2024 was a key year for the travel industry and traffic and volumes finally reached 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels. Political and economic factors have created an unsturdy landscape for the travel business as the US sees major drops in tourism but Canada and Europe see upticks. Even with the global economy in question, Amadeus forecasted an increase in business travel spending to $1.65 trillion (USD) in 2025 versus 2024’s $1.48 trillion. Leisure travel also gets a rosy prediction with a 14% compound annual growth rate (The Business Research Company). Travel consumer expectations are evolving and travelers are demanding more conveniences and benefits from technology are are using devices increasingly before, during and after the trip. An APEX Mobile survey indicated that 76% of respondents said that their mobile device was the most important tool while traveling while another 79% said they perform travel and destination research and travel purchasing exclusively on their smartphone.
Increasing Demand for Cross Border Payments
A recent report by Visa forecasted cross border payments to top $250 trillion (USD) by 2027 as more consumers do business globally. Cross border travel purchasing makes up a significant portion of transactions and the industry continues to focus resources on technology that improve speed and security for global payments. Innovations in database and communication interface infrastructure has given rise to Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), the concept to which the popular blockchain technology is based on. DLTs are being utilized to facilitate cross border payments and deliver a secure and transparent method for C2B and B2B travel payments. The latest in API and interface technology brings speed and security to the transaction, elevating confidence for both parties. Realizing the growth of cross border payments, Central Banking institutions are moving forward with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) which are essentially digital versions of the country’s own fiat currency. The government backing of CBDCs adds a high degree of security but travel providers can also accept global digital currencies such as BITCOIN for cross border payments. Compact technologies, such as TripREMIT enables small and medium sized travel businesses the ability to accept cryptocurrencies for payment and could potentially open up new demographics.
Mobile Technology and Medical Tourism
The post Covid world saw major changes and shifts in the healthcare industry and brought medical tourism into the spotlight. Increasing costs due to inflationary pressures and reduced capacity among many medical and wellness specialties are powering demand in the medical tourism category as individuals look for lower cost options and availability for both elective and non elective procedures, away from their home country. Industry analysts forecast the medical tourism market to surpass $704 billion (USD) by 2023 and a significant compound growth rate of 19.08% annually. Increasing demand for medical travel is driving demand for technologies that simplify the experience. Planning and executing medical trips can be complex when working with healthcare infrastructure abroad but assistive mobile technologies can provide features and benefits that ease some of the stresses involved with medical trip planning. medTOUR+assist is a new application that harnesses the full capabilities of smartphones to deliver features that help medical travelers plan and organize medical trips. medTOUR+assist can also be used during the trip and offers quick access to localized resources and trip appropriate functions such as navigation and one click web searching.
Document Free Travel Pushes Ahead
Transportation hubs are seeing upticks in volume as travel traffic recovers from pre-pandemic levels and are adopting technology to improve passenger processing times. ‘Document free’ or ‘paperless’ travel is the latest focus of airports, seaports and other transportation facilities and the latest innovations in bio-metric technologies are paving the way for faster passenger processing without sacrificing security. Flydubai, a carrier based out of the UAE has rolled out bio-metric powered gates that allow crew members much faster entry access and reduces idle time waiting at security checkpoints. Taipei’s Songshan Airport has combined bio-metric check in technology and Self-Bag Drop technology for a complete paperless travel experience. New York’s JFK flagship Terminal One has recently undergone extensive renovations and has implemented facial recognition technology for airline checking and TSA security checkpoints with the aim of drastically reducing passenger processing times at one of the world’s busiest airports.
Demand for Convenience and Efficiencies from Technology
Marketplace pros will say that the travel market is normalizing back to growth after global events disrupted the industry for many years. In that time, technology has taken more of a foothold in the travel industry as more travel consumers adopt devices and use them more frequently in relation to travel activities. Payment preferences are also evolving as more consumers engage with cross border transactions and digital currency use. Demand for medical travel continues to ramp up as does the need for technologies that simplify planning and execution of medical trips. Innovations in AI and bio-metric technologies are driving document free travel facilities as airports and airlines look for ways to improve operations, speed and elevate passenger experiences. Positive outlooks for both leisure and business travel markets will inherently drive the need for mobile and payment technology that deliver benefits and conveniences that travelers prefer and expect.
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