The new holiday essential – have you packed your Virtual Private Network?
- 89% of Brits take at least one mobile device on holiday (Expedia)
- 36% of holidaymakers access social media sites while away (Hotels.com)
- Virtual Private Networks provide home comforts for holidaymakers (BestVPN.com)
More and more of us are taking our mobile devices on holiday. Research by Expedia has found that 89% of Brits take at least one mobile device with them when they go away, with 27% of business travellers and 17% of leisure travellers using their phone to help manage their itinerary.
As well as travel itineraries, mobile phones can be used for a range of purposes that save holidaymakers from cluttering up their bags with multiple items. City maps, phrase books, plan tickets, hotel reservation documents – all of these now fit neatly within our phones, making bulging holiday handbags and rucksacks a thing of the past.
Separate research by Hotels.com has found that mobile devices are also used for keeping in touch while on holiday – both with work and with friends and family back home. 46% of UK travellers check their work emails while on holiday. 36% use their mobile device to access their social media accounts.
It is this last trend that has led many holidaymakers to become more tech-savvy on their travels, as cybersecurity expert Douglas Crawford of BestVPN.com explains,
“Travellers increasingly expect that taking their mobile device on holiday will provide them with all the conveniences of home – and they’re taking steps to ensure that’s the case. This has led to an uptick in interest in Virtual Private Networks for mobile devices. VPNs allow users to get around social media site blocks in countries such as China, thus fulfilling, for example, their desire to share holiday snaps in real time.”
Virtual Private Networks also provide holidaymakers with the ability to access services such as Sky Go, BBC iPlayer and Neflix while they’re away. Whether it’s keeping up with the thrilling new season of Game of Thrones or simply keeping the children entertained for a few moments with a cartoon, families’ expectations of what their device should be able to do while abroad are growing. VPNs are enabling those expectations to be met.
They are also particularly useful in countries where internet freedoms are restricted. According to the United Nations World Travel Organisation, China is the fourth most visited country in the world, after France, the USA and Spain. Turkey is the sixth most visited. China and Turkey are both well known for their restrictive approach to the internet, and it is this that is driving holidaymakers to install Virtual Private Networks on their mobile devices.
Many visitors find Google Maps and Google Translate invaluable when touring China. A Virtual Private Network is required in order to unblock both of these sites. Those travelling to Turkey often also want uninhibited access to the news in order to access information that may relate to their safety, particularly in light of the rather volatile political happenings there.
“A VPN is becoming almost as much of a holiday essential as sun cream,” continues BestVPN’s Douglas Crawford. “We use sun cream to protect our skin and ensure that we can enjoy the full holiday experience without having to worry about burning. In much the same way, using a VPN protects our online privacy and means we don’t have to worry about not being able to share our magical moments or keeping in touch with friends and family members whenever we wish.”
The World Tourism Organization cites tourism as being responsible for 10% of global GDP, accounting for one in every 11 jobs. It forecasts that international tourist arrivals will increase to 1.8 billion globally by 2030. Great news for sun cream and Virtual Private Network providers alike!
For more information, or to interview BestVPN.com’s Douglas Crawford on matters relating to digital privacy and security, please email media@bestvpn.com or contact Louise Taylor on 07751 646 595.