For many years now, technology has played a big role in tourism. From helping local businesses with their daily operations to ensuring that the customers get the best experience possible, technology is certainly indispensable. In fact, it is crucial that industries like airlines, hotels, and restaurants are updated with the latest innovations to enhance their service offerings.

The importance of technology is heightened due to the existence of the COVID-19 virus that affected the tourism and travel industry significantly. That said, there are new tech trends that have been proven to work during such challenging times.

Informatics, your trusted provider for an e-government software solution, will share some of the tech trends for the tourism and travel industry in this article:

Recognition Technology

This is an interesting trend and one that has amazing potential. Presently, fingerprint recognition, retina scanning, facial recognition are among the most commonly used biometric identifiers. Most of them you see in the latest smartphones, but they are also implemented in some hotels and other establishments. Essentially, they help reduce friction from purchases and improve overall experience like allowing room for access with fingerprints or doing semi-contactless check-ins and -outs.

However, know that they’re also an excellent e-government software solution as the government can use them for border control, national identity management, and more.

Voice Control and AI Assistants

AI assistants in smartphones and other devices have contributed greatly to the advancement of voice search and voice control in the travel industry. For instance, many travellers choose to use voice search to look for the best deals and book airline tickets or hotel accommodations, among others.

Additionally, voice control is enhancing customer experience in hotels as it is used for certain features like controlling the level of lighting, cooling, heating in the rooms, and communicating with hotel staff.

Contactless Payments

Contactless payments allow establishments to process payments quickly and efficiently. This is especially important now that people have to maintain social distancing measures and are trying to minimise contact with others as much as possible. Because it saves time, it also enhances the overall customer experience.

Seeing that they started as something that offers convenience, contactless payments have now become a huge part of the travel industry amid the pandemic. Thanks to this innovation, travellers need not worry about handling cash and worrying about the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality technology is still in its nascent stages, but even here, the tourism industry has already begun to enjoy its benefits. This includes among others, providing travellers with one-of-a-kind experiences when they check incredible locations from their homes. In fact, this upgraded medium of presenting travel destinations has proven to be effective in prompting destination seekers to complete their booking.

Through virtual tours, potential customers can also have a closer look at what they could expect from hotels, restaurants, parks, and more. Because they can be interactive, they essentially deliver a more immersive experience for the traveller.

Robotics

This technology is among the most exciting ones on this list. We now live in a time when there are hotels that use robots for concierge-like tasks, from greeting guests to providing tours and answering queries. Others have taken it one step further and have robots assisting guests with their luggage.

In the restaurant industry, robots have also been used in food preparation. Similarly, in airports and train and bus stations, they can be used to detect weapons, among others. As these robots minimise human-to-human contact, they are highly desired as they help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections.

Conclusion

At this point, you now know some of the trends in technology that the travel and tourism industries should definitely incorporate in their efforts to provide better service during the pandemic. As the focus is more on traveller’s safety and convenience, the trends mentioned may very well be the key to ensuring that the industry won’t suffer despite the threat of the virus.

If you believe your local tourism needs a boost, incorporating these trends can enhance your services and improve customer experience. Informatics can provide you with e-government software solutions that can help you keep up with other places with thriving tourism despite the pandemic. Contact us today to find out how our services can help you!

Written by Daniele Paoletti