We all love traveling. There’s something about getting out and seeing the world that reinvigorates us. While traveling is a great stress reliever, setting up a holiday can be a pain. While there has been countless innovations in transportation, there has been an equal amount of innovation in how we plan our travels.
Today’s infograpic from Teletext Holidays goes over the technology that has shaped the way we travel and planned our travels. While we’ve been traveling by walking, horse and buggy and other methods for years, but it wasn’t until the train that mobility went modern. In 1841, Thomas Cook organized a train journey that would provide travel and food for one shilling. This is claimed to be the first travel agency and we’ve been thinking of new ways to organize travel ever since.
While passenger trains would still be in operation in the U.S. for quite some time after, the introduction of the Model T Ford signaled a revolution in the way Americans traveled. In 1946, the creation of the automated booking system on American Airlines further changed how we traveled by introducing ease of use and convenience to the mix.
Things became even easier with the introduction of online booking in 1996. While some people may prefer to call ahead for a reservation or other methods, I’m sure online booking became a major game changer for travel agencies and hotels everywhere. I can’t even remember how many times I have booked my travel excursions online now. It’s just the way we do things now.
That’s about to change though and is already changing in some ways with the introduction of social media. It’s no surprise that social media is changing the way we do everything in our lives, but it’s having a massive impact on the way we plan vacations and travel excursions. Just look at the stats: 70 percent of people trust online reviews, 50 percent of blog readers read travel blogs, and 64 percent of people plan their holidays on social media.
While the past innovations have made travel easier and may have been heralded as massive game changers of their time, nothing can stand up to social media. Isn’t that how it always is these days though? Social media has encroached into our lives so much these days that we can’t do anything without it lest we have to actually pick up a phone and call in a reservation.
Infographic by Teletext Holidays