13 Trends That Will Define in 2013

Skift.com Researched and written by: TRAVEL INTELLIGENCE. Rafat Ali GLOBAL SMARTNESS. Dennis Schaal Samantha Shankman 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013

Skift has paid close attention to everything travel One area where U.S. is still defining trends is since before our public launch in August 2012. Our technology innovation, especially in mobile. mix of original reporting, news from partners, and Companies like Airbnb and HotelTonight are curated stories from around the world give us an redefining the very definition of the and inside edge on developments inside and outside the lodging sectors, while larger digital giants like travel industry. With this insight, we’ve identified 13 Google, Apple and Nokia have hit reset on the key trends that will shape the coming year. transportation and local transit sectors with their mapping and local information wars. For the first time since the European Renaissance, the locus of travel is moving eastward, and 2013 2012 was also the start of Skift’s journey—we will continue that inexorable journey. Both consumer launched 5 months ago—and as we prepare and trends are now being defined to go into 2013, we’re defining our coverage and tested out in regions other than U.S and Europe, areas, our expansive lens of looking at travel as while travel sector here, especially airlines, is in a well. We believe these 13 trends, by no means race to find the best new fee. User experience and exhaustive, will help define travel and many other its intersection with design is the lens that travel interconnected sectors. will increasingly be defined by, and regions like Middle East and South East Asia are at the forefront Get your daily dose of Skift: subscribe to our of those trends. newsletter, RSS, Twitter, or Facebook. 1. EVERYONE WANTS A CHINESE TOURIST IN 2013 A record 1 billion tourists crossed From , airports, malls and with Chinese, are re-architecting Chinese and Russian visitors led international borders in 2012, and retailers hiring Manadarin speaking their policies wholesale to the way for busiest year of tourism Chinese travelers are becoming concierge services, to countries accomodate these big numbers. in planet’s history via Skift a bigger and bigger part of it. easing visa norms and doing joint Even countries like Gambia, Outbound tourists rose from 16.6 marketing agreements with China, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, not on Chinese tourists are set to million in 2002 to 70.3 million in everyone wants the hordes of any mainstream tourism map, are become the world’s biggest 2011, and are expected to rise to Chinese travelers spending stepping up their marketing efforts overseas spenders via Skift 82 million this year, up 17 percent. money, especially the recession to lure the mainland travelers. Those numbers are expected to rise and debt crisis beset European to a whopping 200 million by 2020, and North American countries: U.S., If you’re in travel anywhere in the and the world needs to get ready UK and Australia are banking on world and don’t have an evolved to absorb that many extra tourists. Chinese visitors to shore up their and nuanced China strategy, you And especially tourists spending sputtering economies. aren’t a serious player in 2013. money: UNWTO figures show that year on year, Chinese tourists spent Neighboring destinations like Hong Further Reading: 30 percent more when travelling Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Chinese outbound tourism growing abroad than previous year. Singpore, already very popular rapidly via SCMP 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 1 2. ANCILLARY FEES ARE THE NEW NORMAL The travel industry has been fees, and turning once-included Further Reading: completely upended by the services into a la carte ones in 22.6 billion reasons why airlines unbundling of fees, with airlines order to charge extra for additional can’t wean themselves off fees leading the charge. Airlines have housekeeping services, bathroom via Skift gone far beyond checked bag fees amenities, or even television. and are now dreaming up new paid Hotel industry finds its big services, including bag delivery Expect more demands from ancillary revenue driver: spas and pre-ordered gourmet meals on consumers for transparency with via Skift board. As airlines are expected to all the new fees being added on pocket $36 billion in fees in 2012, (the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Opt out may lead to drip pricing other travel sectors are quickly will be knocking on more doors for via Hotel News Now getting into the act, too. Hotels sure), as well as a host of startups are building new spas to build and solutions to manage and on these ancillary services and navigate around these fees.

13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 2 3. LAST-MINUTE MOBILE HOTEL BOOKING HotelTonight is a very well-funded click to book using your stored Further Reading: app built to do one thing and your credit card info. The app HotelTonight expands in Europe one thing only: Book last-minute, fills a real need in the market, and Mexico with localized same-day hotels in the city you especially for business travelers, language capabilities via Skift are in. Every day at noon local and no wonder it is growing like a time the app gives you deeply weed. Expect more such curated Hotel Tonight lets users add discounted rates at five hotels single-function startups to crop whimsy back into their urban available in your chosen city. up. In reaction to HotelTonight, escapes via Skift The innovation is not just on the Priceline already launched simple curation concept, but Tonight-Only hotel deals, and HotelTonight adds personalized also on UI and design: gorgeous expect further challenges from offers and user ratings for greater dark tones and a simple one- other established players. choice via Skift

13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 3 4. THE RISE OF PRICE TRANSPARENCY Tingo, part of the giant Long term, the macro trends are Further Reading: TripAdvisor family, is intent clear: price transparency will Save money even after you book on bringing transparency to become norm, and expect it to come via BBC Travel hotel travel pricing. With Tingo, to airlines and other parts of travel consumers book a hotel room at ecosystem as well. While it’s a real TripAdvisor’s Tingo refunds if the lowest available refundable benefit to travelers, hotels can use rates drop before your stay rate and the service automatically the fluctuation in their prices to via USA Today re-books the reservation in the upsell consumers on goods like a future if the rate drops. No extra room upgrade, a drink at the bar, or Will the work is involved from the user’s spa services (see “Ancillary fees are Tango with Tingo? via Hotel side, and they get notified about the new normal”). News Resource the new lower price until 24 or 48 hours before check-in, when the final price is set.

