The changing face of travel technology

This year, eight out of ten (82%) Brits will take a Smartphone on holiday with them, a number that’s more than double what it was five years ago. What’s more, free Wi-Fi and a fast internet connection are now more important features of your holiday accommodation than gyms, spas or having a laundry service.

There’s no denying that technology is drastically changing the way that we travel, book holidays and save money whilst away. With this in mind, we surveyed 2,000 Brits, to try to find out exactly how technology is impacting our holidays.

Here’s what we found.

Super savings

If you’re looking to save money on your next trip, travel technology is proving to be the way forward. In particular, flight and accommodation apps are helping us to save an average of £320 per holiday –certainly not a bad figure!

Fans of the city break are benefiting the most from tech-savvy travel apps to plan their trip, cutting the cost of holidays by almost a third (30%).

Accommodation booking apps such as Airbnb are making sure that we get the very best deals, and sales platforms such as Groupon and Living Social mean that we’re revelling in cut-price spa deals and luxurious holidays without breaking the bank.

The rise of travel apps

The influx of travel apps means that it’s never been easier to navigate your holiday. The most popular app on holiday is the classic Google Maps, with 61% of you using it to find your way around unfamiliar lands.

Our Travelex Money App gives you an easy way to keep up-to-date with exchange whilst on holiday, as well as helping you to budget based on our research on fellow travellers. The app has been downloaded over 44,000 times since its launch, so why not try it out for yourself!

Get the Travelex Money App

Networking and holiday braggers

The rise of travel technology means that we’re no longer happy to go to somewhere new without checking out what like-minded people make of it first, and four in ten Brits will now use TripAdvisor on holiday before booking a local restaurant or day trip.

Of course, we’re also using our smartphones to keep in touch with others whilst we’re away, with the Gmail, Skype and WhatsApp apps among the most popular.

We’re a nation that loves to brag about our holiday on social media, with 35% of Brits using Facebook and 14% using Instagram whilst on our trip.

But there also comes a downside to being connected to the world 24/7: we’re always contactable and one in seven Brits admit to having used a Smartphone or tablet device to do work whilst on holiday.

Read our full Travel Tech report