Tourism 3.0
Vacationing in a climate-changed and AI-driven world will be very different, writes Victoria University futurologist Ian Yeoman in 2050—Tomorrow’s Tourism. He lays out scenarios for how global demographic shifts, climate warming, and radical technological innovations will transform global tourism in the next four decades.
By 2050, there could be as many as 4.7 billion tourists traversing the globe’s vacation hotspots, with the majority hailing from China, India, and other currently emerging economic powers. Many won’t be making their trips for pleasure, but for health: Medical tourism will be a booming business.
Meanwhile, virtual Web media will make it possible to explore a city’s streets in real time and to preview restaurants and other sites before one actually goes there. Mobile phones will increasingly be the tool of choice for booking hotels, flights, and even restaurant reservations. Augmented reality, biometrics, brain–computer interfaces, artificially intelligent robot agents, and other technological breakthroughs will help tourists to complete more transactions in less time and gather more relevant information about their destinations in real time.
Other topics that Yeoman speculates upon include how transit systems in 2050 will differ from today’s, what rugby and other sporting events might look like, and whether humanoid robots could bring on the end of human trafficking as we know it. He also guesses which of today’s hot vacation favorites—California, South Korea, and Shanghai—might morph due to climate change, technological innovation, ongoing urbanization, and rising food prices.
Tourism professionals who want to know where their industries are headed will find volumes of eye-opening material throughout 2050—Tomorrow’s Tourism. Everyday consumers who like to travel will enjoy this book, too, as Yeoman has many insights on what tourism packages in the future may offer. Why wait to get a head start on planning for your 2050 dream vacation?—Rick Docksai
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