Contractors and other professionals should use apps and Twitter feeds to keep them connected while commuting and business travelling, according to one expert.

Mark Caswell, editor of businesstraveller.com said that the use of social networking and local search by smartphones will increase in 2011.

He explained that the use of Twitter by hotels and airlines to provide information is encouraging this trend.

"Apps are streamlining the process, so you're not going to the website and trying to find information from 2,000 pages worth of content - rather it's giving you a very concise, streamlined application that's just giving you the information that you need when you need it and in a very easy-to-use way," he continued.

The When They Get There, and Why They Go study found that three in four consumers use a mobile device while travelling with two-thirds saying they often research, shop and book travel activities on their mobile devices.