For travel agents to remain ahead of the game over the next few years they need to keep in line with the development of mobile phone technology according to research company Euromonitor International.

According to an article over on TTG Live, speaking at the World Travel Market, the research firm said that smartphone growth was leading to a change in how consumers look for their holidays and that mobile devices could overtake computers for accessing the internet by 2014 in Europe.

Apparently a survey shows 34 percent of handset owners use their mobile phone to search for travel info and 29 percent checked reservations while 25 percent used their mobile device to book accommodation.

Euromonitor’s head of global travel and tourism research, Caroline Bremner has said “There is a shift in power from technology players such as search engines like Google to smartphone manufacturers and developers. Mobile technology is moving very fast and it’s up to travel retailers and operators to keep up with that pace”

Bremner also said that the trend would become more important over the coming years and that travel companies must find a way of “standing out from their competitors”.