Chapter 1: The Global Mobile Market Mobile Technology in Travel - The Introduction

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2. Mobile technology and the Travel Industry
Introduction
So what does the travel industry think right now?
EyeforTravel research conducted a survey amongst the travel industry at the end of 2008
with the aim of investigating the industry’s attitude towards Mobile. The large initial
feedback of over 800 respondents at upper management level across all sectors of the
travel industry suggests significant growth in interest of Mobile. It seems indicative of the
impact that Mobile technology may make within the travel distribution landscape and is
certainly swinging a lot of interesting discussions at the moment.
Responses were largely a mixture of being unsure, but willing. EyeforTravel recognise that
there has been quite a lot of talk amongst the industry in the past few years, but right
now Mobile seems to be considered much more of reality by the majority than before and
certainly more accepted as a concept people are ready to seriously explore. For companies
who want to market and sell travel products to the consumer, concepts surrounding
Mobile technology suggest an entirely new and potentially exciting dimension.
It is argued by some that “with mobile handsets becoming capable of handling more complex
applications, [and] service providers improving their delivery, the mobile will be a very
important part of any business strategy”. It is also suggested that the use of mobile technology
“will increase in popularity... but it will not be the most suitable method in all cases”.
It is highlighted that “wider and deeper market growth” is required for great success, but
“the mobile device is smarter and smarter each day. Just look at what changes the iPhone
has brought. More people will be developing applications for these devices as an open
source project which will drive the mobile market”.
We explored earlier in this report that the growth of mobile and smartphone penetration is
growing and many consider that the “iPhone paves the way for mass market mobile internet”.
It is also argued that with “multimedia content fast becoming [a] necessity to engage
and retain customers on mobile” managing to produce the content and provide “what
customers need” is vital because “there is no time to waste in this world of competition”.
In line with this, some emphasise that “companies should invest now for the future, and
be leaders as opposed to following trends once they have been set”.
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