A recent study from PhoCusWright Inc. sponsored by Rearden Commerce revealed that the use of mobile technology by business travelers continues to increase, with more than 75% of business travelers accessing the Internet via mobile phones, and most of them being interested in mobile solutions that cater to who they are and where they’re currently located.
The survey revealed that business travelers use smart phones for:
- mapping or finding directions (80 percent);
- researching local activities (63 percent);
- researching destination information (55 percent).
The statistics are indicative of a general trend that will be rewarding for early adopters. More and more service providers and other players in the travel industry are already offering mobile apps for various uses, and even more are expected to launch their apps in the near future.
“Mobile represents a major opportunity for every participant in the business travel ecosystem — corporations, merchants, agents and travelers,” said Tony D’Astolfo, Senior Vice President, Travel Services, Rearden Commerce. “Forward-looking companies understand that mobile will play a major role today and in the future of business travel, and are deploying mobile solution aimed at delivering knowledge, convenience, savings and assistance to on-the-go business travelers.”
For the travel industry, the message is straightforward: go mobile, or go out of business. The problem for those who stay behind, is that they will be losing business. Some may not afford to create their own apps, but there are solutions available to everyone. We will discuss these in a future editorial.