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#Scotlandhour: Digital Travel Takeover

01st December 2017

On November 29th 2017, we co-hosted the #Scotlandhour live Twitter chat with Pocket Leap and True Scot Game. It was a great occasion to share thoughts about how important is digital for guests and visitors and what are their expectations when it comes to technology in the travel sector. Participants have shared a lot of great insights and their own personal experiences with digital travel in Scotland. Here is a summary of the questions and the best answers we have seen. What is #Scotlandhour? It is a monthly hashtag chat on Twitter promoting tourism in Scotland. It's held on the last Wednesday of every month, between 9 and 10 pm. Find the recap of this month's chat here.  

Q1: How do you uncover hidden gems in Scotland via digital sources?

We started the evening with this important question. Scotland is a beautiful country full of hidden gems. Digital sources are a great way to discover them before travelling and it was very interesting to read the answers.

  • Social media seems to be the main source for a lot of participants. Instagram seemed to be a very popular option and Pinterest was mentioned quite a lot too.
  • The other top source are travel blogs. We recommended a few ourselves and discover a lot of great ones thanks to your answers.

Our top 3 tweets to this question:

 

Q2: What is your must-have app for travelling around Scotland?

Another interesting question there, as apps have become important in tourism. We were really interested to see what sort of apps are considered the most useful when traveling.

  • Transport apps were cited quite often, whether it's for buses or trains.
  • Quite a lot of apps with information and content related to a specific region of Scotland were cited as well. Indeed, they offer unique insights for visitors.
  • Event apps, such as the Edinburgh Fringe app were in the top answers as well.

Our top 3 tweets to this question:

 

Q3: Apps, VR, AR, gamification: Any good #travel experiences to share?

Travel experiences are becoming more interactive thanks to mobile apps, Virtual and Augmented Reality. VR seemed particularly popular among the answers.  

Our top 3 tweets to this question:

 

Q4: What content do guests want in a hotel app?

We were quite looking forward to the answers to this questions, as hotel apps are something we are very familiar with!

  • Good local content about what to do, where to eat etc. was a key answer among the participants. Indeed, hoteliers know their area best and recommending the best places and activities to their guests in their mobile app can make a tremendous difference
  • Services, such as booking, ordering or messaging was important too. Indeed, guests want an app that is practical and let them do as much as possible.
  • Lots of participants mentioned that whatever the content of the app is, it needs to work offline. Indeed, some accommodations might have poor signal or no Wi-Fi, and some guests are travelling from abroad so they do not want to use their mobile data too much.

Our top 3 tweets to this question:

Our insights on this question: 

 

 

Q5: How important is digital to your own experience as a guest/visitor?

Whether it is mobile, social media, VR and more, the importance of digital in tourism keeps increasing every year. Statistics are one thing but it was important to get insights from visitors and guests about how important it is for them and why. Many seemed to emphasis that it is important and that they always travel with some device but it has also been pointed out that sometimes, especially when you visit such a wonderful place as Scotland, you need to disconnect a little bit and enjoy the moment. It is all about finding the right balance!   ? Our top 3 tweets to this question:

 

Q6: Share photos/videos from an unforgettable Scottish travel experience!

That was the last question of the evening and probably the most popular one. Indeed, Scotland abounds with beautiful scenery and all the pictures and videos shared were absolutely stunning!   ? Our top 3 tweets to this question:

  We had a great time co-hosting this chat and we really want to thank the team and our co-hosts. Do not hesitate to participate to the next sessions. Find out more on the Scotlandhour website.