A complete guide to what's in store in the world of travel from London's World Travel Market

A complete guide to what's in store in the world of travel from London's World Travel Market
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Another year, another World Travel Market. Each November travel industry professionals from around the world converge on to London's Excel Exhibition Center to acquiesce with industry leaders, including delegates from over 180 nations worldwide.

Here's what was learned

While the global economic overview remains uncertain, with most devolved economies showing sluggish growth at best, and while emerging economies continue to struggle, nonetheless, travel remains strong with an expected record 1.2 billion arrivals in 2016.

Travel agents and other sellers of travel remain optimistic with travel product sales expected to top 2.1 Trillion USD. With the advent of new technology travel product sales with surpass 2.5 trillion by 2020. Much of the tourism funds went towards domestic trips, as consumers traveled closer to home, However, by region, Asia continues to be poised to see the largest growth in tourism spending surpassing 1.6 billion in 2015.

As expected the three nations with the largest inbound arrivals remain the United States, France, and Spain with greater than 60 million inbound visitors. China and Italy also favor high on traveler's radar of favored tourism nations with inbound arrivals in 2016 expected to surpass 40 billion.

Here are some further key findings on what’s driving the pulse of the travel sector by region founded by Euromonitor International.

United States

Perhaps an element of the couch surfing phenomenon created 15 years ago, or co-living nomads, there is trend called Roamies. These mobile workers care less about material possessions and more of a work-life balance. These are the vanguards of the sharing economy who stay in co-living communities, sharing living spaces while traveling the world.

The goal is to create a home with a diverse skill-set. Many times the living quarters include work spaces.

The startup Roam charges a fee of $1,800 per month, allowing its members to live around the world. This is an amazing deal for many tech-savvy workers. A “roamie” can move freely throughout the world and cohabitate in Miami, Madrid or Bali, with future globalized cities already in place, as the startup plans to expand into London and Buenos Aires.

According to Roam, founder, Bruno Haid, “The Roam co-living community is a diverse mix. From your typical late 20s millennials, through to sabbaticals in their late-30s, possibly couples, with kids to Bay-Boomers.

This is all due to the workforce becoming increasingly freelance, at home workers, and entrepreneurial.

United Kingdom

As the pulse of the UK remains with Brexit, boom or bust, many visitors to the UK are arriving for shopping trips. With the Brexit uncertainty creating a weaker pound to the dollar, New York residents are going the distance flying to London just for good values that Americans have not seen in the past decade.

Hotels and airlines are feeling the pinch as UK citizens are discovering the sharing economy mainly through Airbnb, and opting for no baggage, low-cost trips, flying the likes of Easy Jet and Ryan Air.

Who remembers the Concorde which made its last takeoff in 2002? Supersonic travel apparently will make a comeback in 2-4 years. This is again cutting the flying time from some of the world’s most popular routes, the main route being New York to London. However, this time around new markets such as Australia, Asia, and Latin America will come into play.

Flights from London to New York will take three hours, with new cost-effective technology leading the way. The $5,000 price tag will begin with only one class of service.

The startup, Boom is partially funded by Richard Branson’s, Virgin Group.

Boom, founder, and CEO, Blake School mentions, “Supersonic can make a huge difference for business travelers. You can actually commute across the Atlantic: first flight of the day NY-London arrives in London to make afternoon meetings. After seven hours in London, you can return home in the evening and be able to tuck your kids into bed. But this isn’t for people with private jets – It’s for anyone who can fly business today, and soon for everyone who flies.

One can only dream. Just imagine cutting the flying time from Los Angeles to Sydney from 15 hours to 7-9 hours.

Europe

As the migrant crisis continues to affect Europe, economic growth remains stagnant, Europe continues to see an erratic performance. However, the silver lining is that visitors to Greece, Italy, Spain, and France continues to rise. With a stronger dollar in place, luxury hotels and villas are seeing an upsurge.

An Adventure travel boom is in place called the micro adventure. As the world strives to become healthier, not only in eating, but through shorter trips which may include: hiking in the alps, weekend biking trips to Amsterdam or around Holland, or windsurfing in the Greek Islands or in Spain. With low-cost carriers leading the way, many Europeans are departing on a Friday morning and returning home on Sunday evening in search of outdoor adventures the likes of camping in France, all in the spirit of getting away from it all, and taking healthier vacations.

British adventurer Alastair Humphreys coined the term know as soft adventure. These types of activities are perfect for a weekend getaway. These soft adventures require a minimum of skill level and experience. Short trips based on adventure blend perfectly with fast paced work life, many times even traveling within one’s homeland.

“More and more adventure opportunities are being made available, providing people with an ‘a la carte’ menu of different experiences, says Chris Doyle, Executive Director – Europe, Adventure Travel Trade Association

Easy Jet is leading the way with many classic city breaks revolving around short hops flights including these soft adventures.

Business travelers or “bleisure” – business trips combined with an extra night or two has caught the attention of hotels who attempt to create experiential experiences for their business guests.

Middle East

As the area continues to become filled with conflict, national tourist boards must seek new ways to attract tourism. Historical travel remains at the forefront of this cradle of civilization. In an effort to attract the experiential traveler, nations such of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt are opening up new hiking trails to rejuvenate the region. Many of these trails are centuries old, mired in religion, rural tourism and history.

Some of the key growth trails include the Nativity Path in Palestine, Abraham’s Path from Turkey to Egypt, the Jordan trail, and Lebanon’s mountain trail.

