Google and Travel

Technology and the internet continue to make face-to-face business transactions less necessary (I can't remember the last time I visited a bank teller), with travel bookings as no exception. An article published today (http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/article/current_trends_in_travel_search_google_knows/) states that 64% of personal leisure travelers and 65% of business travelers use search engines to plan their travel needs. It's no surprise that Google is capitalizing on this trend by releasing applications to aid travelers in performing research, selecting destinations and booking accomodations. For instance, Google Instant helps users locate only the most relevant search results. Google Social Search returns web sites from your specified set of contacts and friends while Google Goggles allows an individual to take a picture and receive search results about that exact image. Google continues to leverage its search functionality and develop innovations to help people accomplish a wide variety of tasks quickly, easily and efficiently.