Being lost and bored are two of the worst predicaments travellers can find themselves in, which is perhaps why most of those who own smartphones will use them to research activities – even when abroad.
In Ontario, 61.8% of smartphone users said they would like to use their mobile phones on their next trip to research activities, and 58.5% would take advantage of the GPS function on their phone. In Quebec, 59.8% of smartphone users would research, and 61.9% would use GPS, according to a mobile marketing study on travel released this week by Cossette.
The survey was carried out in January by Impact Research among 500 people in Ontario and 500 people in Quebec with the intention to explore the use of mobile applications related to the tourism industry, because the agency noticed needs in this sector were increasing, according to the report.
‘In the short term, with the result of this study, we won’t see many major changes in Cossette’s media buying strategy for our clients,’ Malik Yacoubi, VP, mobile marketing at Cossette, tells MiC. ‘But the new reality of mobile is certainly influencing the way we will be planning the media buying strategy in the future. It’s inevitable. Data tell us that consumers are using their mobile device more and more, we will then have to adapt and our clients too,’ he says.
In Ontario, 57.3% of smartphone users said they would share travel experiences using their mobile phone, 47.2% said they would reserve a hotel and 52% said they access last-minute deals.
In Quebec, 46.4% would share their photos or updates using their smartphones, 39.2% would book hotels and 46.4% would take advantage of last-minute deals.
A majority of those surveyed understand that their plans don’t include international fees: 11.2% of respondents thought they were included while 62.5% thought they weren’t.
The study also shows that 31.1% of smartphone owners used their phone to carry out research on travel websites and that 47.8% of smartphone owners are interested in using their phone to plan their next trips.
