• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, November 14, 2011

When that airplane touches down, the first thing most travelers do is fire up the cell phone to check messages and news. It has become the reflex of any seasoned business traveler. In fact this segment, so coveted by the travel and lodging industry, is about as saturated in mobile data use as any group one can imagine. Curiously, b2b media companies have been slow to serve a readership that typically has been up to speed on smartphones longer than any other group. But this hyperconnected group should also be a prime target for just about any local merchant or service.

According to a new study by PhoCus Wright and Reardon Commerce 75% of business travelers are accessing the Internet via their mobile devices. This is as smartphone-rich a target as they come. While the general population in the U.S. remains with just under 50% penetration for smartphones, this study find an 84% penetration among business travelers.

The content and services opportunities here are both specific to mobile but also an extension of typical Web opportunities. Much of the business class regards their smartphones as PCs. The survey showed that 58% of these travelers are using their phones to accomplish that same things they would do on a desktop PC. But 42% also say they are doing things on their smartphones they would not tend to do on a PC.

The most popular mobile tasks for the business traveler are location-oriented. Eighty percent are accessing mapping or finding directions, and 63% are researching local activities. More than half (55%) are researching their destination. The opportunities for super-serving the business traveler are considerable. Almost a third of this group (30%) says they would like to receive personalized offers from providers for their destination.

The opportunity for media, marketers and service providers is not just in geo-located messaging. Clearly  travelers need to be served before they get to the destination. Services that know where you are going before your GPS chip detects your presence are in a unique position to get in front of the map, the local search, the check-in.