How Tech Is Improving the Way We Travel

With travel becoming more and more accessible to all, we have to ask ourselves how and why.

13:38 21 September 2017

A lot of the improvements in travel can be put down to technology. Whether you’re looking at a trip around Europe, or to visit some of Americas best travel destinations, we’ve looked deeper into some of the ways that technology is helping to improving how we travel.

 

Planning

 

When it comes to planning our trips, technology has made it easier than ever. There’s no longer any need to go into a travel agency to book our flights and hotels, seeing as we can do it all from our computers, tablets and phones. We can plan out our trips in far more detail than ever before, and with far more ease. A simple click or swipe can bring us all of the information we need about a place, and it’s always up to date. There’s no need to scour travel books and language dictionaries when all of the information that a person may need can be found entirely online with a simple search.

 

Getting Lost

 

Getting lost is pretty much a thing of the past if you have a GPS enabled mobile phone and a data connection. While getting lost 20 or so years ago could’ve led you to discovering streets and places you might not have otherwise heard of, the addition of smartphones and a WiFi connection means that no one stays lost for long. In fact, it’s almost impossible to actually get lost. Travellers are more likely to get directions to the destination of their choice on their mobile to follow than simply start walking and hope they arrive where they’re supposed to be. While not everyone has a smartphone currently, it arguably won’t be long until they do.

 

Keeping in Contact

Keeping in contact with family and friends had never been easier. Barely 20 years ago travelling alone was, well, lonely. Contacting your friends and loved ones back home meant having to find a payphone or a landline that could cost you more than you could ever imagine, or you’d simply have to update your family on your holiday by postcard – and that was if you didn’t arrive home before the postcard did. Today, improved technology and roaming allowances mean that we can call, tweet, and update our status and more all from our mobile, sharing our travels with the world in mere seconds and for a fraction of the cost.

 

Information

 

Finding the information you need while you’re travelling is as easy as clicking a button or opening an app. If you’re travelling to a country where you don’t know the language, google translate could be your best friend, or download any number of language apps to help you learn key phrases. You can learn about the culture of a place with a quick search on a search engine, or find out the nearest place to eat your favourite food in seconds. We have so much information at our fingertips in a way we’ve never experienced before. Getting the information we need is not only easy, it’s quick too. There’s no need to carry around extensive travel guides when you have everything you need at the end of a tap.