The future of Travel
What does the future hold for travel? Check-in by robot? Budget space flights? Virtual holidays?
We’ve already looked at how tech has transformed the travel industry so far but what does the future look like? Here are the up and coming trends set to shape the industry.
- The Role of Big Data
Big data is growing in significance, especially when it comes to personalisation. Using data gathered from user behaviours, preferences, previous interactions and social media platforms, hotels can store your preferences, airlines can analyse patterns and travel agents can tailor offers. If used right, travel companies can offer a more personalised service, which should see better customer retention and higher sales.
- We love automation
In the near future, we might all be travelling via driver-less cars. It is expected up to 60% of the cars on the road to be driver-less by 2030. Aside from the promise of ‘safer’ rides, driver-less cars on the road mean more efficient routes and traffic flow. Less traffic jams = getting from the airport to your hotel much quicker.
Uber, Google and Tesla have already implemented or are testing some version of driver-less tech.
- Drones soar into the mainstream
Make room in your kit bag. As drone technology improves, aerial photography will be in easier reach of budding travel photographers.
‘Drones are going to peak in popularity as they become more portable, and as they ultimately become capable of self-flying and tracking,’ predicts Brian Young, managing director of G Adventures (gadventures.com).
- Eco-tourism teams up with tech
Apps are increasingly helping travellers green-proof their trips. There are a growing proliferation of green apps designed specifically to help people travel greener. Such as UNEP Carbon Calculator (unric.org), which calculates the habitat area needed to bind the emissions from your trip by car, plane or train; and Maps.Me (maps.me), which allows the traveller to download maps they can use offline, so they don’t have to buy one, or try to refold it!
- Cloud Passports
Imagine being able to fly across the world without actually carrying your passport. If cloud passports take off, that could be a reality. They would carry personal info like biometric data and digital photos in the cloud, limiting the need to carry physical passports. Plus, it would also reduce the number of lost or stolen passports.
