The 5 trends coming in 2023 that will completely change the travel experience
Five of the most important new developments that will shape travel in 2023 have been identified and highlighted by a report by the leading technology solutions company in the travel industry, Amadeus, entitled “Amadeus 2023 Travel Trends”, which are summarized as follows:
-A new breed of travel agent is emerging: Exploring the metaverse will allow travelers to explore a destination before arriving or relive memories after a vacation is over.
-Biometrics: Biometrics will help create a smooth travel payment experience.
-Travel without luggage: Hotels will offer travelers more facilities so they can travel with less luggage.
-Work while traveling: Those who work remotely will adopt an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, traveling to different places as telecommuting policies become the norm.
-Welcome work breaks that help employees “bond”: A new category of business travel is emerging, focused on connecting teams, building relationships and unlocking creativity away from the office.
Travel trends were identified by Amadeus’ team of experts, who recognized that while technology is the main driver of change, and Web3 and biometrics will play a big role, human relationships are just as important. All the trends are connected to personal and social concerns, from the desire to travel with a lighter ecological footprint to the desire for more people to be free to work from anywhere.
Travel will not be as we know it until today – The invasion of the metaverse
In the coming years, the metaverse will take traveler engagement to the next level. Travelers will be able to enjoy deeper cultural experiences in an online world by exploring virtual concerts and exhibitions. Technology also offers huge potential for pre-trip assistance and the opportunity to ‘try before you buy’, creating further wanderlust and excitement. This mode of exploration will become increasingly popular as a way for consumers to experience more expensive services such as luxury cruise vacations.
The Walt Disney Co. is planning to create a real-world theme park tour that will incorporate a parallel 3D virtual world experience, while Seoul is blazing a trail with plans to move into the metaverse in 2023 with a platform called ‘Metaverse Seoul’. Qatar Airways, meanwhile, recently announced Qverse with MetaHuman cabin crew, providing an immersive browsing, navigation and check-in experience at Hamad International Airport.
“Smiling”… payment experience – Pay with the palm of your hand!
Biometric payments – via ApplePay or GooglePay – are now mainstream for both retail and travel payments. But in the coming years, travel is likely to further upgrade biometric payments.
Airports already use biometrics to identify travel documents, so the logical next step is to leverage this authentication for any payments travelers make during their trip.
No more rummaging through your bag for your wallet so you can upgrade to business class. If a traveler uses biometrics to check in, drop off their luggage and board the plane, then those same authentication checks could cover payments they might make during the trip – such as adding a meal in flight – providing a seamless payment experience.
Airports and travel companies will offer a completely contactless and convenient payment experience to passengers using biometrics, at all points of the journey. From paying for train tickets to upgrading seats, in-flight meals or late hotel checkout, travelers around the world will use convenient, more secure, biometric payment solutions.
Small tests of the system have already begun at Hudson, leveraging Amazon One’s biometric payment solution at its Nashville International Airport store, allowing customers to pay with the palm of their hand!
Travel weightless!
The combination of customers becoming more aware of the carbon footprint of their travels and the cost of checked bags is leading to a reduction in luggage volume. Unnecessary loads of designer luggage are no longer a status symbol – quite the opposite.
Hotels are now increasingly offering rental of bulky items such as sports equipment and workout clothes from international suppliers in order to meet the tastes of tourists.
At the same time, travelers are looking to purchase essential items from the destination, supporting and interacting with the local community and ensuring they have meaningful travel experiences. Global brands like Hilton now offer fitness equipment, helping travelers get closer to “living without a suitcase.” This trend is expected to evolve further.
Remote work
Remote workers will become accustomed to an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, migrating to different locations. We will see the workforce spend less time at home due to the widespread corporate “work from anywhere” policy.
Employees will choose to spend time with friends and family at home or may spend a month working abroad.
From a government perspective, we will see a continued rise in the number of countries encouraging digital nomads through visa programs and incentives. Countries such as Georgia, Croatia, Iceland and Germany already have official plans to attract digital nomads.
Embrace employee bonding breaks
Business travel is back, with a difference. In recent years, many companies have introduced work-from-anywhere policies and with that came the challenge of team bonding and collaboration.
As a result, we are witnessing a rise in “domestic travel” plans, where groups come together with the express purpose of strengthening relationships.
