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Austrade has just released a report showing how new technologies have the potential to enhance and challenge sectors of the tourism industry, changing the way operators target travellers, disrupting existing service offerings and forcing a re-imagining of the visitor experience and the end-to-end visitor journey.

The accommodation and aviation sectors have already experienced significant disruption from digital technology. The next wave of disruption is expected to impact the shopping, tours and food and beverage sectors, through growth in the sharing economy, emerging payments platforms, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

The entertainment and transport sectors will likely continue to evolve as next wave technologies emerge. Tours could take on a theatrical aspect, using a combination of storytelling, historical and future imagery using AR. Transport, meanwhile, will see significant impacts from continuing progress towards autonomous vehicle technology.

Given the nature of disruptive technologies and the challenges of predicting how they will affect existing businesses, traditional operators may need to adapt in order to be competitive.

The five technologies discussed in this report are not sector specific. All five are currently available to tourists, and their impact on the tourism sector (both immediate and potential) is emerging as take-up increases.

SOCIAL MEDIA 

While Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are the most recognised examples, social media also includes the following:

  • YouTube, Flickr, Lonely Planet blogs, personal blogs and individual websites that enable development and sharing of new content;
  • Wikitravel, Lonely Planet forums, Whirlpool and Fodor’s Travel Talk which share editable content and knowledge in a social way;
  • TripAdvisor and Yelp that enable individuals to review or rate companies, experiences or locations.

SHARING ECONOMY 

Sharing economy platforms include online such as Airbnb, Uber and Deliveroo. These platforms have had considerable success in providing new accommodation, transport and food service offerings to travellers, but in the process have caused major disruptions to traditional operators.

NEW PAYMENT PLATFORMS 

App based payment systems and Tap’n’Go technology are offering rapid, secure transactions that move payment to the background, rather than interfering with customer experiences.

Some examples include PayPal, PayWave, PayPass, Apple Pay, Union Pay and Alipay.

VISITOR TRACKING

Using devices or apps to track movements can offer visitors real time information on travel and waiting times and provide personal reviews on nearby offerings. Operators can use the data to adapt their offerings to better meet visitor expectations.

AUGMENTED REALITY AND VIRTUAL REALITY 

Pokémon Go, a mobile-based game, is a recent example of augmented reality. Although not developed specifically for tourism, it took a tourism slant by directing players to local landmarks in order to ‘catch’ Pokémon. Virtual reality has been used in tourism through Tourism Australia’s app, Australia in 360˚ which allows users to experience our country in immersive videos. The accommodation sector offers virtual tours of hotels and hotel rooms. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Social media is now a mainstream platform for sharing information and enabling targeted marketing. Globally, more than 3 billion people – almost half of the world’s population – are active consumers of social media with around 1 million new users being added each day.

The peak impact of social media on the tourism industry will be reached within the next five years. This is expected to have modest positive impacts on tourism industry revenue and substantially benefit the decision making of domestic travellers.

CURRENT USE 

Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are now integral to the travel experience, allowing users to share their travel experiences and photos (including food,

landmarks and attractions) with family, friends and followers in real time:

  • The majority (72%) of people post holiday photos on social media while travelling.
  • Social media influenced 36% of domestic travellers, most often on where they chose to go (19%) or where they stayed (12%).
  • Social media usage increased during travel relative to their normal day-to-day usage, especially when travelling for a holiday.

Younger people were more likely to turn to social media for information, while older cohorts were more likely to access visitor information centres. Those aged 35-44 were just as likely to use either source of information while travelling.

While 85% of Australians continue to engage with social media, daily usage has dropped to 55% and is now close to 2014 levels. This means it could lose its effectiveness as a marketing channel.

To download the full report, click here.

Edited by : Peter Needham