Travellers in India are increasingly using digital technology and platforms such as voice search, digital payments, e-tickets, social media etc to plan, manage and enhance their travel experiences. For the second consecutive year, India is being ranked as number one on Travelport’s 2018 Global Digital Traveler League Table.
These are among results from the Travelport 2018 Global Digital Traveler Survey of over 16,000 travellers from 25 countries which include other key insights for the India market:
Mobile remains crucial, but travellers want a consolidated experience
• Seven in ten of leisure travellers say they will ‘feel lost’ without their smartphone
• Over two-thirds of them are reliant on their smartphone during their whole travel experience
• Three out of four travellers prefer seeing all their trip itinerary in one place and half find it unsatisfying to have to book their travel arrangements separately
• Flight related mobile apps are key features to the traveller, particularly the ability to search and book flights (81%) and real-time alerts (78%)
New technologies continue to grow in prominence
• 69% are using voice search to research their travel using tools such as Apple Siri, Google Home or Amazon Alexa
• 85% of travellers have used a digital wallet/payment app while travelling e.g. Apple Pay, Alipay, etc
• Over half of the respondents say they always use payment apps
• Almost two thirds of travellers indicate that they would prefer to check in to a hotel via an app rather than at a reception desk
Travellers want technology to continue simplifying and enhancing travel experience
• 84% of travellers are open to offering their biometrics to reduce waiting in security lines
• In cases of travel disruption (e.g. natural disaster, strikes, etc.), over a thirdof travellers prefer to be served by a person via chat service, e.g. WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. and one in every five travellers would consider using their mobile to be served by self-service bots
• 80% of respondents think that digital boarding passes make travel so much easier
Commenting on the research, Travelport Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Mark Meehan said: “India, as an emerging nation, is moving forward with a strong momentum of digital transformation across businesses and consumers alike. Irrespective of the age group, consumers want the convenience of mobility and technology on their finger-tips for all their travel related requirements. The growing proliferation of internet and smartphones in India will further strengthen this trend.
The report is available to download at http://www.travelport.com/gdtr.
