According to travel experts, future travelers can expect the luxury of yoga classes at airports, living in ice hotels and using their smartphones as hotel room keys.
The travel industry is arguably the fastest growing industry currently. According to travel experts, 2013 will see a bigger boom in the travel sector with cruising, especially river cruising, continuously growing in popularity. Experts also predict this year will experience a boom in political vacations, with tours of Northern Ireland led by BBC correspondents and trips to hot spots such as North Korea led by political experts.
Tourism Forecasting Committee Chairman Bernard Salt said in a report published by The Australian that 2013 will see more couples opt for destination weddings with more younger people wanting to travel overseas.
''With the Australian dollar so high Gen Y are thinking: 'Perhaps we can fit in one last grand adventure before settling down,''' he said in the report.
The Skypark Central Hotel in Seoul, Korea has already begun using smartphones as room keys. At the time of check-in, each guest is givien a smartphone that acts as a key to his/her room. The smartphone can also be used as a remote for the TV, air-conditioner or room heater. It also allows guests to put a "do not disturb" sign and order room service.
Marketing communications brand JWT reported last week that airports are also looking to enhance their facilities with more airports opting for exercising and yoga facilities. According to the report, San Francisco International Airport now has a yoga room while Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has walking paths in several concourses.
Fiji and New Zealand have been touted to be two hotspots that are going to be tourist's favorites this year.
" People will return to Fiji faster after Cyclone Evan than they did to Bali after catastrophes there,'' Australian Federation of Travel Agents CEO Jayson Westbury said. ''New Zealand will also be back in people's minds as Christchurch starts to come back and 'The Hobbit' film reminds people how beautiful it is."
"Travellers are also increasingly looking for experiences such as food and wine experiences or music instead of destinations,'' Flight Center travel shopping of the future specialist Keith Stanley said. ''We're seeing a demand for boutique hotels such as villas in Tuscany or a quaint Parisian hotel.''
