Traveltech, technology that’s driving tourism industry

The tourism sector and technology have been partners for decades. The 1970s probably seem so long ago, when airlines began using computers to better manage their reservations. In the 1980s, IT systems connected service providers with travel agencies so that they could have access to availability and rate information in real time. With the arrival of the Internet in the 1990s, changes accelerated, and users started to take charge and began checking prices and making reservations on their own. And in the 21st century, mobile technology, virtual reality, blockchain technology, and artificial Intelligence (AI) have caused a spectacular technological leap in the tourism industry.

Then the pandemic arrived, and traveltech – the digitization of all processes and value chains in the tourism sectors – became a path of no return for companies related to the travel, hotel and restaurant industries.

According to the World Tourism Organization, the recovery of tourism has been more robust than expected after the health emergency. In its forecasts for 2023, the UNWTO assures that arrivals of international tourists this year “could end up being between 80% and 95% of pre-pandemic levels”. And there is progress in all regions. 

Technologies are changing the sector completely. They are bringing new opportunities to customers and creating new business models. These are its technologies, challenges, and some of the emerging companies.

Traveltech has to be understood as an entire industry, with dozens of technologies and a huge quantity of specific tools involved, from Google Maps to immersive guides with virtual reality. Adopting technologies applied to the tourism industry has tangible benefits:

• More efficient management of the supply chain (resources and services)
• Optimization of prices through the dynamic adjustment of prices and the availability of services
• A more effective relationship with the customer, thereby facilitating retention and loyalty
• Greater visibility and increased audiences
• Personalization of experiences through recommendations adjusted to needs and tastes

Hundreds of apps, platforms, and websites that are revolutionizing the travel industry.

Wellness services. Timeshifter is at the technological cutting edge: it helps to schedule sleeping times in order to prevent jet lag, an effect that often sours the travel experience.

Offers. There are some technologies based on big data and artificial Intelligence (AI) that are capable of making travel recommendations. A recent example would be Sabre Travel AI, technology that is aimed at airlines and travel agencies, allowing them to send pertinent offers to customers and reduce costs. Regarding Business to Consumer (B2C) platforms, Hopper is an app that predicts flight prices and seeks to save money for customers on every purchase. Collaborative work tools are also operating, but with restricted access. This is the case of Essentialist, which charges a fee to members but has very high quality tourism information that is continuously being updated with data.

Mobility. In addition to the most well-known car-pooling application (Blablacar), there are other tools that work for different profiles. Transparent is designed for vacation car rentals; in another niche, there’s Click & Boat, which facilitates boat rentals between private parties; or Yescapa, for renting motor homes and camper vans.

Lodging. There are also Business to Business (B2B) proposals, such as Stay22, which is designed for event organizers so that attendees can find inexpensive lodging.

Entertainment. Aumentur is a company and an application engaged in creating immersive guides with virtual reality, which works through a cell phone. Along a similar line, Google Arts & Culture is a huge library-museum that offers an overwhelming amount of information and experiences. If you visit the Louvre in Paris, the museum has a free option of offering a “hacked” Nintendo 3DS console to visitors (launched in 2011). Instead of playing video games, visitors can take an audiovisual tour, accompanied by detailed explanations.

Vulnerable groups. Traveltech can also be placed at the service of vulnerable groups. Two well-known examples are Park4dis, which informs persons with reduced mobility where they can park; and La Voyageuse, a company promoted by the World Tourism Organization, which connects women travelers with women hosts and promotes safe female travel; There are also Accessible Booking Platforms, which facilitate the reading of images for blind persons by generating text. 

As it is pointed out at every International Congress on Technology and Tourism for Diversity, using technology to favor social inclusion is, literally, good business.