How technology is changing the way we travel

Image Credit: Dru Dodd

There is no doubt that the advent of technology and our ever reliant use of the internet has affected the way we travel. These changes can include how we decide on our prospective destinations, how we get there, where we stay, what we do and how we record our memories.

Gone are the days of hitchhiking across countrysides while guarding our exposed rolls of film from what we now refer to as vintage cameras.

Now we have every possible travel concern taken care of, literally at the push of a button. With reviews and greater insight into what is best to do and where it’s best to stay with our reliance on other travelers as opposed to the formidable 5 star ratings awarded by invisible judging panels. Where is the trust in that?

In today’s day and age we have applications and websites with rated members who have reviewed accommodation choices and tourist attractions to confirm our good ideas and our suspicions. They’re far more reliable sources as far as I am concerned. On top of these expert ratings; travelers who have visited your bucket list, done what your proposed itinerary stipulates and stayed in the Airbnb you have been looking at for weeks – direct communication channels and forums allow discussions with people who can give you real, ‘based on experience’ advice – which just seems more reliable. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Pinterest, also provide  a wealth of inspiration for travelers with regards to activities, attractions, and restaurants.

In terms of accommodation hunting, Airbnb is undeniably one of the most effective mediums through which to discover, reserve, and stay in the local neighborhood of your travel destination while research suggests that hotels and hostels will soon become a last resort for most travelers. In terms of expenditure and accessibility the online reservation and home sharing platform is exceeding almost all expectations and is no doubt making booking and finding the most convenient location for your travel experience a stress-free experience.

Travelers prefer technologies that provide convenience. Take for instance: apps that transform your smartphone into a room key so that guests can check in remotely upon arrival at their Airbnb stay. And services that help to schedule third-party key exchanges or key concierges to meet your guests at the door. Guesty, is an example of a service that give hosts more freedom for key exchange possibilities and enhances the traveler’s arrival experience.

The art of actual map reading also appears to be a thing of the past. With clear directions fed to us through our mobile phones and tablets, getting lost on tour is no longer an excuse. Interactive displays make traveling easy and managing foreign public transport systems a walk in the park. Google Maps and applications such as Waze and MapQuest are the ideal travel companions, ensuring timely arrivals and departures and no involuntary excursions to places, not on the list.

While more recently the notion of visiting a travel agency has also become unnecessary and frivolous. With all the varying online travel search engines finding deals and essentially making your bookings for you, agencies are slowly becoming redundant. With comparative search engines like Expedia and farecompare you can find the best deals for yourself and often only a few days or weeks before departure, sites like lastminute.com can ensure you’ll get that annual vacation even if you decide to take it spontaneously.

The idealistic vision of going with the flow while traveling. backpacks and thumbs in the air, finding our way across continents, has unfortunately also become a far fetched reality, predominantly because of our increased awareness of dangerous situations and the safety and security of our belongings and personal documents. Even the most adventurous traveler is able to keep in contact with friends and family back home, plan his/her accommodation and itinerary in advance and then spend practical and definite time engaging with communities and tasting the food. Storing personal data on a cloud also means being able to safely store copies of your passport, contact details and photographs taken during your travels. There is after all no way to replace those.

So while many will argue that getting your hands and feet dirty and finding your way through the world is the best road to travel. However the convenience of the sharing economy and in essence the practicality of using different modes of technology, applications, and sites to enhance your traveling experience, is certainly becoming the only way forward.