How flying hotels, virtual reality tours and space travel will all become normal holiday experiences

In the last few decades, the invention of low-cost flights and the internet have revolutionised the way that we go on holiday, opening up every corner of the globe to tourists.

But increasingly rapid changes in technology are set to overhaul the travel industry once again over the next few years, with virtual reality vacations, flying hotels and off-grid retreats all becoming regular holiday experiences.

So what will the future of tourism hold for regular travellers?

We’ve selected some of the biggest changes set to rock your summer holiday over the next few decades…

Travel will no longer be a luxury

In the last 30 years, the foreign summer holiday has become an annual event for many British families, thanks to cheap flights and online hotel deals.

But in the next 30 years, vacations will happen far more regularly throughout the year, thanks to the rise of remote-working environments which mean employees can take their office anywhere in the world.

E-tourism

Websites like TripAdvisor already allow tourists to plan their culinary experience before they’ve even set foot in their holiday destination, but new apps on the horizon will make the trips even more trouble-free.

For example, tourist attractions, restaurants and bars will be completed connected, advertising special deals and events to visiting would-be customers as soon as they book a flight or hotel room in a destination.

Meteorology technology will also play a part in trip-planning, predicting the best days for each aspect on an itinerary instead of leaving the weather to chance.

Flying hotels

Cruise-lovers often speak of their enjoyment at falling asleep in one destination and waking up in another – but one Canadian design firm is taking this concept to a new level with a flying hotel.

HOK came up with the idea of Driftscape earlier this year, where hotel room pods would attach to a roaming central hotel lobby and restaurant, but also be able to detach and move around on separate excursions using drone-style technology.

Off-grid retreats

While the world becomes more connected, so will the desire to switch off from technology.

The last five years has seen a huge increase in holiday retreats that offer digital detoxes and that is set to be a massive trend for the coming decades.

The airport ‘experience’

In many airports the highlight is still a soggy sandwich and a lukewarm cup of coffee as you wait for the flight, but in big cities like London and Amsterdam, terminals have begun to offer far more customer-friendly experiences.

For example, in Amsterdam’s Airport Schiphol there is an art gallery curated by the city’s famous Rijksmuseum and in Qatar’s Hamad International airport there are two air-side squash courts, a 25-metre swimming pool and a spa.

These types of experiences will increase as countries recognise the value of world-class airports acting as an ambassador for a country, as well as a useful money-maker.

Virtual reality tourism

Virtual reality headsets will transform both holiday and aeroplane experiences over the coming years.

Already, forward-thinking tour companies like Viator are offering VR headsets on some of their trips, which allow tourists to see what landscapes used to look like when visiting famous attractions.

In addition, airlines including Qantas have already started to offer VR headsets on some of their flights as part of an immersive flying experience.

For those who can’t afford the flights, VR will also offer people a chance to experience a destination like Venice or Rome without even having to leave their living room.

Flying cars

Yes, this one seems like a bit of a stretch but they are genuinely being developed by engineering geniuses in Slovakia.

Aeromobil is building a car that can morph into a plane within seconds, and protoypes have already competed successful flying missions.

The invention would mean that you could take a weekend break from your home in the south of England and be in the Highlands of Scotland in a couple of hours without ever having to leave your vehicle –
the ultimate road trip.

Experience hotels

The ice hotel in Sweden, Disney’s Animal Kingdom lodge and the Crane Hotel in the Netherlands all offer guests an out-of-the-ordinary experience that can’t be found in your average motel.

With the rise of Nickeloden-inspired family resorts and beer-themed motels in the US over the last 12 months, this trend for experience stays is only set to grow.

Space travel

Richard Branson’s Virgin is already developing commercial spacecraft with the aim of providing suborbital spaceflights to space tourists.

But there are several other companies currently looking into the possibility of space vacations too.

For example, the architects Foster + Partners are working on a project with the European Space Agency that would see structures built on the moon using 3D printers.
Which means lunar hotel rooms might soon be a reality.

Limited tourist zones 

A popular tourist destinations like Venice struggle to deal with the huge number of visitors they get during peak seasons, certain areas will start to limit numbers.

Venetian locals have already started to protest about the number of day trippers and called for quotas in the summer  months for people who aren’t staying in local hotels and contributing to the economy.