March 2017 | Business View Magazine

16 17 opening lines (73 percent) of those surveyed to search for a flight. Other than a deal, our wander- lust is most often sparked by others, with 30 percent reporting they have searched for flights after hearing about someone else’s trip. Additionally, a TV show or movie with a cool setting has inspired 18 percent of Americans to research flights. On a more personal level, a bonus or raise has sent 19 percent of us looking for flights while 9 percent have searched for flights while still on vacation.And, in an unlikely parallel, 6 percent have looked for flights both when they’ve fallen in love and when they’ve had a bad day at the office. Technology has changed not just howwe dream about travel but also howwe find and book our trips. In today’s mobile world, flight searches can and do happen anytime and anywhere. Places re- spondents have searched for flights include: while watching TV (72 percent),while eating lunch at their desks (38 percent), in the bathroom (20 percent), at a bar or restaurant (14 percent), on the way back from vacation (12 percent), commuting to and fromwork (9 percent), in a workmeeting (8 percent) and in class (7 percent). “We’ve witnessed a massive shift in the last few years to a mobile-centric world,” said Aman- da Festa, editor at Cheapflights.com. “By offer- ing up everything from an endless Instagram feed of travel inspiration to text alerts for fare sales to full-featured app and mobile sites for finding and booking flights, hotels and other travel offerings, our phones and tablets have become our de facto travel agents. The ability to imagine and the opportunities to explore are now, literally, in the palm of our hand.”