The Future of Travel :
How the industry will change after the pandemic

The future of travel
Source : Loic Venance/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The images of the world’s shutdown are eerie , the numbers are staggering. Approximately 100 million travel sector jobs, according to one global estimate, have been eliminated or will be. Passenger traffic on U.S. airlines is down 95 percent compared to last year, while international passenger revenues are expected to decrease by more than $300 billion. Domestic hotel occupancy rates fell off a cliff and now hover around 25 percent.

Regions and countries are beginning to open up, but the outbreak will undoubtedly change how we think, act and travel, at least in the short term. “The pandemic is going to fade slowly, with aftereffects, a lot of which will be psychological,” said Frank Farley, a Temple University psychology professor and the former president of the American Psychological Association “There’s so much uncertainty the average folk might want to know everything about travel,” he said. “What’s the escape hatch? What are the safety issues?”

Yet the desire to travel will not go away: In a recent survey by Skift Research, the research arm of the travel trade publication, one-third of Americans said they hope to travel within three months after restrictions are lifted.

To learn how the landscape might change, we talked to dozens of experts, from academics to tour operators to airport architects. Across the board, they highlighted issues of privacy and cleanliness and the push-pull of people wanting to see the world while also wanting to stay safe. Here, answers to 14 of the most pressing questions about travel’s future.

By every measure, the coronavirus pandemic has decimated the travel industry.

Source

The future of hotel design

Mobile guest rooms, enhanced contactless room controls, robotic servers and pop-up dining areas are just a few of the ideas hotel designers are considering for the post-Covid travel world.

“The biggest thing right now is this focus on health and wellness and making sure people feel safe and confident going back into hotels,” said Tom Ito, the hospitality leader and a principal at Gensler, a global architecture firm. “Anything that assures that now and in the long term is here to stay.” We asked hotel executives, designers and suppliers to imagine how the hotel experience might change in the post-Covid world beyond the now very evident enhanced housekeeping. The following predictions span present practices and speculative solutions.
Contactless and touchless room controls
Source :Virgin Hotels

Contactless and touchless room controls


Hotels have long been moving toward automation with self-check-out and keyless guest-room entry via cellphone, especially at budget and mid-scale hotels. The pandemic has only heightened the importance of these features, which align with increased needs for social distancing and avoiding strangers.

pop-up dining and robotic servers
Source :RC Aradio of BlueCore Creative

Pop-up dining and robotic servers


Not every hotel can offer outdoor dining year-round. Neither can their restaurants thrive with the capacity restrictions forced by social distancing requirements. The solution: Make the entire hotel a dining area. And throw in robotic servers.

Bringing the outdoors inside
Source : The Getty Group

Bringing the outdoors inside


Most hotels are already maximizing the use of their outdoor spaces, where guests may feel safer from virus transmission, by moving dining tables and fitness activities outdoors. Ahead, designers predict, travelers may see more greenery coming inside as hotels seek to capture the calming effects of nature.

Mobile hotel rooms
Source : The Getty Group

Mobile hotel rooms


This summer, Americans rediscovered recreational vehicles as a means of taking their dwellings on the road. Now imagine a hotel company that maintains a fleet of autonomous R.V.s — equipped with a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen — that could rove from one location to the next.

Source

The Evolving Travel ‘Experience’: Virtual, Actual and In Between

The evolving travel expererience
Source : iStock.com/Tanarch

Socially distanced craft classes, virtual tango lessons, a city tour accompanied by an avatar guide: how experience companies — which now include Amazon — are adapting to the pandemic.

Guided excursions have long been at the heart of travel, but like everything else, the pandemic disrupted such experiences, and many went virtual. But as travel begins to tick up, existing tour companies are adapting to social distancing in other ways. Some are complementing virtual experiences — for instance, guided chocolate tastings with chocolate shipped before the tour — and tailoring closer-to-home actual adventures, like kayaking and hiking. Others are making groups smaller or private and moving outdoors.

outdoors adventures
Source : Jesse Ramos

Outdoor adventures Adventure outfitters are booking locally, too. Traffic to 57Hours, a site launched in 2019 that links travelers to outdoor adventure guides, picked up over the summer as users, primarily locals, turned to outdoor adventures for socially distant diversions, especially in private bookings. Augmenting real-life experiences For those ready to take a city walking tour but eager to avoid other travelers, including guides, Sherpa Tours uses avatar narrators and augmented reality technology on itineraries downloaded to a mobile app.

Guide services start at $80 for a half-day of hiking or surfing and average $200 to $300 for a full day of climbing or backcountry skiing.

“A lot of guides who normally are doing international trips or working in the Swiss Alps are now home and have to market themselves for the first time,” said Perica Levatic, a co-founder of the company.

Greg Hill, a professional skier and 57Hours guide based in Revelstoke, British Columbia, champions the “300-Mile Adventure Diet,” which he writes about for the site, espousing trips within a tank of gas as a way to travel more sustainably and appreciate what’s close by.

Source