When it comes to summer vacation, travelers aren't just relying on smartphones to keep in touch while away, but to document their experience and assist them on their trip.
Unsurprisingly, according to a recent SSI poll of 1,001 Americans - 61 percent of which own a smartphone and plan to take an overnight leisure trip this summer - nearly all U.S. based summer travelers (96 percent) consider their smartphone a must-have item on vacation.
Diving deeper into the survey results, 78 percent of Americans would put their vacation on hold and turn back for their smartphone even if they left it 30 minutes away at home. Although the percentage drops the further into the hypothetical trip respondents were, 48 percent still say they would turn back for their phone more than an hour away from home.
But before you roll your eyes, the devices at times serve a crucial purpose.
After all, more than eight in 10 respondents who own a smartphone and plan to take a trip this summer (83 percent) said that they are "very" or "somewhat" likely to call on their smartphone for navigational assistance en route to or once at their destination.
Plus, 70 percent of qualifying respondents said they are very or somewhat likely to plan their summer trip on their smartphone. And on average, those vacationers said they plan to take just over two-thirds (70 percent) of their photos with their smartphone.
While nearly one-third (32 percent) said they would only use a smartphone to take photos, only four percent indicated that they planned to not use their smartphone at all to document their trip.
"SSI conducted this survey to show how important the smartphone is for vacationers this summer," said the data solutions and technology provider's chief marketing officer Chris Clarke in a statement.
"We also wanted to understand how people are using their smartphones today and how sensors and applications are opening up new ways to collect in-the-moment data," he added.
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