The Mobile Phone as a Travel Tool
Published on Wednesday, December 16, 2015
According to Pew Research*, as of October 2014, 90% of American adults own a cell phone. So how can you make supporting your travelers easier and their journeys proceed more smoothly by leveraging this piece of equipment?
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best travel-related apps and a few other useful resources that you can share with your clients.
Travelers can use their mobile phones to:
- Find their way around
- Look for things to do
- Keep track of travel plans
- Make reservations (hotel, train, dinner, etc.)
- Convert currency
- Translation
- Obtain digital versions of travel guides
- Stay on top of transportation info
- Skyscanner - looking up flights on the go
- Airport Zoom- for looking up flight info and delays, but also terminal maps for more than 120 airports
- SeatGuru- seating plans for more than 700 kinds of aircraft
- FlightAware - flight tracker app
- Download your specific airline’s app or Amtrak’s to keep abreast of your particular transportation itinerary
- Download the State Highway Administration app for the state(s) you will be traveling in for detailed and real-time travel information
- Keep digital versions of important travel documents
- Make free phone calls in foreign locations
- Send text messages without using any phone plan minutes
In addition, for many travelers, their phone is the only camera they carry. So access to resources to harness all of the power of the phone camera can be very helpful.
- Snapseed- to quickly and easily edit photos in phone
- Camera+- app for making the most of the camera settings
What other cell phone apps do you recommend?