4. Europe: Mobile travel apps
European travel and tourism is expected to record a weak performance in 2010 due to the global economic crisis and competition from other regions. The ability of European travel operators to develop new products and embrace new technologies will play an important role in the future of the travel industry. After the success of the iPhone, smartphones are revolutionising the travel industry. Smartphone penetration is expected to reach 92% in Europe by 2014 with mobile phone devices set to overtake PCs as the most common web access device worldwide.
The growing importance of mobile is leading to a shift in power from technology players such as search engine Google to smartphone manufacturers and developers. According to Euromonitor International, 50% of European travellers will use a smartphone to find travel information and make reservations by 2015. Opportunities for travel operators with websites optimised for mobile phone search are huge.
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