Poll reveals traveller’s communication habits

Holidaymakers are more likely to send texts and instant messages than make calls when they are abroad.

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Holidaymakers are more likely to send texts and instant messages than make calls when they are abroad.

More than a third of people (36%) make calls on a daily basis at home, compared to just 16% when travelling. The use of voice is noticeably replaced by the use of instant messaging when travellers are abroad.

Texting is the most popular phone service used at home and abroad, with 41% of people using SMS on a daily basis at home, and 26% while on holiday, according to a poll by in-flight connectivity provider AeroMobile.

Accessing social media is also popular with almost one in three (29%) active users at home, compared to almost one in five (17%) when away.

Almost one in three (28%) use instant messaging on a daily basis at home, compared with 21% when they are away.

About one in five (17%) use their phone to send work emails while at home, while more than half of these (10%) continue to do so abroad.

Nineteen per cent of travellers use their mobiles to surf the web abroad, compared to 35% at home.

The survey, carried out by OnePoll, shows that 78% of tourists use their phone when abroad.

AeroMobile figures also show a 50% uplift in the number of passengers using its in-flight network in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2014.

Chief executive, Kevin Rogers, said: “It’s interesting to see how connected holidaymakers are and these statistics reflect what we’re seeing in the air.

“People still want to use their phones to keep in touch with what’s going on at home, even at 30,000 feet.

“In-flight connectivity is used for all sorts, from a quick WhatsApp message to sending important work emails or listening to voicemail.”