Trade ‘positive’ to mobile technology
The travel industry is “hugely positive†towards using mobile technology but has some way to go before it is prepared for it, according to new research from online travel watchers EyeforTravel.
Presenting the research carried out in the last few weeks at World Travel Market, head of research Amy Scarth said: “There is an overwhelming response right now from the industry that they will be using the mobile phone in some capacity as part of their online strategy.
“However, we are still very much in the trial and error stage and 71% have not adapted their product for the mobile space as yet. I think there is going to be another massive shift in this direction next year but no one quite knows how that will take place yet.â€
She said different travel companies viewed the opportunities of the mobile phone differently, some seeing it as an ecommerce platform, others as a marketing tool and others as a customer service tool to be used pre and post trip.
She added: “About 30% of people said they will be starting to invest money in this technology at the start of next year but there really does need to be a mindset change from both the industry and consumers.
“The industry needs to work out how to use this platform and what works best on it and the consumer needs to understand what added value to the purchase can be got from using their mobiles to book travel.â€
By Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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