How Smartphones Affect Your Tourist Business

Did you know that travel is one of the industires that has gotten the most impact when smartphones and apps were developed? More and more mobile tourists are leaning on their phones and mobile devices to improve their travel experience. Travellers use maps on their phones to get to their destination in a foreign land. They use apps to store their boarding passes, book dinner reservations, book cars and book affordable hotels. Now how does this affect your travel business? You are missing out on a lot of customers and potential customers if people can’t reach your business through a mobile device.

Tourism

Tourism is of course, one of the biggest income generators in the world. There are a lot of people sharing information through different travel apps and if you have several satisfied customers, you can be sure that they will spread the word through these apps. Now that’s free advertising for you and we all know that word of mouth is one of the most powerful advertisements out there.

Mobile travellers decide quickly

When a person uses his smartphone to check out travelling details, he usually books a service immediately compared to people who use a computer. This is because mobile travellers, especially business travellers, don’t want to spend a lot of time going through several offers and be overwhelmed. Their time is very valuable so they just book the best offer they get on their mobile device. These people also have higher than average incomes so it’s easier for them to decide.

Online booking

Travellers don’t want to go through the hassle of commuting to a travel agency and falling in line. They can just go online, see what’s available, book it and then pay for it all in a matter of minutes. Security is also not a problem because most travel sites are now equipped with the best information security available. They have also formed partnerships with security companies to ensure that a customer’s data is safe. A lot of travel agencies have seen an increase in their mobile and online bookings in the past couple of years.

You can also distribute targeted ads to mobile users. This is possible because you can collect some important data (such as location) from mobile users. Your ads will have more impact and you can be sure to have more returns.

Last-Minute Bookings

Mobile travellers are big on last-minute bookings. Again, this is because mobile travellers are usually very busy or impatient people. Reservations are being done within just one day of checking in. You can take advantage of this knowledge by posting special promos and discounts so that you can make good use of your rooms which don’t usually get any bookings. This is also great on slow seasons. This is a good way to improve your bottom line.

In summary, if you are in the tourism business, you should be visible in the mobile community.

About the Author: My name is Brian. I love travelling and I blog about my experiences. I have several interests which include business and technology aside from travelling, of course. I am also partners with people who specialize in bespoke Kenya safari trips.

License: Creative Commons image source