What Recently Added Travel Technology Will Stick Around?
What Recently Added Travel Technology Will Stick Around?
Travel technology has gone through a boom in recent years. Corporate travel worldwide has embraced this new technology to help with travel planning needs. There have been so many innovations in recent years with many new travel applications and services, it’s no wonder people can be confused about which ones to choose.
Travel Technology That is Here to Stay
Digital Workplaces
Digital workplaces were already trending in the past few years, but the pandemic took it to a new level. According to a study by Stanford University, in June 2020, 42 percent of the labor force in the United States worked full-time from home. Most employers have embraced this new trend and the advantages it brings. Businesses have experienced reduced or eliminated costs for office space and upkeep. Another perk is that up to 40 percent of these remote workers were more productive than their in-office colleagues.
Online Learning
Besides working remotely, online learning has spiked during the pandemic due to lockdowns throughout the country. During the peak of the pandemic, an estimated 1.6 billion children worldwide were kept home from school. This is where video conferencing tools came in. These tools provided the learning applications and virtual tutoring needed.
Telehealth
When it comes to information technology, the healthcare industry has always been reluctant to participate. The pandemic changed that idea. During the surge of lockdowns, these telehealth technologies became vital tools that helped avoid the spread of the virus by eliminating some in-person doctor visits. There also have been new tools invented to allow consumers to avoid the spread of the COVID virus through tracking, tracing, testing, and treating.
Contactless Technology
This is another technology that has been getting quite a bit of use in recent years. Contactless technology consists of touch-free payments on readers at retail store registers, and biometric check-ins at airports and hotels. Contactless is convenient because the advanced processors and memory chips combined with image sensors are synced with the communications networks to make it very fast and easy. Gone are the days when we pay with germ-ridden banknotes.
Besides retail, this technology will also help us interact safely in education, travel, work, and social situations. This virtual and augmented reality will change our lives, and we will see a blend of physical with digital that has no touching required.
Artificial Intelligence Generated Content
Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are machines that learn patterns and generate new data based on the original input. This technology is currently mainly used for filter apps and entertainment purposes. This technology does learn as it goes along and gathers more personal information.
Virtual Travel
The pandemic caused international travel to come to a halt. As a result, the tourism industry took a devastating blow. Now the virtual travel experiences have seen a wild surge in popularity. Tourists could wear a headset and get transported to exotic locations like Machu Picchu without ever leaving the room. Although this virtual reality will not ultimately be as popular with everyone, there are some who have embraced it. People who are physically unable to get to popular tourist destinations, travelers who wish to do their part to reduce the carbon footprint, and those who do not wish to hear “flight shaming” are the consumers who have taken to this new technology.
Traveler’s Q can help you with all your executive travel needs. Our travel advisors can provide guidance with the latest travel technology and travel tips that can help your business enter the future of corporate travel. Contact us today.
