Travel Massive Atlanta Hosts a Tech Panel

As technology becomes a larger part of our daily lives, it influences our leisure time, specifically travel and tourism. This is what Travel Massive Atlanta discussed at their latest event.

Paper tickets are no longer necessary and some airports even allow for you to keep your identification and documents on your phone. Languages can be translated with the press of a button. Room keys are also made app-friendly, and there is increased connectivity worldwide.

For our August event, the Atlanta chapter hosted a panel on how technology impacts travel.

We brought in four of our local experts, each with a connection to a different part of the technology and travel spheres.

• Jason Seagle represents Vayando, a company that connects travelers with local entrepreneurs in developing nations to learn their trades and pays them through SMS
• Justin Hill is the founder of Faretrotter, a startup that allows you to book multiple forms of transportation on one website, whether that be taxis, buses, flights, or trains 
• Andrew Bate is with Safely Stay, a company that verifies guests and hosts of vacation home rentals
• Azim Barodawala works for Volantio, a company that provides digital marketing technology for travel industry companies

Chapter leader Caroline Eubanks moderated the panel, starting with the differences between uses of technology as a consumer versus as a brand or company. We discussed the ease of using apps instead of printing boarding passes, hailing taxis, and getting room keys.

Technology also helps empower the solo traveler.

Apps like WhatsApp have made it easy to stay connected with friends and family worldwide without needing anything more than WiFi. Facebook has become an important tool for travel, especially when it comes to crowdsourcing information like where to go next or restaurant recommendations. Trends we discussed for the future of travel is more virtual reality applications like Pokemon Go as well as an increase in travel needs serviced by your smartphone.

Divan was our host for the evening, setting us up in a cozy upstairs space. The Mediterranean eatery and hookah lounge has been a Buckhead neighborhood staple for over a decade. They provided us with massive portions of rice, chicken kebabs, hummus, and kofte.

Caroline is a freelance writer and travel blogger born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In the past, Caroline has lived in Charleston, South Carolina, and Sydney, Australia. You can follow Caroline on Travel Massive. For upcoming event notifications, join the Atlanta chapter.