13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 4 5. TRAVELERS ARE HUNGRY FOR FOOD TOURISM Food tourism is one of the already has a massive following Further Reading: fastest growing sectors for the of dedicated, wealthy, and Foodies’ dreams come true with discerning traveler, and now discerning consumers who are launch of a new travel venture by Whole Foods has launched a new likely to salivate at the news Whole Foods via Skift venture to capitalize on the trend. and become the venture’s first Called Whole Journeys, it offers customers. Expect more such Whole Journeys: Whole Foods worldwide tours focused on the efforts from larger consumer Market’s New Travel Venture production and consumption of brands as they try to build on via The Adventure Post food. It’s a clever brand extension their “authentic” cred in various for Whole Foods: The company sectors, especially retail. Gastronomy and the hunt for authentic experiences: the future of food tourism via Skift

13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 5 6. AIRPORTS AS DESTINATIONS As the airline experience continues signage, solutions to satiate our Further Reading: to deteriorate and fragment—at need to be connected (free Wi-Fi!), The Airport Of The Future Is About least in the Western world— and more shopping and dining More Than Takeoff And Landing airports are seeing a buzz of activity options near gates. The more via Fast Company Co.Exist and are reinventing themselves successful ones have become around user experience and design. places where people want to spend Are airports the new malls for The new normal as exemplified by time and have experiences and not shopping? via Skift Incheon International Airport in just pass through. Whether it is Seoul, Madrid’s Barajas Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare newly launched Airports are becoming activity or Singapore’s Changi Airport, are farmer’s market inside the terminal, hubs to take advantage of listless centered around innovations like or Munich’s onsite brewery, the flyers via Skift airy, light-filled primary spaces, airports are becoming more less-intimidating security and inspirational, aspirational, and baggage claim areas, simple nurturing. Imagine that.

13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 6 7. DESTINATION BRANDING THROUGH MOVIES Starring in a film has become Virginia began touting itself as Further Reading: a surefire way to boost tourism the site of Lincoln’s filming and James Bond and his latest movie for a destination. Tourism in North Carolina turned Hunger lends a helping hand to UK boomed following Games into an advertisement tourism via Skift the Lord of Rings trilogy and the for its outdoors. Now destination country’s tourism board has every marketing organizations are EU-backed attempt to boost intention of that happening again realizing the trend and looking to movie-inspired tourism across with the release of . A convert international attention Europe kicks off two-year effort huge marketing campaign aimed a destination can draw from a via Skift to make the country synonymous movie into travel bookings. Expect with “middle-earth” included to see the trend pick up in 2013 Hobbit habits: New Zealand is aircraft livery and in-flight with more planned campaigns ready this time for Tolkien tourism videos. VisitBritain similarly and bids to become the venue— via Skift integrated tourism marketing beyond tax break incentives—for efforts with the Bond film highly anticipated movies. Skyfall just as the U.S. state of 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 7 8. DIGITAL MAPS ARE ONE OF TRAVEL’S KEY BATTLEGROUNDS Now that smartphones are at the Giants like Nokia, Microsoft, AOL’s Further Reading: center of our lives, navigation, Mapquest and startups such as Our long national nightmare is in all senses of the word, makes Waze and Lumatic are building, over: Google Maps app for iPhone up a large part of our digital launching and innovating. Even is now live via Skift experience. Apple realized this, the incumbent giant Google and booted Google Maps off is launching new functions— Foursquare’s founder argues the iOS ecosystem. That move, incorporating content from Zagat maps aren’t about mapping along with Apple’s subsequent and Frommer’s into results—as it anymore — they’re about missteps in its own mapping races to differentiate itself against everything via Skift effort, touched off a wave of Apple on all fronts. Expect public activity in the mapping world. , walking directions How Google and Apple are The new Google Maps app for iOS and offline viewing to be a big changing the face of mapping 6, launched in early December, push for next year, as well as the forever via Skift is creating waves and Apple is acquisition or downfall of content scrambling to catch up. and location players like Yelp, , and Foursquare. 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 8 9. PERSONAL IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT THROUGH MOBILE DEVICES This year saw many airlines routes like there’s no tomorrow. Further Reading: experimenting with digital The content-in-air consumption Westjet to allow passengers to devices as the in-flight media patterns are beginning to look bring own portable media and consumption platform, or digital- much like on-the-ground habits: ditch seat-back systems via Skift enabled delivery of content A mix of open-Web content-plus- services, on to users’ own devices. services mixed with on-demand The Year of the WISP Tons of new investment is going entertainment as well as live via MondoWindow into this undoubtedly transitory television channels. And while phase, from large incumbents to consumer BYO trends work in Smart airlines are turning to startups to even roll-up shops airlines’ favor with these moves, iPads instead of expensive seat- taking up the charge on the it also helps cut thousands of back in-flight entertainment delivery side. Forward-looking pounds from each aircraft and cut via Skift airlines are rolling out Wi-Fi fuel costs, something that goes across short- and long-haul directly to an airline’s bottom line.

