The travel industry has always been quick to embrace and adopt the latest technologies and 2 modern innovations have created seismic shifts in the way consumers travel. Household use of the Internet has changed the way travel is researched and purchased while the mass adoption of mobile devices has altered traveler preferences during actual trips. Wireless technology is decades old but over the last 20 years, multi-function and highly capable smartphones have become the go-to travel accessory for both leisure and business travelers. BankMyCell’s recent Digital Detox survey and report uncovered interesting findings when it comes to travelers and their mobile devices. Respondents were divided into operating system classes and 94% of Apple smartphone users would not travel without their device while 91% of Android owners would take their smartphones on leisure trips and vacations. In terms of on-trip usage, the survey indicated that 55.5% would check their smartphones 1-5 times per hour while 1 in 5 check their phones 6-10 times per hour. Staying connected while on vacation is a debatable topic but the reality is that travelers are taking and using their smartphones, frequently, during travel.
Demanding More From Devices
Smartphone devices have evolved rapidly since they first came on the tech scene in the early 2000s. Early wireless devices could only make calls and sending alphanumeric test messages was a tedious task on a numbered keyboard. Today’s devices have features and capabilities that make smartphones a practical all-in-one solution for daily living. The integration of photographic functionality in smartphones further extended device practicality with many models having lenses and camera capacities that rival and exceed stand alone units. Users have embraced the functionality of mobile devices and they are now a daily part of life for 7.4 billion people who use the devices. When it comes to travel, today’s capable smartphones play integral roles in research, planning, purchasing and staying connected while on the go. Mobile devices are a big part of post trip experiences with media and social sharing. Travelers now look to smartphones as a key accessory for travel and depend on their devices for connectivity, media creation and organization. As mobile apps evolve with smartphone technology, phone users and travelers are looking to maximize device functionality and benefit from every feature that their device has. Smartphone use during trips continues to rise and travelers will demand more from their devices as mobile technology evolves.
medTOUR+assist Supports Healthcare Travelers
There are many categories and niches in travel and purpose built apps can provide more conveniences and benefits to users with a more targeted approach. medTOUR+assist is a mobile app by TTS that helps medical and wellness travelers plan and successfully fulfill healthcare trips. As an all in one solution, medTOUR+assist maximizes the full functionality of mobile devices and delivers organizational and connectivity benefits to app users. Planning and coordinating medical and wellness trips can be complex and stressful and medTOUR+assist is an assistive tool that keeps medical travelers organized, on time and connected to resources and AI powered support while traveling. Engineered specifically for healthcare travel, medTOUR+assist is accessible and gives users peace of mind and elevates medical travel, one trip at a time.
Data Drives the Travel Market: PokkeTTREK
In addition to providing benefits and conveniences to travelers, travel apps can generate opportunities for travel businesses themselves. PokkeTTREK from TTS is an all in one trip tracking app that maximizes device functionality for travelers and provides valuable marketing and preference insights that travel businesses can use to gain an advantage in a crowded marketplace. PokkeTTREK lets users track their trips, create media within the app and share trip details, images and video across key social media networks with one or two clicks. PokkeTTREK also provides AI powered concierge service while on the go, potentially elevating the traveler’s own experiences. For travel business, preference and trend data can help optimize marketing initiatives and product offerings, creating more opportunities for revenue. The PokkeTTREK SnapShot is a comprehensive information panel that displays relevant user behavior data anonymously and delivers to-do’s and strategies to maximize the user interaction.
Delivering Benefits and Conveniences to the Industry
The evolution of smartphone technology packers many features and capabilities that travelers desire and demand before, during and after leisure and business trips. From high performance camera and video recording features to advanced global connectivity and organizational capabilities, smartphones have taken the top spot in must have travel accessories. And travelers are not shy at staying connected and using their devices while on trip. Demand for functionality and conveniences will continue to grow as smartphone adoption and travel volumes continue on their upward trajectory and demand for mobile apps such as medTOUR+assist and PokkeTTREK that maximize smartphone functionality and accessibility will grow in parallel. This demand for mobile technology does generate significant opportunities for travel businesses and having a mobile focused presence is an essential tool in the travel marketing toolbox. See the latest interactive online evaluations for medTOUR+assist and PokkeTTREK at the Evaluation Portal: https://traveltechnologysolutions.net/EvalPortal/
