The rise of mobile platform as a preferred platform for surfing travel content continuous to be an irreversible trend. As per a recent finding penned by 
Kedar Gavane, Vice President, India, Google, 2 in 3 visitors access travel content via mobile only in a month, clearly indicating that the tide has overwhelmingly turned in the favour of mobile-based platform. The trend first started post 2010, propelled by inexpensive smartphones, and now with extremely affordable data prices, making mobile omnipresent and easily accessible to masses.
As per the report, India’s travel category is dominated by mobile audiences, with 68% of travel users choosing to access content through their smartphone or tablet devices only in a month. In comparison, only 22% of users access travel content exclusively through desktop computers in a month – which highlights the growing significance of smaller screens for publishers and advertisers. “For 10% of users, brands have multiple potential touchpoints, as they access travel content across both desktop and mobile platforms in a month,” the finding reads.
India’s top travel entities in the online world include a mix of brands, including rail transport, cab booking sites, online travel agents and travel information sites. These top performing platforms too have mobile as a top platform for courting unique visitors. “For 9 of the top 10 travel properties, mobile is the primary platform in terms of unique users. Expedia Inc. users buck this trend, choosing to access primarily through desktop,” the report further details.
Another important segment of travel, Cab booking have almost completely gone mobile, accounting for 97% and 98% of traffic for OLACABS.COM and Uber respectively, the report reads.
As per predicted trends in the imminent future, the dominance of mobile as a platform is only going to intensify, with all demographics spending over half of their time on mobile devices. “The share of total minutes on mobile peak with younger users, and decline with older age groups. Millennials rely heavily on mobile to consume travel content, with mobile representing over 70% of their time spent online,” the report mentions.
