet the needs of travelers today but also enrich the travel experience by making it more interactive and exciting.
Impact of Technology on the Tourism Industry:

  • According to some of the biggest travel companies, 39% of hotel bookings are made via smartphones. According to the same study, smartphones account for 22% of all flight bookings.
  • Condor Ferries has published some interesting statistics on online travel bookings.
  • 70% of travelers use their smartphones to do travel research
  • Virtual travel assistants are used by 33% of travelers to plan their trips.
  • 82% of 2018 travel bookings were made directly without the assistance of a travel agent
  • 66% of all travelers book their travel online.
  • 83% prefer to book their travel online.
  • Before making travel bookings, 80% of travelers trust reviews from travel websites.
  • 72% of consumers won’t book a hotel before they read online reviews.
  • The growth of travel technology is evident. The OTA market share shows we are moving towards a digital future.

What has technology done to the travel industry?

Travel automation has made trip planning easier and more fun for travelers and agencies. It is easy to plan your trip and book accommodations, tickets, flights, and other travel services in a matter of minutes. With your smartphone as your travel companion, you can keep your entire travel plan in your hands. With AR technology, you can stay connected no matter where you are. You can even break down language barriers and improve your packing habits. Every trip can be personalized to make it memorable. We are excited to see the next chapter of travel technology! It will be amazing!

Perception versus reality

It starts from the fact that it affirms that digital transformation has no brake and that this has to be understood as a global and integral change in the tourist system. Organizations have to change and evolve since it is expected that the reality will be very different from how we know it today in the coming years.
Although tourism is indeed considered one of the sectors with the greatest opportunity and capacity to lead this digital transformation.

Comprehensive implementation of digital change

The first step in digital change is to know what phase the organization is in to promote its evolution based on an appropriate strategy. In this sense, we are presented with two options: either place ourselves in a simple digitization process without the implementation of certain tools being aligned with the business model or opt for the so-called ‘innovation culture,’ understood not as a phase but as a way of doing and acting of the organization itself. To consider that digital transformation responds to a global and comprehensive change, there must be the will to achieve excellence in all areas, which implies a change in mentality and internal approaches.

Key internal areas

The digital change in tourism companies must focus on the customer experience, processes and operations, and new business models. The customer experience (or Customer Experience) is relevant, both in the inspiration phase and at the time of booking or during the trip. Providing value in all these phases is the main challenge, and the new technologies provide the sector with greater demand for knowledge. In terms of processes and operations, it is important to automate them to provide greater flexibility to workers and thus have greater performance management. In this sense, having a clear purpose, vision, and motivated people is key. Finally, concerning new business models, the integration of technologies favors the appearance of new, more innovative models that involve a digital conversion of processes and new digital businesses.

Collaboration of own and external personnel

If we focus on the role played by the human team of tourism companies, it should be noted that for the digital transformation to be implemented in all areas, all staff must be part of said process. First of all, management involvement is essential and decisive in its evolution. It is worth remembering that digitizing an organization is complex since it involves rethinking and reorganizing processes, products, services, customers, business models, talent, etc. And although you can start with small changes, the truth is that in most cases, it is necessary to collaborate with specialized external providers, whether they are startups or entrepreneurs, to develop digital change. They are the so-called ‘open innovation models.

Conclusion

What is the meaning of travel technology? Technological advancements have changed the ways we produce, consume, and communicate in society. Organizations must adapt to this context to retain or increase their market competitive advantage. Because it is customer-oriented, the tourism industry is one of the most important in digital transformation. Context is everything, and consumers are more empowered than ever before. Providing the information needed at the right time and using technology to make it easy for them to find the right company is two of the most important things that can be done to help both the traveler and the company.