r
v
e
y
Chapter 2: Mobile & Travel Survey Mobile Technology in Travel - The Introduction
T
r
a
v
e
l
S
u
It is also illustrative to consider the investment plans of Airlines, who have traditionally
been strong embracers of new technology. This is indeed evident as 50% of respondents
e
&
from this sector had already undertaken investment in the mobile space before the
beginning of this year, with a further 19% planning investment for 2009 and beyond. But, o
b
i
l
despite this larger proportion of current investment, those that “do not know” remains at
M
almost 28%.
The reasons given for this uncertainty across the industry were myriad, but the two major
areas were in technology and in education.
2.9 Will Mobile become a mainstream activity in Travel?
In order to invest, companies are looking to understand how to “transform the business
model from operating in a fixed environment to a mobile platform” and figure out the
big questions of WHEN? HOW? WHAT? It is the opportunities that need to be explored
but also an understanding of the pitfalls in order to “provide a solution based on a deeper
understanding of what is going wrong”. Mobile is not just about sales, it can be about the
travel entire cycle of the consumer, and best practice for each relevant touch point needs
to be developed within the industry. It is understood that there is a poor understanding
about how people make travel purchases and the role of mobile technologies within this
now and going forward. There is a need to map out mobile usage and it is argued that
“small investments today will pay off in big ways moving forward”.
Figure 2.34: What needs to happen for Mobile to become a mainstream sales &
marketing platform?
Device & Networks 29.3%
Consumer Development 23.6%
Industry-Action 12.9%
Industry-Knowledge 11.5%
Technology 6.8%
Define Best Practice 6.2%
Payment 3.2%
Applications 2.3%
Security 1.5%
Integrate 1.5%
Time 0.8%
Marketing 0.4%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Source: EyeforTravel Research 2009
The largest proportion of open ended responses to the question (29%): “What needs to
happen for Mobile to become a mainstream sales & marketing platform?” are concentrated
around the ‘devices & networks’ theme. It is evident that many people consider the
potential of Mobile in travel to be a result of the growth in smartphone penetration,
improved functionality and usability for example. Other themes within this include the
74 75
© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved. © EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80