Do you remember the time when you travel overseas for a holiday, a travel guide book such as Lonely Planet is your must have travel companion? Just around a period of maybe 10 years, travel patterns and habits have changed tremendously with the emergence of social media and information technology gadgets such as our smartphones and tablets. How has smartphones changed our modern traveling patterns, planning and usage? Let me share with you a finding by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and IHG Rewards Club on the impact and influence of smartphones in today’s travellers!<\/p>\n

According to the research by IHG\u00ae Rewards Club, nearly 40% of travellers agree that their smartphone is the most important item to take onholiday\u00a0– and 67% agree that they will use it every single day. As a result, 1 in 10 travellers clock an impressive average of 70 hours online while on\u00a0holiday\u00a0– almost 20% of the actual time spent on a two week\u00a0holiday.IHG Rewards Club is the first and largest hotel loyalty programme in the world, with over 80 million members worldwide. IHG is one of the world\u2019s leading hotel companies, with over 4,700 hotels around the world and a family of nine trusted hotel brands.<\/p>\n

IHG Rewards Club members are IHG\u2019s most valued guests. In line with its aim of rewarding them for their loyalty, it\u00a0surveyed more than 10,000 of its members worldwide in order to gain further insight into their relationships with their loyalty programme and to learn more about their travel needs. The survey found that the smartphone is fast replacing the traditional postcard with 64% of respondents saying they use it to text friends and another 32% to Skype friends and family back home, while on\u00a0holiday. However, recounting\u00a0holiday\u00a0experiences with friends and family still remains one of the most enjoyable ways of sharing a\u00a0holiday, with one in ten travellers saying this is as enjoyable as the\u00a0holiday\u00a0itself.<\/p>\n

Planning a\u00a0holiday\u00a0is, nearly, half the fun – (45%) of all travellers say it is the best part of a\u00a0holiday\u00a0and more than half (57%) use their smartphones to book vacations.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Susanna Freer-Epstein, Senior Vice President Customer Loyalty Marketing, IHG said<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

? \u201cIHG is a brand and consumer driven company. We use insight to anticipate consumer trends and behaviour. This research shows how mobile technology is revolutionising the\u00a0holiday\u00a0experience \u2013 from enabling travellers to dream about and plan their\u00a0holidays, to helping enjoy the trip itself and share their experiences with their friends and family.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The survey also uncovered that 42% of travellers check social media every day while on\u00a0holiday, with 25% of them even saying they always check Facebook before going to sleep. While taking in the sights and attractions, more than half (51%) of travellers also prefer to use their smartphones to take pictures instead of digital cameras.<\/p>\n

As part of the global survey, IHG Rewards Club has launched a digital hub at\u00a0www.ihg.com\/rewardingexperiences<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0It showcases the experiences available to over 80 million members worldwide \u2013 from\u00a0a cultural experience at some of the world\u2019s most famous museums, to a special family celebration or a once in-a-lifetime relaxing spa experience. It includes reviews from members and global travellers from all around the world. IHG Rewards Club offers advantages that no other hotel company can match including; free guest Internet for all IHG Rewards Club members worldwide, across the IHG brand family and no blackout dates on Reward Nights – a loyalty programme purposefully designed to see the customer win. Additionally, as of July 1st 2014, members will also earn more IHG Rewards Club points when they stay at any of the 178 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts worldwide. For every $1USD spent\u00a0\u00a0on qualifying revenue during stays, such as food and beverage, these members will now earn ten IHG Rewards Club points.<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0www.ihg.com\/rewardingexperiences<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about IHG Rewards Club rewards and experiences and to reveal your traveller type.<\/p>\n

* Information and details courtesy of InterContinental Hotels Group and Ogilvy Public Relations *<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you remember the time when you travel overseas for a holiday, a travel guide book such as Lonely Planet is your must have travel companion? Just around a period of maybe 10 years, travel patterns and habits have changed tremendously with the emergence of social media and information technology gadgets such as our smartphones […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[15,24,13,25,7,12,1,274,86],"tags":[102,1343,1348,43,95,1346,37,1164,1162,1165,1352,185,1163,40,38,1345,33,1339,29,322,1161,1355,110,77,254],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n