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TECHNOLOGY and travel go hand-in-hand in a big way, changing the way we travel and pushing developments for a faster, more seamless, and more interactive experience.
From using our smartphones as our personal assistant and tour guide (Google Maps, Zomato, Uber, TripAdvisor) to making a last minute duty-free purchase with cryptocurrency at Australia’s Brisbane Airport, technological advances continue to shape the travel and hospitality industries.
Technology is prevalent even long after our adventures are over, as we sieve through and select the pictures and videos on our smartphones to upload onto our social media feeds.
So, what else is in store for us in the coming year?
Global technology consultancy DataArt has predicted that 2019 will be dominated by five major technology trends, driven by advanced solutions aimed at consumers’ need to have access to the latest technologies while traveling.
Open APIs will drive impact
Technological integration has posed massive challenges in recent years, as industry players struggle to bring new tech on board without greatly increasing the complexity of managing their overall systems.
The proliferation of open APIs will ramp up in 2019 to allow for the effective communication and synchronization between the full range of technology systems used in the industry.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to reach new heights
We’ve already witnessed great successes with the deployment of AI solutions in the travel and hospitality (T&H) industries, and we expect this progression to skyrocket in the coming year.
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The technology’s ability to significantly improve customer service while saving human resources makes AI perfectly suited to the sector, with new innovative applications predicted to arrive at an increasingly rapid pace in 2019.
Augmented Reality (AR) will make a play for attention
From three-dimensional views of hotel rooms on mobile to AR games and augmented environments, DataArt’s experts expect to see massive advancements in Augmented Reality over the coming year.
Although the T&H industries have been relatively slow to adopt this technology to date, 2019 will be the time for AR to come to the forefront as an innovative marketing and personalization tool.
Self-service will ramp up
Research indicates a growing consumer interest in self-service solutions, and the industry will meet this evolution through the expansion of technology that eliminates the need for customers to interact with a human to complete a transaction.
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The increased speed and convenience are highly beneficial to both companies and consumers, while further advancements in this technology will reduce issues with self-service systems to ensure reliability and long-term success.
Voice assist will surge along with consumer expectations
Voice assist technology is already prevalent in a wide range of industries, and its adoption in T&H is growing at an impressive rate.
The rise of mobile and smart home technology results in voice assist tech already being commonplace for many consumers, thereby allowing T&H to harness the increasing popularity of this technology.
Today’s consumers expect convenience and speed more than ever before, and voice assist technology will be a vital component of the industry’s response to meet the increasing demand for efficiency.
The post These tech trends will help travel level up in 2019 appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com