If you are a mobile user about to go on a trip, Google is there for you. On your smartphone.
As yet more proof that the consumer economy is becoming increasingly experience-based instead of stuff-based, Google noted that travel-related queries were up 50 percent on mobile phones and, being Google, decided to follow the data to better design travel features for its search product.
And so, Destinations on Google was born.
By googling a place and adding the word “destination” to the search, the data that comes back will be (unsurprisingly) customized for a traveler.
There is an Explore tab that lets one see what the weather averages are year-round and when the most popular travel season is based on historical data from previous travelers. Details can be added by adding search terms (shopping, surfing, dancing, etc.). Users can also custom filter the service to see results across multiple months and destinations. Google also will allow users to see the most frequently traveled itineraries and makes suggestions.
And that is just the browsing phase. Google has also built in “Plan a trip” so users can see various rates for lodging and flights, with highs and lows plotted for the next six months.
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That data comes from, according to Google, “pulling from the trillions of flight itineraries and hotels we price every day on Google Flights and Hotel search.”
