The Future of Travel: 10 Concepts That Will Change the Way We Experience the World

Excerpt from CNN

Concepts that feel plucked from sci-fi novels and films are quickly making their way into mainstream travel, shaping every step of the journey.

Sooner rather than later, we could be piloting passenger drones around Singapore or rocketing into Earth’s orbit to admire the world from the edge of space.

From autonomous taxis to passenger drones, biometric immigration tunnels, instant translation and hotels, here’s a peek at what’s coming down the runway.

Although controversial, biometric identification (automatically verifying one’s identity via fingerprints, facial recognition or iris scans) is quickly becoming the technology of choice at airports worldwide.

Considered a faster and more accurate way to screen passengers, biometrics can cut processing time for typical airport procedures – think baggage check-in, lounge access, boarding and immigration control – in half.

Requiring only a phone and internet connection, augmented reality (AR) can add another layer of intrigue to our travel experiences.

Specterras Productions, which strives to make the world’s natural and cultural wonders more accessible via technology, is already bringing such experiences to life.

“With AR, you can create animated busts at a museum – in the future, you’ll be able to walk up to a sculpture of Alexander the Great or Herodotus and interact with the art via your mobile phone, kind of like ‘Night at the Museum,;” Michael Breer, chief creative officer at Specterras, tells CNN Travel.

You’ve probably seen videos of passenger drones and eVTOL – electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft that don’t require a runway – taking over the internet.

These futuristic aircraft tend to be electric, ultralight and kitted out with autopilot software that makes it possible for everyday people to hop in the pilot seat – after an orientation session and VR flight simulation, of course.

Like air travel, eco-conscious hotels are paving the way for more sustainable travel in the future.

When room2 Chiswick opened in London in 2021, it became the world’s “whole life net-zero” hotel.

In other words, the property has offset its entire carbon footprint, from production and construction, materials, maintenance, electricity and so on.

We’re well on our way to exploring the final frontier with a flurry of space tourism initiatives available now – or very soon – to the most affluent explorers.

According to SpaceVIP, which bills itself as the only aggregator of space-related experiences, roughly a dozen types of expeditions are available in 2023, with many more to follow.

Click here to read complete article at CNN.