British travellers see mobiles as ‘travel concierge’, finds study

British travellers see mobiles as ‘travel concierge’, finds study

The majority of British travellers (89%) take one or more mobile device on holiday, with 69% using their mobile for the duration of their trip away, a new study shows.

Image via Shutterstock

The majority of British travellers (89%) take one or more mobile device on holiday, with 69% using their mobile for the duration of their trip away, a new study shows.


And 90% feel that new technology and mobile apps enhance their travel experience. Mobiles are seen as a “travel concierge” from the initial holiday research through to boarding a flight back home.


More than a third of Britons polled research their holiday destinations on their devices, with the most popular place to plan travel being in bed (42%).


Once abroad, mobiles are increasingly used to manage holiday time, with 26% feeling that mobile connections help them to be more flexible with their travel plans and 37% using mobile to get tips on the way.


More than a quarter (27%) have used smartphones to manage their itinerary for business, with 38% regarding automatic itinerary updates as an essential function for a travel app.


A total of 17% of leisure travellers turn to smartphones for itinerary management. Mobiles are used for receiving flight alerts (21%) and checking in (19%).


One in ten have booked their ground transportation or checked into hotel room via a mobile device.


Complimentary Wi-Fi and high speed internet are the two most important factors when booking a hotel for both global and UK holiday and business travellers.


British business travellers are highly likely to take a smartphone on their travels (82%), compared to 59% who take a laptop on business trips, lower than the average across all the markets surveyed.


“We are entering a new era where people are move fluidly across desktop, phone, tablet, even wearables as they plan, book and then ultimately take their trip,” said Andy Washington, managing director of Expedia.co.uk which conducted the research alongside business travel arm Egencia.


“This is the new normal when it comes to travel. We need to be able to develop relevant products to meet these needs and to offer a consistently high level of service as customers move from one device to another.”


Egencia UK managing director, Graham Kingsmill, said: “More people each day use their smartphones and tablets to help navigate their business trips.


“We believe that mobile devices can do more for business travellers and we wanted to understand how.


“Checking in for a flight or refuelling the rental car before returning it can all be made easier with the right app.


“We have seen that many business travellers will use apps to book hotels at the last-minute if these apps feature a great modern experience, and this makes their business travel more productive and cost-efficient.”