Over the past few years, the phrase “digital transformation in travel” has been repeatedly mentioned more and more. It is undeniable that digital transformation is fundamentally changing the model and way of operations of an organization or enterprise based on utilizing modern digital technologies to create novel opportunities and values. According to the World Economic Forum’s Digital Transformation Initiative (DTI), from 2016 to 2025, digitalization in aviation, travel, and tourism is expected to create up to US$305 billion of value for the industry through increased profitability, migrate US$100 billion of value from traditional players to new competitors, and generate benefits valued at US$700 billion for customers and the wider society.
During the COVID era, travel procedures underwent a major change. In this period, the travel and tourism industry developed technologies that would make travel possible in the event of pandemics like this one or others of a similar nature. Voice technology, robotics, and contactless travel are a few of the technical innovations that have enhanced consumer experience or benefited the industry. Although COVID has sped up this process, some of these were slated for deployment in the next few years.
Take voice search as an example – You can ask the computer, phone, or computer in your car to search for the best hotel available in the vicinity while driving in a foreign country. Even your entire reservation can be made while you’re on the road. Additionally, you can register for a room and check-in at the hotel using voice recognition technology once you get there. Due to how seamless they make everything; speech interfaces will become an essential part of the travel experience. Another area where there will be a big impact is in the realm of robotics. Robots will be employed at various intersection for example for housekeeping duties as well as for delivering bags from the front desk to your room.
The COVID 19 incident has drawn attention to contactless travel. In essence, if you go to the airport today, you can check-in and acquire a boarding card using hand gestures at the kiosk, just like you would if you were doing it on the phone. the gate to the check-in process. After showing your mobile device the QR code, face recognition technology, which recognizes you, allows you to enter the aircraft and take a seat. Everything is contactless, from the moment you arrive at the airport until you board the aircraft.
The use of facial recognition, cashless transactions, tech-savvy check-in kiosks, and mobile applications that eliminate the need for human interaction has revolutionized the travel sector. New technologies that aim to reduce their requirements to adapt and survive the avalanche generated by the epidemic have given the tourism industry optimism.
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This article by Jaya Kumar K was 1st published in NASSCOM platform