The Travel and tourism industry continues to be one of the most innovative and forward thinking sectors. Each year, billions of people across the world utilise various modes of travel and transport to reach their destination, whether it’s for business, leisure or necessity.

Over the past decade, the way in which we travel has continued to develop. As technology continues to play a bigger part of our everyday lives, the travel and tourism industry has had to embrace these advancements and customers have undoubtedly benefitted.

Here we highlight four ways travel has transformed over the past decade.

It’s only ten years, but we’ve come a long way…

Research

The way in which we research our holidays and trips before we travel continues to evolve and has changed dramatically over the past decade. Back in 2009, sites such as TripAdvisor were prevalent but nowhere near as popular as they are today. To provide a flavour of its importance in today’s travel industry, an estimated 456 million people utilise the site each month to help them map out their upcoming journey.

Every single conceivable aspect of your upcoming trip can now be verified by reviews from millions of other users from across the world. Ultimately, this has proved to be a huge benefit for customers as it’s helped provide greater clarity when booking trips. It has also motivated hotels, restaurants and attractions to provide the very best service they can.

The check-in

‘Checking-in’ at the airport prior to a flight was traditionally one of the most stressful aspects of any trip. The long queues at check-in desks were a familiar sight at airports across the world and it was seemingly an issue that the airline industry would always struggle to find a definitive solution for.

However, over the past decade we’ve seen how the industry has embraced technology and integrated Mobile Phone Apps into our travel experience. Online check-in and mobile boarding passes now provide customers with greater flexibility and less stress when moving through airports.

The rise of the app

As we’ve already mentioned, the previously stressful experience of ‘checking-in’ at airports has been somewhat placated by the rise of Mobile Phone apps that help with the process.

However, this doesn’t just apply to the airline industry. Mobile phone apps have revolutionised the way in which we research, plan, book and ultimately enjoy our trips. The crucial part that mobile phone apps play in our travel experience is demonstrated by the fact that 87% of travellers in India, for example, now book their entire trip through their phone. This has been another huge win for customers, as it’s helped promote greater flexibility when planning our trips and provided greater scope to find the best deals.

How we share our memories

Whilst social media was a part of people’s lives back in 2009, it’s certainly wasn’t the force that it is today. The rise of platforms such as Instagram has provided people from all across the world the opportunity and capability to instantly record and share their travel memories in stunning quality like never before.

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