Nearly 15 billion tickets, for services such as train or air travel, will be delivered to subscribers’ mobile devices worldwide by 2014, compared to just over two billion this year, a new report reveals.

Juniper Research’s Mobile Ticketing study has found that services are developing fastest in the transport sector, with SMS, bar code and, increasingly, app driven services being offered by rail and metro companies and airlines.

But the potential of mobile ticketing does not stop there. Major cinema chains, concert organisers and sports teams are latching on to the commercial viability, which is driven by both cost savings and the up-sell revenue potential – not to mention convenience for the user., says Juniper. There are also new entrants from a variety of angles such as apps start-ups and mobile commerce providers seeking to grasp the opportunities they can see.

Report author Howard Wilcox said: "Although 15 billion sounds large, it is a small percentage of total tickets issued – there is plenty of scope for innovative solutions to penetrate this market. Next steps will see more widespread purchasing on mobiles, as well as use of NFC (Near Field Communication) tickets. Currently, however, there are only limited examples of NFC ticketing usage outside of the Far East, owing to the lack of device availability."

The report predicts that western Europe will take over from the Far East as the leading region for mobile ticket delivery by 2014.

The Mobile Ticketing whitepaper and details of the study ‘Mobile Ticketing Applications & Markets: Transport, Sport & Entertainment 2009-2014′ can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com