Travelers are making it known they expect the best in technology when traveling, and tech offerings at airports are no exception. Air travel industry leader SITA released a study this month detailing how Chinese airports and airlines are responding to this demand.

Chinese airports are ahead of their global counterparts in tech advances, with 72 per cent investing in the newest air travel technology, compared to 52 per cent of airports worldwide. They’re also spending more, using 38 per cent of their IT budgets on new tech offerings, compared to 32 per cent, the global average.

It is expected Chinese passenger totals will reach 1.3 billion by the year 2034, as both domestic and international travel increases. Currently, 93 per cent of this rapidly expanding group owns a smartphone and wants to use it during their travel. Particularly, study respondents expressed a desire to be able to use their smartphone for flight check-in and identification, especially when it comes to entering lounges and boarding. They also want baggage tracking, including exact times for baggage pick-up, carousel wait times and other useful details.

Chinese airports and airlines are responding to these trends and passenger desires as best they can. As of now, 62 per cent of Chinese airports provide real-time social media updates regarding delays and changing flight information. Many are also looking at ways they can restructure to better fit this new group of self-reliant passengers.

“Change does not happen overnight, it is going to take time for the industry to deploy the infrastructure and services in a way that enables mass adoption by passengers,” said May Zhou, vice president and general manager, China, SITA. “But change is coming, one area we see this happening is the development of ‘Smart Airports’ where new technology such as sensors, beacons and business intelligence are used to deliver efficiencies. Investments are now being made. Over the next couple of years, 85 per cent of airports are planning projects in sensor technologies while 82 per cent plan to have business intelligence initiatives for passenger flow in place.”