Travel Boom Emphasizes Need for New Digital Wayfinding Strategies
As the pandemic continues to prove more manageable for most industries, things are finally starting to seem like they were before Covid-19 made its impact upon the world. Nowhere is this more apparent than the travel industry, as numbers continue to indicate that domestic and international travel growth is increasingly on the rise.
This year alone, the U.S. is anticipating an increase of 35.6% general domestic travel, compared to numbers in 2020. But with more and more people starting to travel again and explore new destinations, businesses that cater to tourism are starting to reevaluate their interactive wayfinding systems to steer travelers in the right direction.
A successful digital wayfinding strategy does more than help travelers get to wherever they want to go. It’s a proactive way to implement your brand into their traveling needs, while also providing safer methods of navigation to adhere to health and safety guidelines and protocols.
To better prepare for this year’s expected travel boom and beyond, here are a few tips to consider when reevaluating your digital wayfinding strategy.
Prioritize Self-Service
In today’s post-Covid world, people are prioritizing self-service more than ever before. Making it as simple and accessible as possible for travelers to get or learn what they want should be a top priority for any industry that deals with tourism, from hospitality facilities to airports and beyond.
Interactive wayfinding systems can help users answer a number of travel-related questions, from self check-in to viewing attraction directories to plotting out the best route to get to wherever they need to go. The more you can cater to a traveler’s yearning for independence, the more accommodating your digital wayfinding services will be.
Integrate Mobile Solutions
Look around any airport and what do you see? It’s practically a guarantee that every traveler you come across is on their phone! Which is why it’s important to cater to travelers’ smartphone dependence by integrating mobile solutions into your interactive wayfinding systems.
All of the following mobile wayfinding services are designed to enhance the travel experience:
● Scannable QR codes for anything from GPS positioning pop-ups, scheduling reservations, promotional offers, etc.
● Developed mobile apps to help guide travelers, even when they’re away from your property or premises.
● Notification sign-ups for receiving important text messages regarding various aspects of their stay or traveling needs.
● Links to social media channels to follow and stay up-to-date with your company’s happenings, events, etc.
In 2017, Google reported that over 70% of U.S. travelers say that they "always" use their smartphones when traveling. Can you imagine how much higher that number is now?
Emphasize Touchless Options
While more people are traveling more than ever during the pandemic, that doesn’t mean that most of these travelers are yearning for safer, cleaner navigational assistance. That’s where emphasizing touchless digital signage options is an absolute necessity for today’s digital wayfinding systems.
Voice-activated technologies allow users to explore their destinations or map out their journeys, without having to touch screens or surfaces that thousands of fingers have already touched. Emphasizing good hygiene is a trend most travelers today are on the lookout for, otherwise they could be hesitant to take advantage of your digital wayfinding systems.
Custom Digital Wayfinding Strategies For Your Business
No matter how your business operates within the travel industry, implementing cutting-edge digital wayfinding technologies are what can make a difference when it comes to accommodating your guests. At Oppna Digital, we create custom interactive wayfinding strategies that adhere to the needs of both their industry and their guests, so you can exceed expectations through outstanding customer service.
Contact us today to learn more about our custom digital wayfinding strategies!