Ray Hammond has almost 40 years’ experience writing and speaking about the trends that will shape the future. He was awarded a U.N. Gold Medal for Services to Futurology in 2010. Ray’s long record of accurate foresight is unique in Europe and he is now living in the future he first described almost 40 years’ ago. Ray now provides keynote speeches, lectures and workshops for companies, governments and universities all over the world. He has delivered guest lectures at Oxford University’s Oxford-Martin School, CASS Business School and Lund University. Ray is also an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Ready to take a look into the crystal ball of your travelling future? We thought so! Our friends (and travel experts) Allianz Partners commissioned Futurologist Ray Hammond to look at the future of travel and tourism in the year 2040, to help prepare for the longer term needs of customers. Below is an extract from 'The World in 2040: The Future Travel Experience' report for a taster of all things to come in travel's very bright future.
You can read the full report here.
By the year 2040, global travel will be transformed by...
Planning Leisure Travel
Unlike other consumer purchases, travel tends to be heavily researched, as customers require lots of information before they select their method of travel, arrange their travel insurance and begin their journey. Most of today’s travellers plan their forthcoming trips on the internet. They often book their tickets on-line and examine hotel and accommodation options by visiting comparison web sites. They select restaurants to book by scanning sample menus and by checking reports on customer-review web sites. Only for a complex, multi-destination trip are they likely to ask for the advice and help of professional travel agents.
This trend towards self-booked travel will continue and, by 2040, multi-sensory virtual reality technology will allow armchair travel planners to be able to ‘step into’ virtual hotel rooms, visit street carnivals, explore museums or walk into a particular restaurant. The VR technology of 2040 will not require users to wear clumsy head-sets, but will be projected within ordinary room settings.
The sights, sounds, smells and sensations of virtual reality in 2040 will be so life-like that it will allow would-be travellers to fine-tune their choice of destinations and the experiences they wish to sample during their trip.
Some travel commentators suggest that the ultra-realistic virtual reality experiences of the future may reduce humanity’s desire for physical travel; if would-be travellers can experience the sights, smells and sounds of standing on the Great Wall of China in their own living rooms, why would they bother to make the actual trip?
But even the most rich and detailed virtual reality experience will not allow virtual travellers to taste the cuisine, to sample the culture, to meet local people or to take unplanned excursions away from the well-trodden routes. As a result there is good reason to believe that virtual tourism will actually stimulate the demand for physical travel.
And, by 2040, personal software assistants will be sufficiently intelligent to help travellers book their trips online and they will be able to cope with all of the complexities of multi-destination travel planning.
The Check-In Experience
By 2040, your face will be your passport and your boarding pass. Facial pattern recognition systems are already in experimental use at airports and within 20 years, computer systems that can reliably identify your face will be in widespread use at airports, train stations, shipping terminals, etc. You will check in with a glance and simply walk through security and passport control.
Other forms of biometric identification – e.g. iris scans and fingerprint recognition − are likely to supplement and backup face-recognition systems. For legal reasons, you may still be required to carry a passport, but queues and waiting times will be substantially reduced.
Inside the terminal or station, an artificially intelligent (AI) ‘assistant’ will introduce itself via your electronic device or body network and will show you to your preferred stopping-off points − lounges, shops, restaurants, bars, etc. − and will inform you of your flight/train/ ship travel status, of your boarding times and will guide you through the process, leaving you only when you are safely in your seat.
And unless you choose to do so, you will no longer be carrying your own luggage to the terminal or station. App-based services that will pick up and deliver your luggage to its destination for a modest fee are already in operation and, by 2040, these services are likely to be ubiquitous.
The Air Passenger Experience
Would you be happy to fly in a windowless plane in which images of the sky outside are projected onto screens inside the cabin? Such a design saves weight and would improve the efficiency of passenger aircraft. One major airline is actively considering ordering such planes.
Or would you be prepared to fly in a jet that has only one pilot – or even no pilots? By 2040, planes will be able to fly themselves safely, but will the travelling public be ready to fly when unsupervised software is in control?
If saving journey time is important to you as a mid-21st Century traveller, perhaps you would choose to make your leisure or business trip onboard one of the new-generation supersonic passenger jets? By 2040, midsized supersonic passenger planes will be offering business-class passengers the opportunity once again to cross the Atlantic or a whole continent in just 3.5 hours.
The first of those mid-sized supersonic passenger jets is already in development at a start-up plane-maker called Boom Technology. Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have already invested in Boom and have ordered 20 supersonic planes each. Altogether, Boom now claims to have orders for 76 aircraft.
For some leisure travellers fed up with long journeys on slow planes, the option of supersonic air travel may lure them back to visiting long-haul destinations. This is likely to alter the balance of attractiveness between short-haul trips and long-distance destinations.
About Futurologist Ray Hammond
Author’s Note: This report represents my own opinions about likely future developments. It does not represent the views of Allianz Partners. When I was asked to research and write this report, I was provided with guidance about the topic areas to research, but I was given a free hand to develop all editorial matter independently. Any errors and omissions are my own responsibility
Our insurance partner
AA Travel Insurance policies are brought to you by the New Zealand Automobile Association Incorporated (AA), are issued and managed by AWP Services New Zealand Limited trading as Allianz Partners and underwritten by The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd ABN 78 090 584 473 (Incorporated in Australia) ("Hollard"). You should consider the Policy Wording before making any decisions about this insurance policy. Terms, conditions, limits, sub-limits and exclusions apply.
Financial Strength Rating
The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd ABN 78 090 584 473 (Incorporated in Australia), ("Hollard"), has been given a financial strength rating of A (Strong) issued by Standard and Poor's. View the full details on the Financial Strength Rating.
An overseas policyholder preference applies. Under Australian law, if The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd is wound up, its assets in Australia must be applied to its Australian liabilities before they can be applied to overseas liabilities. To this extent, New Zealand policyholders may not be able to rely on The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd’s Australian assets to satisfy New Zealand liabilities.
Financial advice
The New Zealand Automobile Association provides general information about AA Travel Insurance products and services so that you can make a choice that best meets your needs. Information provided does not take into account your personal circumstances, needs or goals and is not intended to be financial advice. If you'd like to receive financial advice, you can get professional advice from a registered financial adviser.