As emerging technology promises to change the way we live, a new golden age of travel could be on the horizon
Robot concierges. The chance to consider your next potential holiday destination through a virtual reality tour before you make your decision.
AI-powered travel bots that can help plan your itineraries for you, or even book your flights and hotel. These innovations once sounded like the stuff of science fiction, but are already a reality, appearing in future-forward early adopters of cutting-edge technology in the travel, tourism, hospitality, and aviation industries. We take a look ahead at the future of travel, from new and upcoming tech to next-gen habits.
Out of this world
The first-ever tourist in space was American multimillionaire Dennis Tito, who travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2011 onboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He spent almost a week there, paying Russian space agency Roscosmos US$20 million for the privilege. In 2006, Iranian-American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari became the first female space tourist. NASA launched a commercial crew programme in 2010 (which the currently-in-development Boeing Starliner capsule is a part of), and in 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to launch astronauts into space and dock with the ISS. While it may be a little while before commercial space tourism becomes more commonplace, this year, billionaire Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin completed its 10th sub-orbital spaceflight as part of its space tourism programme. It lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds, with its all-female crew (including prominent celebrities) making headlines. Alas, the news was not particularly well-received by the public.
Hospitality expertise from an AI “brain”?
Vienna-based startup chatlyn has raised €8 million in Series A funding, led by Smedvig Ventures, to revolutionise hotel guest communication with breakthrough AI technology. Serving over 1,000 properties worldwide (including luxury brands like St. Regis Mauritius and InterContinental Vienna) Chatlyn’s platform unifies messaging across 10+ channels, and automates replies in 35+ languages. With a new Dubai office, the company is eyeing regional expansion.
