Summary

The integration of Wearable Tech is still very much developing across the travel and tourism industry, yet alongside other areas of IoT it is likely to become largely adopted over the next few years.

This thematic research report takes an in-depth look at the theme of Wearable Tech including the major impacts it will have on the industry, the key players and tourists. This report analyzes the key trends within wearable tech, taking a look at early adopters through an array of case studies, observing the impacts and offering recommendations for travel & tourism companies. The major companies that are involved within the wearable tech theme are then discussed.

Within travel and tourism, wearable tech is valuable for those companies that have consistent interaction with their customers including cruises, resort-style hotels and theme parks as they gain more insight into their travelers. Investing in wearable technology, understanding consumer preferences and places visited has enabled businesses to make smarter decisions within their marketing strategies, diversify and differentiate amongst competitors.

Key Highlights

- With smartwatch sales set to achieve US$54bn by 2023, it is likely that only a small proportion will cover the travel and tourism industry. Wearables including smart watches and bands currently dominate similar to the overall tech industry, yet hearables and smart clothes are developing, identifying a growing niche market opportunity.
- Personalization acts as a catalyst behind the investment of wearable tech for many an operator. Tracking consumer purchasing patterns, locations visited, time spent at different areas through smart wristbands are enabling operators to personalize experiences during the STP (segmentation, targeting and positioning) process, better targeting current and new market opportunities.
- The idea of being tracked on consumer preferences previously seemed a terrifying concept largely due to the unknown and issues related to data protection. In the current age however, consumer attitudes have evolved to be more trusting of services through developments such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- Wearable tech has aided companies to digitalize procedures to simplify the traveler experience. Reducing endless queues at attractions, speeding up check-in processes at hotels, and digitalizing boarding passes to provide cashless transactions are all processes brought to light by wearable tech’s integration.
- Aiding experiences is not the only perk of wearable tech but certain products are actually enhancing the safety of travel. Wearable devices that enhance safety and protection for travelers are likely to grow in popularity such as those monitoring air pollution and environmental quality through smart clothing, to stretchable skin sensors that monitor UV exposure and educate on sun protection.

Scope

- This report offers an overview of the effects and impacts of wearable tech within the tourism industry.
- The main trends are identified in relation to the wearable tech theme including tourism industry, technology, macroeconomic and regulatory trends across the board.
- An array of case studies are included to observe the current usage of wearable tech across multiple areas of the tourism sector with examples such as ‘Disney World’, ‘Princess Cruises’ and ‘easyJet’. The outcome of wearable tech within these sectors is then later explored.
- All early and upcoming adopters incorporating wearable tech into services are identified including tourism providers such as Hilton and Universal Orlando.

Reasons to buy

- Understand the current and potential impacts of wearable tech’s dominance across travel & tourism providers, through observing use cases, case studies and examples.
- Discover how attractions, cruises, airlines and destinations are currently utilizing wearable tech to monitor, improve and digitalize the traveler experience.
- As a developing theme within the travel & tourism industry, analyze recommendations on the areas of which wearable tech will be valuable if implemented.
- GlobalData’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. It has a proven track record of identifying the important themes early, enabling companies to make the right investments ahead of the competition, and secure that all-important competitive advantage.