Skift global trend for 2013: Digital maps are one of travel’s key battlegrounds

Last week we released our first report, "13 Global Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013" outlining the major trends that will define travel in 2013. Below is one of the trends we see as playing out over 2013 and beyond. Download the full report below.

Now that smartphones are at the center of our lives, navigation, in all senses of the word, makes up a large part of our digital experience. Apple realized this, and booted Google Maps off the iOS ecosystem. That move, along with Apple’s subsequent missteps in its own mapping effort, touched off a wave of activity in the mapping world. The new Google Maps app for iOS 6, launched in early December, is creating waves and Apple is scrambling to catch up.

Giants like Nokia, Microsoft, AOL’s Mapquest and startups such as Waze and Lumatic are building, launching and innovating. Even the incumbent giant Google is launching new functions— incorporating content from Zagat and Frommer’s into results—as it races to differentiate itself against Apple on all fronts. Expect public transport, walking directions and offline viewing to be a big push for next year, as well as the acquisition or downfall of content and location players like Yelp, Lonely Planet, and Foursquare.

Further Reading:

• Our long national nightmare is over: Google Maps app for iPhone is now live
• Foursquare’s founder argues maps aren’t about mapping anymore — they’re about everything
• How Google and Apple are changing the face of mapping forever

Click on the icon below to download the full 15-page report:
13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013

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