The "Always On" Traveler: Context Aware Services and Intelligent Travel Assistants

Summary

In today's hyper-connected world, 64% of U.S. travelers have a smartphone. These devices provide travelers a potential lifeline, giving them real-time access to information from many sources, notifying them of critical events and even taking action in the case of a disruptive travel situation. Smartphones are the platforms for Intelligent Travel Assistants (ITAs), which are complex event-processing applications that contain the business logic to correlate events, location and time. This article explores the framework for and the current state of ITAs, and also includes a discussion of key vendors and the future of ITA delivery platforms.