The travel industry is experiencing fundamental change as a result of COVID-19, which drastically impacted global travel in 2020. What the pandemic managed to prove the most is the fact that the travel industry was far from optimal when it came to digital innovation.
Worldwide travel ground to a halt, with data showing the travel and tourism GDP dropping by 49.1% in 2020 compared to 2019. According to research, 97% of airlines have committed to R&D programs with their results expected to manifest before the end of 2023. Which digital trends have been pushed to the development forefront in the wake of the global pandemic, and how will we benefit from them?
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Virtual Reality Tours for Booking
Even without COVID-19 and social distancing in mind, booking rooms abroad has always been a challenging proposition. Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology, one which aims to make various aspects of living more comfortable in the future.
Following 2020, many hotel owners and booking providers decided to implement VR tours for future guests. These enable people to take a close look at whichever property they want to rent before committing to it. Digital trends in VR tours now extend to popular sights, landmarks, parks, and attractions that would convince people to travel.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBXb16k_8g0
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Contactless & Cardless Payment Options
Social distancing has introduced us to another interesting aspect of traveling in the form of contactless and cardless payment options becoming commonplace. For most capitals around the world, cash is slowly becoming obsolete. There’s no need for you to acquire local currency denominations and carry money on you. All you need is a dedicated banking application or your trusty credit card to get by. This eliminates the risk of money being stolen while also ensuring that only you can use your digital payment channels. Agitate is a company that recently innovated in its cardless payment solution and enabled travelers to safely pay for their expenses without the risk of theft.
Security methods such as 2-Factor Authentication and email confirmation in addition to personal PINs or fingerprint identification have made fraud quite difficult. This trend is poised to continue its development, and we can look forward to it transforming the way we travel abroad shortly.
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Health Checkups Before Boarding
COVID-19 vaccination has become something of a trending topic no matter where you live. Airlines and border controls have taken this into account and aim to make travel as smooth as possible as a result. One of the leaders of this digital trend’s implementation is Etihad Airways which is actively developing medical check technology.
Their airport scanners are equipped with heart rate monitors, temperature sensors, and respiratory analysis tools. While these choices for medical checks are driven by COVID-19, the technology is in active development and will see it expand soon. These types of scanners will ensure that everyone is completely healthy and safe to travel, especially for overseas flights.
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Chatbots Designed as Virtual Tourist Agents
Chatbot algorithms aren’t a novelty in the digital industry by any means. However, retrofitting them to serve as virtual tourist agents for would-be travelers is a recent innovation. Airlines, booking providers, and hotel owners alike have started integrating chatbot AI into their websites.
These chatbots are designed to make peoples’ travel experience as smooth and worry-free as possible. Norwegian airliner Avinor outmatched many other travel companies by ensuring that their airports are completely touchless and self-servicing. This allows travelers to complete the entire process from checking in to boarding without touching anything physically. Paired with smart AI assistants, such systems aim to solve not only social distancing issues but also facilitate sanitary travel for everyone.
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Robot Assistants
It was only a matter of time before real-life robots took over some workflow associated with travel accommodations. Robot luggage assistants have become commonplace in many popular destinations and hotels around the world. In some, their application extends to cleaning duties, which diminishes the need for real-life staff.
This is a positive digital trend to look forward to regarding social distancing, as travelers won’t be exposed to a hotel’s staff unnecessarily. On the other hand, a percentage of people may lose their jobs to robots, which will now fill in for them. Robots have also found their place in travel and luggage screening, with the human element being relegated to outliers and more complex servicing issues.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsXRfZPo3Mw
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Augmented Reality Guides
Augmented reality (AR) has become interlinked with VR regarding what it can provide users with. Governments and tourist organizations around the world have made it their mission to enable AR-guided tours in their cities. This means that you can get a personalized AR tour of whichever sight you want at that time and on your own.
It eliminates the necessity for physical tour guides and makes solo travel much more viable. You don’t even need to speak German, French, or Spanish, for example, as these apps feature translation and localization options. All you need is a smartphone and access to the internet for your AR experience to begin. AR technology is very versatile and can be used for museum tours or other curated experiences which provide a level of interaction for travelers.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vZWAfXkoDo
Digital Trends on the Travel Horizon (Conclusion)
Whether you’re an avid traveler or a travel industry professional, numerous digital changes are coming soon. Once COVID-19 subsides, the travel industry will never be the same, as these digital trends are bound to stay.
There are numerous digital innovations on the horizon, with VR and AR technologies being centerstage. The future is bright for international travel, and all we can do is be patient a bit longer for things to get back to normal.