In exploring the prospective impact on the tourism industry, Scene Advisor takes a look at the progression and salient characteristics of the travel industry, as well as current trends given the economic backdrop.
As you would imagine, the next twelve months promise significant change in the travel industry. The industry is inextricably linked to the well-being of the economy and the level of global tourism, making the hotel/travel industry a cyclical one. Market share rivalry is rife and successful operators are generally the ones with scale, brand equity and the ability to reign in costs to boost the bottom line. Here is an overview of the top travel trends identi?ed:
- Trend 1 - Going Mobile: With the rapid integration of mobile capabilities to plan itineraries, track flights, receive travel alerts and serve as a boarding pass is making mobile devices indispensible to business travellers, mobile is now an integral tool for the travel marketplace.
- Trend 2 - Traveller-Centric Buying: The buying approach refers to managed travel programs that revolve around the entire lifecycle of a reservation, rather than just the purchase of travel. Due to the internet, traveller-centric buying has the potential to enhance productivity by keeping travel employees informed about a guest's plans pre-trip - their profile, preferences, historical behaviour and more.
- Trend 3 - Video Conferencing, travelling without the trip: Video conferencing and Telepresence have developed considerably since the 1990s. Today's business, economic and social climates position video conferencing tools as a practical alternative to business travel. The model has trend-breaking potential for business travel and corporate meeting spend. Video-conferencing will be the lead trend in 2010.
- Trend 4 - Travelling on a budget: Admittedly, travelling on a budget isn't the sexiest travel trend story of the year, but if you're resourceful, you can make it sexy, or at the very least, fun.
- Trend 5 - Travelling on a serious budget: Many hotels are dipping into ways to fill rooms, but others are building entire empires on it. Air Asia boss, Tony Fernandes, is first on the trend with a new Malaysian hotel, Tune Hotel, offering hotel rooms for $0.20 a night as part of a travel package. The no-frills rooms come with a basic bed, ceiling fan and a shower, and not much else. Anything beyond those basics (towels, a kettle and air-conditioning) are all additional charges. This type of hotel, similar to low-cost airlines, utilizes a self-service online booking system and the rates are kept low by offering limited service. There are plans to have 150 hotels around the world by 2012, with Australia and the UK already in their sights.
- Trend 6 - Whole Body Scanners: You enter a booth and your body is scanned. In another room a full image of your body is shown to the security force. The airport security force can easily see what they refer to as metallic and non-metallic threats. The machines are now at certain airports for test periods, and are expected to become more of a standard at airports. For now the process is optional.
- Travel Trend 7 - China, India and Gulf States are the new hotspots: Are we done with Europe? No, but global travellers are getting more courageous with their travels, and expanding their horizons. Industry insiders are expecting travel to skyrocket in China, India, and The Gulf States over the next twelve months. Countries like China and India are seeing enough signs of growth to warrant visiting, offering favourable exchange rates and low travel expenses. Their tourism industries are starting to expand and these countries are going to be top destinations in 2010 and upcoming years. Between China and India alone it is expected that over 35,000 hotel rooms will have to be added to meet the impending demands.
- Trend 8 - Luxury and Adventure Travel: For 2010, you'll see a growing pressure in the industry to provide exotic travel and customized, ultimate experiences. Travellers are seeking above-and-beyond adventures in exciting new destinations, and ultimately, seeking more excitement in their travels. That's why a new travel trend is popping up known as Luxury and Adventure Travel.
- Trend 9 - Eco-travel: The green trend has trickled down to holiday travel. Many people out there want to make sure they take care of planet earth while vacationing and so the travel industry has responded with eco-travel. It's a growing industry, so if you want to spend a little extra cash and feel good about keeping the world clean, this is your travel mode of choice in 2010.
- Trend 10 - The 2010 Vancouver Olympics: Not technically a trend, but the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is an event that will affect travel like an explosion. The 17 days of the Vancouver Olympics are expected to attract a global television audience of 3 billion people; more than 80 countries and 6,850 athletes and officials are expected to participate.
(HOTELMARKETING.COM, November 2009)
