In this day and age, planning a vacation entails a trip to the local travel agent just as hiring a crane would entail researching and meeting with a representative from a crane hire business. Or for the more adventurous traveller armed with a well-thumbed guidebook, relying upon reliable word-of-mouth recommendations to place their travel schedule. Today, due to breakthroughs in engineering and high-speed net, travellers can reserve their airport and resorts online, opt to remain in a stranger’s home, and instead of entering the unknown restaurant with trepidation, hunt online reviews on their cellphone while still connected to the resort Wi-Fi.

Digitalisation has provided us alternatives in a large way.  More people are travelling than previously, and businesses such as Airbnb encourage younger people to research earlier, and in a more cost-effective manner. Technology has also given us more information on the location where previously it was limited. Want to know whether there’s an artisan chocolatier near your hotel in Amsterdam? Well, now you can, in seconds.

In the electronic era, we have become a creation of DIY vacationers who plan, manage and book travel online. Cloud computing services have enabled this such evolution. What exactly has this meant for companies in the travel sector?

For travel agents, the growth of the electronic age has seriously disrupted the business. Traditional travelling supply where high street travel agencies played a prominent part was revolutionised with online travel agencies and direct supply via airlines and hotel sites acquiring an important function.

Low-cost carriers and internet travel agencies had been the obvious winner of the internet travel revolution within the past 15 years, altering the way now customers plan and book their trips. Tour operators endured the growth of independent travelling and therefore are today embracing the internet and mobile channels so as to remain competitive.

Although the internet killed off several high street travel agents, others have been made to adapt to an extremely shifting market, with lots of embracing the net by introducing online reservations.

Among the biggest disruptors in the travel business has obviously been Airbnb that lacked the launching of additional comparable online-only companies like One Fine Stay. As a result of the growth of these sharing-economy companies, we are more inclined to reserve a space in a stranger’s home, with 9 percent of UK and US vacationers having leased space at a private residence or apartment.

The electronic revolution has impacted virtually everything on the Planet as we understand it. In Airbnb’s instance, technology has also brought tradition to the mainstream. The idea of staying in people’s houses when travelling isn’t a brand new one and dates back several years, but what technology has managed do via private cloud computing is accelerate this into a fast-moving and easily-accessible worldwide phenomenon.

Technology has also introduced new opportunities for small companies in the travel industry, allowing customers globally to travel across the state to a B&B in Brighton or luxury safari park in Kenya through internet review websites, social media and the companies’ own sites.

For travel brands it is supposed they have needed to get smarter and accommodate as customers’ expectations grow. For example, airlines, some of which now enable passengers to check online, get their boarding pass on cellular and run Wi-Fi on flights.

Digital technology has changed the way hotels interact with guests, creating a 24/7 connection before and after the stay. It is also changing every stage of hospitality, in discovering a Resort, to checking in, to safeguarding your door and personalising your stay. As travel is inherently portable, travelers expect to utilize their cellular devices to improve their traveling adventures.

Like many in the industry, businesses continually embrace new technology to impress its digitally-savvy clients.

Just how will technology form the future of travel? The upcoming couple of years will observe vacationers requiring an increasingly personalised service, with firms able to produce customised merchandise on the basis of the profiles and past behaviour. With lots of travellers already looking for a more customised and “neighborhood” experience, personalised trips are already starting to take off.

Social Media and Travel

Research shows that social networking can significantly affect traveling plans. In fact, 52 percent of Facebook report that friends’ photographs have inspired travel programs. Additionally, 55 percent of individuals like social networking pages associated with excursions such as seeing the largest cranes in China or visiting Niagra Falls.

This introduces a valuable chance for travel brands and marketers seeking to pull in more clients. And journey manufacturers have begun using social media to make it much easier for individuals to locate and book together. For instance, 50 percent of hotel businesses have a booking engine or widget on their own Facebook page.

Social Media Use Pre-Vacation

If planning a trip, 1 in 5 travellers utilize social networking for inspiration when studying up the destinations. People who use social websites for trip planning look at:

• Destinations: 27 percent
• Hotels: 23 percent
• Holiday activities: 22 percent
• Attractions: 21 percent