'Connected Travellers More Likely to Make Bookings via Handsets'

With the growing use of smartphones, "connected travellers" are more likely to make bookings through their handsets, says a recent survey by TripAdvisor.

"Mobile is proving to be the ultimate game changer in the travel business. It is increasingly becoming the primary device to not only plan and book trips but also discover places to eat and things to do upon reaching the destination.

"The fact that a majority (72 percent) of the connected travellers use their smartphones to look for restaurants and 67 percent to find attractions just reiterates the significance of the device in the travel journey," TripAdvisor

India Country Manager Nikhil Ganju said quoting TripBarometer Connected Traveller report.

Further, it revealed that 45 percent of connected travellers usually use their smartphones to book activities for a trip and 34 percent want their accommodation to offer mobile check-in.

The TripBarometer study by TripAdvisor is based upon an online survey conducted from 16 January to 2 February 2015 by Ipsos, a global research firm.

A total of 44,277 interviews were completed in 32 markets, spanning 7 regions.

While mobile app bookings with respect to accommodations has seen an increase to 8 percent this year from 4 percent last year, it is only a matter of time before this proportion becomes the majority, he opined.

According to the report, just under half of Indian travellers (47 percent) fall into the connected traveller group, making them the 9th highest proportion of connected travellers of all the geographies surveyed.

Countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia trail behind India in this category. Thailand and China lead the trend, with 65 percent of Thai and Chinese TripBarometer respondents identified as connected travellers.

Looking at continents, South America has the highest proportion of connected travellers with 57 percent of TripBarometer respondents from the region falling into the connected traveller segment. The Middle East (55 percent) and Asia (49 percent) follow close behind.

"Through travel apps, connected travellers are finding their way around, looking for places to eat or things to do and reading reviews... They are also more likely to see their smartphones as a booking device, both before a trip and while in-destination," TripAdvisor Senior Vice President (Product) Adam Medros added.