Although tourism is limited with little infrastructure in many Middle East destinations the goal is that hiking sends out a message of peace, hope, and reconciliation. On these new trails, shrines of a different religion are experienced.

As stated by Michel Awad, Siraj Center for Responsible Tourism Palestine, “ Hiking the master Ibrahim or Nativity Trail in Palestine enables tourists to walk through history, as well as bringing change and opportunities to rural communities who have never encountered tourism before.”

Opening these new trails could provide new lodging opportunities including luxury camping.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia showed some of the strongest arrivals in the area.

Africa

The continent as a whole is seeing a solid growth in tourism with the usual suspects leading the way: South Africa in the southern portion of the region, Kenya in East Africa and Nigeria in West Africa.

Africa is turning to responsible travel and protecting its prize possession of big game animals. Sustainability and education are key elements in driving tourism to Africa. Also on the rise in Africa is wellness travel, breaking days on safari with spiritual meditation, yoga and spa treatments all the while amongst breathtaking backdrops of the Serengeti and other national parks of Africa.

The safari-spa traveler seeks health and wellness while seeking out unique experiences. The market continues to be relatively older, wealthier and mostly female travelers seeking a spiritual trip among the big game of Africa.

Richer holiday experiences are what David Michie, director of Mindful Safari reminds us, “Some places lend themselves quite naturally to mindfulness. The fascinating wildlife and ever changing environment are very aware of the present movement sitting on the back of a Land Rover when there could be a herd of elephants around the next corner.”

Resorts are taking notice. The Kenya-based Camp ya Kanzi offer luxury eco-lodge holiday which includes yoga classes and meditation in the middle of the savannah as the sun sets. Karkloof is situated within a 3,500-hectare game reserve in Kwa-Natal in South Africa, combines local sourced therapeutic spa treatments all the while immersed in a classic safari experience.

These mindful safaris, while mostly in South Africa, extend to Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Asia

Continuing to show a commanding growth, Asia is growing rapidly at a rate of 5%. but with consumers shift to budget accommodations, the luxury lodging sector suppresses growth value.

The on-line sector is performing extremely well, with Asian consumers increasingly relying on them for all areas of travel purchasing.

Due to strong growth in China, the region sees an astounding positive growth of 9%. Inbound trips to China are expected to exceed 62 million.

Disneyland Shanghai recently opened in June of 2016 at a cost of 5.5. billion. The Chinese theme park boom is catering mostly to the Chinese market and with 59 amusements parks in the works or under construction. These parks are built with a greater focus on Chinese culture.

As China’s disposable income rises, leisure attractions are seeing the benefits. International players have taken notice with brands such as Six Flags, Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Lotte World jumping into the game. Local theme parks also create a mixed tourism and business model as hotels, apartments, and shopping becomes part of the model. Brands are also seeking lesser-known regions of China.

As John Duffey, President and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment Group put it, “The platform for growth here in Chongqing is great and the perfect formula for our industry. There is a significant population, a growing middle class, growing disposable income and a limited theme park presence.”

Japan also is heavily vested in theme park expansion.

India

India must deal with a negative perception that the nation is unsafe for women. Recent highly negative events of crimes against women, both tourists, and locals.

As India attempts to bridge the gap between for all sectors of society to make a better living through the tourism sector, India attempts to empower women by offering opportunities never available before entering the job force. The Indian government is on a drive to support travel startups with initial investment founded by women.

A number of taxi services have started to provide female taxi driver services, in an effort to deal with the issue of female safety while traveling.

As companies continue to offer women-only services, women are being employed in jobs that were previously male dominated.

As technology continues to grow in India, boosting entrepreneurship among women seems to be a top priority for the Indian government.

To change perceptions of women’s roles in India, Air India went as far as to fly from Delhi to San Francisco, with an all – female crew. This was done in celebration of International Women’s Day.

There have been a number of safety apps developed specifically for women in India. Ridesafe offers tracking, emergency messaging and route deviation detention.

By 2030, it is expected that women’s average disposable income will more than double from today’s income level.

As India continues to grow its on-line travel presence, companies such as Airbnb and Uber will help women in the tourism sector achieve a better way life providing opportunities to increase income.

Travel Technology

Online travel continues to grow across the globe, but as the market matures, annual increases are less dramatic than in previous years.

Short term rentals saw a 17% increase in online value for 2015, but airlines remain the leading online category with a value of $390 Billion for the same year.

Sales through the mobile channel now account for 18% of all online sales, with online travel agents seeing the most value in 2015 with $67 billion worth of mobile purchases.

Travel agents are continuing to see their clients seeking immersive travel experiences. Through various travel apps and websites specializing in travel immersion, agents are turning to these higher skilled companies as they plan trips for their clients.

Travel agents are joing the sharing economy model helping to seek unique and authentic experiences, travel agents are tapping into advanced technologies to sell trips.

Virtual Reality or VR has entered the travel space, with companies involved in hospitality, transport, and tours using the concept to encourage customers to try before they buy. VR can be used to show the layout of cruise ships, resort facilities at different seasons throughout the year as well as landmarks and attractions in a destination.

Morris Sim, Founder of Circos Brand Karma explains the rise of virtual reality, “The use of virtual reality within the travel industry is quickly transforming from a novelty into a must-have. Consumers across all age groups are embracing the pre-sales tool which enables a destination or holiday to be made real before they buy.

Nicholas Kontis is the author of the travel book Going Local: Experiences and Encounters on the Road, and shares many tips on immersing into local society are our travels.

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