It’s so amazing to see how technology has changed the travel in the last 10 years or so. Today, we are in an era of Digitization where everything is just one click away from you & same applies in the travel industry. Digital Gadgets in travel industry have literally transformed this industry to a new level.
Today, we are going to discuss about travel technology gadgets of 2017 & how it is impacting the way the travel industry. We will also analyze the future travel gadgets to know in which direction the travel industry is heading in the 4-5 years. Let’s analyze all the technology gadgets one by one.
[1]. Wearable Devices:-
Wearable Devices are one category of technology devices which is worn on the human body. You may have heard about Smart Watches or Google Glass in the travel technology news, this all comes under the section of Wearable Devices.
Basically, Wearable Devices are the smart devices which are small enough to wear and include the most powerful technologies that are able to retrieve and display the information about the nearby surroundings. It is usually integrated with your smartphone or tablet devices.
Now, let’s look at how Wearable Devices can make a difference in the travel industry. Suppose you’re traveling to Singapore and going to stay in Four Seasons. You’re a traveler that is using the smart watch, so what the hotel could do is integrate the sensors for your devices & when you come to the hotel you can directly now check in without any form filling because; your smart watch data have already been verified by the sensors. Another use of this device that the restaurant can do is recommend you the food based on your previous experience which they can get through the technology.
So if can include Wearable Devices in the travel industry, it will immensely help us to make the customer experience smooth & relaxing and also allows us to provide a sense of personalization according to each customer.
[2]. Drone:-
The drone is one of the most path breaking innovations to have taken place in last 5-7 years. It is regarded as the future of travel in 2024 by many technology experts around the world.
Basically, the drone is an unmanned aircraft. Technically, it is known as the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and you can say in normal language that it is a flying robot. This aircrafts can be controlled by remote or it can be can be programmed in an embedded system in junction with GPS & sensors.
The question is how Drones can make a difference in the travel industry ? Let’s understand it with an example. People tend to go on a tour & click the photos for their memories, for that they tend to carry the high-tech DSLR or SLR with them which can capture some amazing shots.
Now, What if I tell you that you can capture a bird’s eye view of the entire landscape with the help of Drone, sounds interesting.! Isn’t it? Oh! Yes, you can capture some lifetime memories with Drone that no other cameras or smartphone can too. Traveling can be a lot more adventurous and there is one good news for you that, as the technology of Drone is evolving the Drones will be available in a portable size which allows you easily carry it like a camera.
So if can include Drones into the travel industry, we can provide the customer with some breathtaking views of the landscape that they have never seen before in their life.
In addition to all the advantages, Drone has one major disadvantage as well. The major disadvantage of the Drone is that it’s very costly. So if you lose it during travelling, it will hurt you a lot in terms of money. Now you all will be thinking, is there a way to get out of this? The answer is, Yes.! Of Course.!
As they say :
“Every Problem Comes With a Solution.”
Same logic applies to this case as well. You can use the QTrace device in order to find your lost Drone or prevent it from getting lost. QTrace is a Bluetooth based item tracker which works on the principles of Location of Things (LOT) technology. Therefore, it can sense the accurate geographical location each & every time for you. So if you can stitch the QTrace device with your Drone, you can easily track the current location of it.
[3]. Augmented Reality:-
Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the most dynamic technologies to have appeared among us in the recent years. People tend to mix the concept of Augmented Reality with Virtual Reality (VR), but that’s not true.
Basically, AR derives its name from the word augment which means to add something to the existing environment. Therefore, AR is way of enhancing the reality with superimposed computer images to enrich the user’s view of looking at the reality. Unlike VR which requires to inhabit the new world, AR just adds on to the virtual information on top of what is already existing.
Now, let’s look at how AR can transform the entire travel industry. When you go on a tour, the first thing that comes to your mind is the hotel booking. That’s when AR plays a vital role, it helps you to feel the hotel ambience from any corner of the globe so you you could easily decide which one to pick. Secondly, it allows you to have quick access to the information, which means when you’re wandering around your travel place it automatically suggests you the nearby places, real-time weather, etc. Last but not the least is real-time navigation, AR helps you to find the best route possible while describing the real-time traffic on your path.
So if we can integrate AR in the travel industry, it will help us to provide much more seamless & interactive travel experience to our customers.
[4]. Smart Baggage:-
Smart Baggage is one of the most marvelous innovations to have taken place in last 5 years or so. Experts believe that, Smart Baggage one technology which is worth investing in the air transport industry because; it is taking us towards a new height which was never imagined before.
Basically, Smart Baggage is a way to track your luggage while traveling through the air from one destination to another. While you’re in transit, there is a chance of losing your luggage at the airport because; you have to travel through multiple airports and multiple airlines & in addition to that, there are millions of passengers at the airport. So you can imagine the level of difficulty one has to face.
Now, let’s look at how Smart Baggage makes your life easier in the travel industry. Smart Baggage is the latest luggage tracking system which is designed in such way that it tends to shut down when your luggage is on board and turns on when the flight has landed. So it eases the process of identifying your luggage at the airport.
According to the recent survey done by SITA, which is a Smart Baggage provider, baggage losing rate has fallen by 61% after installing this technology as well as the airline industry has been able to save US $ 15 billion due to this technology. This tells you how useful this technology can be.
So if we could integrate Smart Baggage in the airline industry, it will help us to provide better customer experience as well as save valuable money which can be utilized for improving the systems.
[5]. Big Data Analytics:-
Big Data Analytics is one of the most popular technologies to have come across in the last decade. Big Data technology like Hadoop & MongoDB has literally transformed the way data is being perceived by the technocrats and has opened a new space of opportunity for many industries.
Basically, Big Data Analytics is the process of scrutinizing extremely large and varied data sets to discover the hidden patterns, unidentified correlations & market trends which can help the organizations in the decision making process.
Now, you may think about how this approach can help us in the travel technology? Let me explain this by taking an example. Suppose you’re traveling to Malaysia, now how nice it would be if you keep getting notifications about what is the famous places nearby based on your location, isn’t it? That’s where Big Data Analytics plays a major role in providing the personalized experience to the customer.
Secondly, Big Data Analytics can help in the area of pricing. Pricing is a major factor for a customer in deciding whether to book the package or cancel it. That’s where Big Data Analytics can help you predict the price based on the previous data of the customer so that in future you can provide the pricing according to the customer needs.
Last but not the least is the area of customer service in which Big Data Analytics can help you find the patterns about customer behavior regarding booking & travel which you can use for the betterment of customer service.
So if we can include Big Data Analytics into the travel industry, it will help us to improve customer service as well as provide the sense of personalization for the customers.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I did while creating it and hopefully this will help you understand the impact of various technology Gadgets on the travel industry.
