By 2017 one quarter of corporate travel will be booked via mobile
In their new study, ‘Tap into Mobile: managed travel in the digital economy‘, business travel firm Carlson Wagonlit Travel reveals that travelers and travel managers expect a significant rise in bookings made via mobile in the coming years. They predict mobile booking will more than double in the next two years alone.
That rise is not surprising considering around 62% of travelers are already armed with a company smartphone and more than half (56%) of companies surveyed already have, or plan to have, a ‘bring your own device’ policy in place.
According to Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s executive vice president, David Moran, the company have long anticipated the shift to mobile and, as such, “are getting ready to launch new mobile services, such as mobile booking through ‘CWT to Go’ later this year”.
The most important mobile features for travelers are itinerary information, flight status updates and travel alerts, found the study. Furthermore, over half (54%) of all travelers and two-thirds (65%) of travel managers said they consider the ability to book via mobile while on the go “important” or “critical”.
However, neither group expect mobile to drive down travel costs, instead placing the travel experience in terms of productivity, ease of doing business and traveler well-being as the key benefits.
