To kick off the New Year, Tnooz has just released its 2013 predictions for the travel sector, and the experts who weighed in had some incredible insight on what’s coming for the travel and hospitality industry.

While a number of emerging trends are listed, three predictions seemed to ring out over and over again: Mobile, data, and search.

So what’s coming in each of those areas? Let’s take a look into Tnooz’s crystal ball.

1. Mobile

Tnooz’s crew predicts mobile will explode for travel and hospitality this year, with Alex Kremer of Flextrip suggesting some companies will see more than 50% of their bookings made via smartphone in 2013.

A number of contributors to the predictions pointed out that HotelTonight will no longer be the only mobile player in the game, and that companies that improve their mobile booking processes will have a chance to stand out from the crowd.

2. Data

Sarah Kennedy Ellis, Director of Sabre Travel Studios, says data will be front and center in 2013, particularly focused on “aggregating unique traveler data such as bio-metrics, traveler step-by-step behavior, in-transit purchase data, and more.”

Meanwhile, Valyn Perini, of OpenTravel Alliance, notes that rather than message-centric, the travel industry will become data-centric in order to improve the entire booking and trip experience.

3. Search

Although only one expert mentioned search specifically, it’s worth keeping in mind. As Gene Quinn, President, CEO, and Cofounder of Tnooz, observes, natural language search will move to the forefront as big players like Google and Expedia continue to enhance the feature. Quinn also predicts big things for whichever platform can combine natural language search with mobile.

There are a number of other predictions that no travel or hospitality player should miss, so be sure to check out Tnooz’s full prediction list here.

Want to be even more prepared for 2013? Download our free white paper, “6 Best Practices for Travel and Hospitality Merchandising,” which takes an in-depth look at how to enhance the travel booking experience, from improving search to putting the right offer in front of the right traveler at the right time.