If you’re an avid traveler who has experience globe-trotting from country to country, you may be aware of the shifts that are occurring in the travel industry.

So, before planning your next getaway, take a look at how your own travelling may change as a result of technological advances. You might even find a way to save time and money!

Going mobile

Smartphone technology has had a tremendous impact on the way we travel. You can now plan your entire trip from the palm of your hand, navigate your way through foreign countries with GPS technology, find accommodation at a moment’s notice and control pretty much every other aspect of your trip in just a few taps.

Technology has affected everything from vacation-planning to the everyday business of transport industries in disruptive but ultimately beneficial ways.

With mobile navigation, you will never again get lost in a foreign country unless of course that is what you intend to do!

You can also share your experience on social media and connect in real-time with people across the globe to make them aware of your travels. This has led to social media entrepreneurs that actually travel for a living. Yes, you read that right, exploring new and exotic locales and sharing your experience is now a viable career path for many people!

As you read further, it will become apparent that the mobile phone is the hub for almost all technological change in the travel industry.

Alternative options

Many new companies are starting to pop up in the travel industry that are disrupting the old methods of doing business. Airbnb has revolutionized the way we find hotels and accommodation. Uber and Lyft have made it possible to find a ride without frustration.

These alternative options connect the customer to private owners directly, entirely cutting out the need for a middleman. Hotels and other services have been forced to adapt and now offer things such as simple check-ins on your mobile phone.

This increase in competition between traditional businesses and new disruptive ones is pushing travel technology further every day and shifting the power balance to the consumer.

Review sites

The influence of social media cannot be overstated. Review sites like TripAdvisor know this, and use social connection between reviewers and readers as their business models.

Travellers can now plan their trips according to feedback from other travellers and find the best restaurants and accommodations for their budget before even stepping foot in their country of destination.

This saves people untold amounts of time and money and forces businesses to step their game up and offer competitive services, lest they get a bad score on a review site and lose revenue.

What the future looks like

In addition to the revolutionary way that mobile is changing the way people travel, we will begin to see even greater changes being implemented in the future.

Airports are beginning to implement robot technology that can guide travelers to and from their gates, travel will eventually become cheaper and cheaper with the development of more affordable solutions to travel and virtual reality will eventually allow us to travel without even leaving home.

There is no greater time to travel than the present day and the future looks even brighter in terms of the possibilities for change in the way we travel. Out with the old, in with the new!