Trends in mobility that are changing travel forever
Sharing a car or renting a private apartment abroad instead of booking a hotel room. These are examples of services that have become standard due to the sharing economy and digitalisation. In addition, innovations follow each other faster and faster. The new technologies make it possible to reinvent mobility.
Allianz Global Assistance has conducted a global analysis of mobility innovations and their impact on travel.
extreme tourism
For people who have everything – or those who aspire to have it all – experiencing a beautiful journey is not enough. They want more, something new, a unique adventure to talk about, a journey that is unforgettable because it is dangerous, extreme or even forbidden. In search of authentic experiences and thrilling sensations. An example of this is the Emoya hotel chain in South Africa, which offers guests the chance to stay in a slum resort.
Experimental mobility
Many travelers view flying – or the time it takes to get where you are going – as wasted time. To alleviate these feelings of frustration, airlines are looking to experiential, distracting forms of mobility. In France, Airbus is working on the possibility of using virtual reality to help passengers forget that they are on an airplane. This solves two problems at once: the boredom passengers experience on long flights and the stress of flying.
The smart home: a bedroom in a suitcase
Cities are growing, there is less space and people are flexible in the way they work and travel. Not only offices and homes are increasingly designed for this, hotels are also looking for new ways to respond to this. The first example of this comes from Switzerland, called Hotello. It is a 4 m² hotel room that has everything a person needs to work and sleep, so a bed, a desk, a cupboard and a lamp. All these elements fit in a small suitcase. The working traveler can easily set up his hotel room anywhere. A curtain supported by a metal structure is the only thing that closes off the room from the rest of the world.
Civil Mobility
Due to the growing mobility and lack of space, there is a greater awareness of the use of someone else's space. This is clearly visible in traffic; the choice of means of transport, speed and parking behaviour. A good example of this comes from our own capital. In Amsterdam, special traffic signs have been installed in residential areas. If a driver drives less than 30 km per hour, the municipality donates a few cents to a foundation to finance a local initiative.
Virtual mobility
Don't have money or time, but still want to travel to get to know other cultures? The advent of new technologies allows us to be somewhere without physically traveling there. The tourist office in Melbourne is responding to this by giving internet users the opportunity to get to know the city through virtual mobility. In the city, two tourists carry a camera and everything they do in the city is broadcasted live. The viewers can also influence their visits, activities or routes. This makes 'traveling' and experiencing an easy combination.