Adventure travel specialist Explore has developed emotion-tracking software to help consumers choose their ideal holiday type – whether that be walking, cycling, cultural trips, or wildlife.
Research by Explore in Britain found that 60% of respondents find choosing a destination the most challenging part of booking a holiday, while 58% say it takes more than two weeks of their time to plan their trip from start to finish.
The new bespoke software harnesses a technique known as electroencephalography, or EEG, which tracks people’s emotional reactions to visual stimuli. The programme then interprets the subsequent electrical activity from the scalp and measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain. The technology can then interpret this neurological activity to decide if the subject is finding something pleasurable.
Using this technology, Explore wants to remove the risk of disappointment for holidaymakers – ultimately safeguarding their choices with this novel approach, bringing the fun back into the process of planning a holiday.
On a visit to Dublin, Ashley Toft, Managing Director, said: “We all know that the best holidays are those that include truly extraordinary moments: trips that offer once in a lifetime experiences. But there are so many plceas to go and things to see, so how do you navigate those choices and pick the perfect holiday for you? Even more perplexing, how can you predict it’s going to tick all of your boxes, particularly if you have never been before?
“Our exciting new software taps into your brain and will, quite literally, make a holiday recommendation based on your emotional reactions. In short, you could say that we have created the next-generation holiday brochure.”
Explore currently has over 600 trips available in more than 120 countries, offering once-in-a-lifetime holidays and adventures to some of the world’s most exotic locations, including Peru, India and Botswana.
