travel tech insights

True or false: Nearly half of all travel bookings made during 2016 will take place offline via phone or in-person with the assistance of a travel agent or travel management company.  

True, which is surprising, especially given the highly connected nature of today’s travel industry and the capability for travelers to complete complex, packaged bookings on their smartphone or tablets. In fact, according to a recent survey published by Euromonitor International, roughly 44 percent of travel and tourism-related bookings will be completed via desktop or mobile devices during 2016. While this is significantly higher than other retail industries, it can be something of a shockingly low figure considering how hard the travel industry has worked to align itself with mobile technology capability.

However, what’s perhaps more stunning in the Euromonitor International report is where industry analysts suggest mobile travel bookings are headed in the near future and the impact they’ll have on the travel industry in the coming years.

It simply can’t be stated enough: mobile travel apps have changed and are changing the way today’s traveler experiences travel and the ways travel companies reach their customers. Whether you’re talking about millennial, adventure, or experimental travelers, the impact of mobile travel apps is undeniable, and there’s no greater proof than the resources travel companies, suppliers, and travel agencies have dedicated to becoming more responsive, faster, and more agile to cater to the mobile needs of the modern traveler.

While the industry ramp-up in mobile app technology has been steady during the last five years, hotels and hotel booking suppliers have made a strong push during the last 18 months to create robust mobile app platforms aimed at offering customers the easiest, most convenient platform to research and complete bookings, while at the same time working with travel management companies and online travel agencies to create better visibility and enhanced transparency when it comes to inventory, transactions, invoicing, and other operational processes.

Some travel trends are difficult to discern; millennial behavior, for example. What is that generation really thinking? We know what they reveal in surveys, but the information can be contradictory or speculative and getting hard data on behaviors can be challenging.