Technology is changing today’s world at a faster pace than ever before. All areas of life have been touched, from office work to our morning commute, from entertainment to how we communicate with family, friends and colleagues. Of course, travel is no exception. The advent of the internet, various portable devices which can keep us connected on even the remotest island, and now the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) are having and will continue to have a strong impact on tourism and hospitality.

To learn even more about the hottest topics in travel and tourism in Asia, check out Digi.travel Asia-Pacific Conference & Expo 2018, on June 20 at the Landmark Hotel, Bangkok.

Book your tickets online now with our special discount code ‘midaspr-20’ and enjoy 20% off your ticket!

Giving ‘Smart Travel’ a New Meaning

In the past, people might have considered smart travel as finding the travel agent with the best rates, seeking a way to get a free upgrade or getting from A to B in the easiest, most hassle-free way. Today ‘smart travel’ means something entirely different. While getting good deals on trips and avoiding delays are still of interest to those on the road, today the term smart travel refers to something radically new.

Smart technology has taken over our daily lives. And while we like to tell everyone that we’re on holiday escaping our 9-5 or the daily grind, we are all too happy to fill our bags with smart connected devices and take them around the world with us. Because we could miss out on something back home. Or because it feels impossible to get around anywhere without Google Maps. But smartphones, tablets or NFC enabled cameras are no longer the only connected devices we have with us. Today, the internet of things (IoT) is everywhere. Luggage comes with a Bluetooth device that shows the bag’s location, portable mini safes guarantee the safety of cash and important documents and many more gadgets promise to make life as a traveler easier and safer.

Seeing the World with New Eyes

While AI has already been accepted by most and many leading travel and tourism companies around the world use it to better understand demand patterns and create interesting offers for potential customers, VR is still a whole other story.

While this technology is still in its infancy, it holds a lot of promise for the travel and hospitality industry. Possible use cases include letting guests ‘visit’ a room virtually before booking it, having conversations via holograms to build a deeper personal connection or creating entire travel experiences for VR devices as samples for a destination. The possibilities are sheer endless and only time will tell which ones will become popular among travelers and bring industry players the benefits they hope for from this new technology.

Ditching the Paperwork

One area many travelers and industry players look to with huge hopes is the visa application process. For many countries, visa restrictions still pose a huge problem when it comes to increasing the numbers of inbound travelers. That’s not surprising. When having to choose between two countries perceived as similar by the traveler, she will likely select the destination which offers her visa-free entry or an easy-to-navigate online process to get her travel documents rather than the country requiring her to visit an embassy, fill a form and wait for a stamp.

With the many possibilities today’s technology offers in terms of online identification by smart devices and online form submissions, the travel industry is hopeful that soon countries will help develop more streamlined processes and finally do away with antiquated paper trails to open up new possibilities.

At Midas, we understand the importance of staying up to date on the latest trends and developments in your industry. This is why we are once again the official PR partner of the Digi.travel Asia-Pacific Conference & Expo 2018.

For the third time now, Digi.travel will highlight the hottest issues in digital marketing, data and distribution in the travel industry. This year’s focus will lie on ‘Smart Technologies for Even Smarter Travelers’.

The conference will take place on June 20 at the Landmark Hotel, Bangkok and bring together leading decision makers, entrepreneurs and professionals from the travel and hospitality industry in the APAC region.

As a special gift to our subscribers, we have arranged for a 20% discount if you use our code ‘midaspr-20’ while booking!

To get your tickets or learn more, reach out to us by e-mail or visit the event website.