TORONTO — It’s bad news for travel tech companies but potentially good news for bricks-and-mortar travel agencies: Canadians rank in the bottom third of the world’s most digitally dependent travellers, based on their average reliance on mobile, Internet and digital technology for travel-related purposes.
The 2017 Travelport Digital Traveler Research Report, published by Galileo and Worldspan parent company Travelport, is based on a global online survey of 11,000 travellers in 19 countries including 500 Canadian respondents.
Among the report’s findings:
When planning a trip:
- 83% of Canadian travellers use peer to peer reviews
- 77% use travel sites to discover new destinations based on their interests
- 57% use videos and photos posted by friends on social media as part of their research
When booking a trip:
- 35% of Canadian travellers research and book their trip on a mobile device
- 62% avoid hotels that charge for WiFi
When on the trip:
- 59% of Canadians believe digital boarding passes and e-tickets make travelling easier
- 64% feel a good digital experience is important when choosing an airline
When at the destination:
- Canadian travellers use an average of 14 different categories of apps when travelling
- 65% of Canadians leave reviews on review sites
The 2017 Travelport Digital Traveler Global Rankings meanwhile show that Canadian travellers have been slow to use smartphones for booking and boarding a plane, with 59% saying digital boarding passes and e-tickets make travelling easier, compared to a global average of 70%.
Here’s the complete list of the ‘The 2017 Digital Traveller Global Rankings’:
- India
- China
- Indonesia
- Brazil
- Saudi Arabia
- Mexico
- South Africa
- United Arab Emirates
- Colombia
- Italy
- United States
- Spain
- France
- Russia
- Canada
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- Germany
