According to "The Global Trends Report", which is created exclusively for the "World Travel Market" event by Euromonitor International's travel and tourism research team, travel technology, and especially wearable electronic tools - accessories incorporating computer and advanced electronic technologies and designed to incorporate practical functions and features - will erupt in tourism business, as they become an important way for travellers to connect with the Internet while on the go.

The report states that wearable Internet-connected devices will allow travellers to constantly receive notifications and services during their trip, as well as make bookings.

Furthermore, the technology represents a challenge for travel companies, which will need to build a flexible technological architecture to follow their customers from one device to another.

Simon Press, World Travel Market's senior exhibition director, said in November at the annual global travel show in London that wearable-electronics technology was now expected to go mainstream by 2016.

The Internet-connected devices are expected to soar from 9 million units sold globally in 2013 to a forecast 180 million in 2016.

Products currently on sale include the Sony SmartWatch, Samsung Galaxy Gear and Google Glass.

Google has also developed Android Wear software for wearable electronics, while the Apple Watch will go on sale early this year and is expected to take the sector by storm, as other Apple products have done for smart phones and tablets.

Asian trends

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation estimates that more than 500 million tourists travelled to Asia last year, and that the number will continue to surge this year, with China leading the swell.

With the growth of inbound and outbound tourists in the Asia-Pacific region, international arrivals into Asia are increasing by 6.3 per cent per year, higher than the world average of 5.3 per cent.

Original post:

Wearable tech set to go mainstream among travellers