Travel has never been so easily accessible, with smartphones and access to the internet making it possible to book and plan your dream holiday in just a few clicks.
Mobile technology has allowed us to board planes without paper tickets, get directions, rent a home anywhere in the world, book last minute holidays and can even act as a virtual tour guide.
So what does the future have in store for the avid adventurer? We will be taking a look at the biggest trends set to transform the future of travel and give you a glimpse into the magical technology that awaits the next generation of globetrotters.
The Future of Transportation – Faster, Better and Out of this World!
With the era of driverless cars already upon us, the next few years are set to bring some amazing leaps in our technological capabilities. Could it really be too far-fetched to imagine a future world where flying cars and Marty McFly’s time travelling Deloreans are a reality? With working prototypes for a car that can fly we think it might not be – just don’t expect to get your time travelling kicks from anywhere other than at the movies.
We will be travelling unimaginable distances in shorter times, for example commuting from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 30 minutes with Elon Musk’s Hyperloop, or traveling from Europe to Australia in just 90 minutes once the hypersonic SpaceLiner takes off.
The future traveler won’t be restricted by the earth’s limits, as Tep sees commercial space flights becoming the next addition to your bucket list. With Virgin Galactic you can become an astronaut for a day, although with a price tag of $250,000 (per person) we don’t see space trips for your family becoming accessible for at least another few decades!
What is certain is that transportation will be opening up to even more creative and immersive experiences – so getting from A to B may even become a vacation in itself.
Luxury will be the New Economy
The shift from economy to luxury has already started, with Uber swapping mundane yellow cabs for supercars and Airbnb replacing cheap motels with British castles – luxury is slowly but steadily becoming the new standard.
Holidays of the future will be all about unfettered access, limitless personalization options and an experience that will match your dreams. Whether it’s inside the caves of an abandoned quarry, a rainforest in the middle of the desert or even the depths of the ocean, you will be able to find a place to rest your head and enjoy the views the world has to offer.
The Atlantis Hotel in Dubai is already taking its guests to new depths with their impressive Underwater Suites – that will let you literally sleep amongst the fishes. As space travel is already becoming a viable travel option, the luxury rooms of the future could even let you wake up to a panoramic view of the earth – from your very own 3D printed room on the moon.
Changing Reality – For the Next Generation of On Demand Travelers
Virtual reality is set to make a big impact on the future of travel. The next generation of tech savvy travelers will be eager to interact with their destinations on-demand and virtual/augmented reality could be the way forward (if you’re not sure about the difference between the two click here).
Hotel chains like Best Western are already rolling out augmented reality tech in the form of virtual concierges – which can give you personalized local recommendations and help at any time of the day or night.
In the next couple of years you may have the luxury of experiencing the world from the comfort of your sofa or hotel room with new technology bringing the sights, sounds and even smells to you. 37% of people surveyed by Marriott and Chase Manhattan believe that by 2030 you could get your own hologram to give you a personalized cardio workout from your hotel.
You may not even have to wait that long before you can enjoy this type of experience in your own home. Marriott’s ‘Get Teleported’ technology collaboration with Oculus Rift lets you experience a taster of London or Maui in full 4D right now, without ever leaving the ground! The applications of this amazing technology in the travel industry are almost limitless.
Imagine having firsthand experience of historic sites like the hanging gardens of Babylon or Machu Picchu restored to their former glory? Until teleportation becomes a reality we think that virtual reality holidays and holograms will be the next best thing for the on-demand generation.
The Internet of Things
Tep envisions a travel future where everyone is seamlessly connected to the things that matter to them. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot trend for the future that describes the ability of objects to connect to the internet and relay messages to other devices. In practice you could track almost anything and be able to get live notifications as soon as your environment changes.
Today’s IoT technology can help you pay for your coffee, track your luggage, have keyless access to your hotel room and even allow you to change the temperature settings from your mobile.
With predictions that by 2020 there could be as many as 26 billion devices connected to the internet (that’s nearly 4 devices for every human on the planet) we can see the IoT becoming a key part of your daily life. You can say goodbye to making contingency plans for your vacation, as the IoT will help you manage multiple devices, itineraries, time zones and climates – all without you having to update a thing.
From the light settings in your hotel to gently wake you up, to restaurants recommendations that your friends have recently been raving about online, every minute detail will be optimized by your smart and interconnected devices. The net result of a future with better connectivity will be that comfort, convenience and peace of mind can be brought with you on your travels.
We hope you enjoyed looking into Tep’s crystal ball of the future of travel. We’ve focused this post on trends that we think will have enough momentum to see them through. We are still hopeful that some of the epic predictions like flying vehicles powered with 100% sustainable energy and teleportation will be discovered within our lifetime.
In the meantime you can start enjoying some of the things Back to the Future did predict like smart watches, tablet computers and ‘hoverboards’. What the movie failed to predict was how the internet would revolutionize the world and that Tep’s portable wireless device would let you harness it in almost any destination.
