Mobile devices have become an indispensable tool for searching for information online, as well as for leisure and entertainment. As it could not be less, users also use these gadgets when planning their vacations. Zanox indicates that during the first quarter of last year the tourism sector through these devices grew 190%. According to data provided by Four Pillars in 2012, 85% of travelers use their smartphone; In addition, 1 in 3 resorts to mobile applications for deals and discounts on hotels.
According to a recent study conducted by the trivago comparative prices of hotels in several countries, 71% of Spaniards who need to find a hotel at the last minute do so through a computer, compared to 9% that they prefer to use The smartphone. All this shows how the online tourism sector is facing a new change.
This new reality forces travel agencies and tour operators to adapt their sales strategy and adjust to the new needs of the users. The Association of Travel Marketing Executives has recognized the great impact in the sector of the search through the mobile devices, although it shows its reservations regarding the necessity to invest in tools and applications for the reservation of trips.
According to Rosanne Zusman, senior vice president of marketing for the Wyndham hotel chain, customers are looking for information about their hotels with their smartphones, but that does not necessarily mean they want to formalize the reservation through these devices. On the other hand, Stephen Gianneti, Vice President of Advertising and Marketing at Smithsonian Media, has recorded more than 50% of his recruitment through mobile devices.
On the other hand, mobile is a suitable way to develop effective customer service. Users can request assistance or need some kind of information about the contracted service; So the company must improve its communication channels through these devices. In addition to offering value-added services and applications, in order to foster engagement and customer loyalty.
In a sense, the mobile devices represent a new scenario in which to interact with the customer, who has even come to blur the line between the online and offline media. Users use both channels interchangeably, and even simultaneously. You can be in a travel agency and compare prices with your smartphone, or watching TV and expand information on your iPad about that announcement of cruises they just issued. Therefore, companies must take into account these new habits on the part of their clients and develop an adapted strategy, in order to be there when and where they need it.