13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 9 10. AFFORDABLE DESIGN AT HOTELS A new breed of hotels popped up assembling identical rooms that across Europe and Asia and has in Europe this year and is slowly are then stacked into a finished revamped bland, older structures making its way around the world. product. A similar hotel The into bright, modern spots like These so-called budget or smart Superbude 2 in Hamburg, Germany Park Antwerp. luxury hotels feature clean, bright took the award for European Hotel designs and rooms that cost less Design Of The Year. Further Reading: than the high-end design hotels CitizenM: Pre-fab luxe hotel chain that emerged in the late 1990s As established hotel brands look runs with the Ikea model via Skift and spread through the early to renovate and redesign their 2000s. Designed with young, older properties, they’ll likely Hamburg hotel created for tech-savvy travelers in mind the pull components from these ‘next generation’ travelers wins concept includes large community smartly designed, fledgling European design award via Skift spaces, compact rooms, free Wi-Fi, brands. They can also take a cue and lots of outlets. The most from Carlson’s value Park Inn The Daniel Hotel in Vienna well-known is CitizenM, which brand, which is rolling out more via yatzer cuts its costs by designing and than five dozen new properties 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 10 11. BLURRING OF BUSINESS AND LEISURE TRAVEL The boundary between business have come to expect more from consumer sites. Expect better user and leisure traveler is blurring as corporate travel. experience, design and flexibility “rogue” business travelers find for business travelers going their way outside the corporate With a majority of business ahead. walls. The arrival of online travel travelers working for companies more than a decade ago and the that don’t have managed Further Reading: mobile revolution today led to travel programs, they can take Airbnb’s busiest night reveals what the corporate travel types advantage of deals on everything its new secret weapon: business call “leakage.” Business travelers from Airbnb to HotelTonight, travel via Skift have rebelled against their stodgy as well as low cost carriers. corporate booking tools and Travel and expense firm Concur Next gen blurs lines of corporate, want to access the deals and is trying to help companies leisure via Hotel News Now tools that are readily available to handle their booking rebels with them when they travel for leisure. an Open Booking solution that Rogue travelers present new Millennials raised on intuitive, enables employees to make their avenue for demand via Hotel leisure-oriented travel experiences travel plans directly on these News Now 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 11 12. CEMENTING OF GULF AS THE NEXT GREAT GLOBAL AVIATION HUB The spectacular rise of the in low-cost carriers and national more frenzied activity in 2013 triumvirate of Emirates, Etihad carriers around the world and as the three Gulf carriers look to and Qatar airlines mirrors the geo- entering into codeshares and expand into North America and political rise of these tiny state airline alliances. Qatar’s entry Africa, both directly and indirectly actors onto the world stage, riding into the oneworld alliance and through partnerships. on a wave of sovereign oil wealth. Emirates’ deal with Qantas are All the airlines’ activity also means typical of their movements and Further Reading: huge airport hubs, and new ones demonstrate that these airlines How Middle East airlines soar and being built almost overnight. The are not rogue actors on the scene European ones don’t via Skift airports Emirates and Etihad call but the new establishment, as home are undergoing significant the center of gravity of long-haul How Gulf airlines will change expansions, while Qatar Airways is aviation settles in the Gulf region. everything about international air preparing to move to a brand-new At the same time, Europe’s ongoing travel via Skift airport any day now. debt crisis has left it powerless to take the bold actions necessary Gulf’s airlines expanding global Add to that, 2012 saw these to prevent it from slipping in the network, thanks to sovereign airlines acquiring strategic stakes great aviation race. Expect even wealth via Skift 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 12 13. LURE OF THE LAST UNKNOWN: THE RISE OF MYANMAR The opening-up and the rise of gateway, is the fastest growing Further Reading: Myanmar over the last year has hotel market in the world, and Yangon, Myanmar is one the been breathtaking in scope, the current hotel capacity was fastest growing hotel markets in and its travel sector is the sold out for most of 2012. It is the world via Skift one to watch for the next year. the hottest new airline route The country has always had a on the circuit, with local and Obama’s visit to Myanmar further small-but-well-worn backpacker global Asian airlines starting boosts tourism to the world’s trail and tours available to new flights to it. The total tourist newest travel hot spot via Skift wealthy visitors, but packaged count will cross 1 million mark travel arrived in earnest for the in 2012, its highest ever. On the Burma tourism hits the 1 million first time in 2012, lured by the travel infrastructure side, it will mark via Mizzima News marketing of Burmese exotica. continue to struggle with demand, which also means tons of new It is now on every top travel opportunities for investors in all destination list for 2013; Yangon, sectors of travel. the former capital and main 13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 | 13