This article was taken from the September 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Wired asks the experts what they see happening as technology and travel come together.
Ian Yeoman, professor of tourism, Victoria University of Wellington
"In Tokyo and Seoul, 30 per cent of bookings are on the day of arrival through the mobile phone. We point our phone at a hotel, use AR to view information and book on Expedia. Next is soft singularity - internet contact lenses or auto- translation software will bring rapid change."
Claire Boonstra, cofounder**, Layar**
"The journey starts before you even know you want to go.
Any resort ad or travel article will be a point of discovery and purchase. You can hold your phone over it and be seduced with a 360° video and ratings-based offers. Tap to buy or share it before continuing with your day."
George Whitesides, CEO and president, <span class="s1">Virgin Galactic
"We will soon be able to experience space travel, which may open up high-speed intercontinental travel to the rest of us.
Our vehicles will demonstrate the technologies needed to break out of the Mach 0.8 box that air travel has been stuck in for 40 years."
Aigerim Shorman and Shana Zheng, cofounders, Triptrotting
"People reach out to their social networks to help them plan trips. Until now, that network has only been people you know.
Services like ours extend that to people all around the world with similar travel interests, allowing travellers to ask questions directly to local people."
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, d****irector, Bournemouth University eTourism Lab
"Mobile will empower context-based and real-time services to meet tourists' personal needs. My graduate student Zornitza Yovcheva is working on AR smartphone apps which overlay information on physical objects and store tourists' views."
Esther Dyson, c****ommercial space-travel investor "Extra value will be attached to 'real' experiences, including space travel, even though they will be annotated by tools such as iPhone walking guides and Google Glasses. And in a world of ubiquitous automation, I foresee a fancy hotel brochure advertising 'human room service'."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
