60% OF TOURISTS ALREADY BOOK ONLINE

The participants of the round table have agreed on two fundamental points that technology brings to tourism, and that are the main drivers of all the changes when traveling that has been experienced during the last years: security and personalization.

Technology has eliminated many fears that tourists had when traveling, such as getting lost, not knowing how to communicate with the local population, not trusting the prices of the restaurants they went to, or not being clear about what the destination accommodation would be like.

All these insecurities can be easily eradicated with devices such as the Basque Translator V4 and mobile apps such as Touryme that help the user to communicate in another language, to be able to consult the opinion of other consumers or organize each appendix of their trip. In this way, traveling becomes safer for the tourist, and all the stress that a trip can produce is eliminated.

Another aspect that the speakers have considered of special relevance is the personalization of the trip. The tourist of the past used to go on an organized trips, and did not have a large participation in decision-making, however, with the appearance of platforms and metasearch engines for trips, transports, plans, and accommodations such as Booking or Civitatis, the user has total freedom to decide the best alternative for his trip taking into account his tastes and preferences, and of course, your budget, making traveling more accessible and customizable.

During the round table, participants commented on the importance of digital natives, who are the drivers of digitalization in tourism.

Currently, the main focus of tourism expenditures is still focused on previous generations, but digital natives have appeared strongly and, at the moment when they are the main focus of tourism spending, tourism consumption will be completely transformed, more than it has already changed during the last few years.

According to data from Booking.com, this year 60% of travel reservations have already been made online, and virtual tourism is already an option that up to 30% of consumers consider.

Accessibility for disabled people in tourist destinations has also benefited thanks to technology. Accessibility information is more affordable and is evolving intensively in recent years thanks to platforms such as Tur4all, which facilitate travel for people with disabilities.

For this, it is essential to have the collaboration of companies that want to provide all the necessary information to this type of tourist. Technological devices such as those of Vasco Electronics also greatly improve the travel experience of tourists with disabilities, facilitating communication in case there is any difficulty with speech.

At the event, Laura Navarrete of Madrid Destino stressed that Madrid as a tourist city always goes hand in hand with the most cutting-edge technology companies to facilitate the stay and comfort of tourists from all corners of the world.

Source: Smart Travels