By the time the next 600 issues of The Club are published – taking us through to 2067 – travel will have altered beyond recognition. But what will be the biggest changes? The Club asks those in the know to make their predictions

Hotels that tell stories
Says who? Juliet Kinsman, travel writer and founder of Bouteco
“Weary from the Machine Age, a generation from now we’ll crave soul-enriching, experiential hotels that promise meaningful human connections and interactive, emotive storytelling. Taking ‘authenticity’ to the next level, travellers will be able to live, breathe, taste and feel exotic destinations – and their culture and history – through immersive fantasy-reality hotel escapes. Imagine stepping into the shoes of Egyptian pharaohs and being transported to a different epoch and larger-than-life landscapes.”

The future airport
Says who? Declan Collier, CEO of London City Airport
“With the airport of the future, your journey will begin wherever you want it to – you’ll be able to check in and deposit your luggage at your hotel, office or train station. You won’t even notice being searched as you pass through security. Your experience will be completely tailored – so your regular coffee order will be waiting on arrival, a virtual shopping terminal will be brought to your seat, and your dry cleaning will be handed to you when you land. You’ll board and disembark planes without feeling like you’ve been in an airport at all.”

Virtual reality on board
Says who? Richard D’Cruze, British Airways in-flight entertainment and technology manager
“The advent of high-speed, in-flight connectivity and developments in virtual reality (VR) will transform the in-flight experience, both augmenting entertainment and allowing customers to immerse themselves in a destination or airport before landing. VR will also allow customers to control the scenes around them, helping them adjust to their destination time zone, reducing the effects of jet lag.”

Embeddable technology
Says who? Jenny Southan, editor and founder of Globetrender
“First there were personal devices, then there was wearable tech. In 50 years, however, technology will be part of our bodies. It may sound far-fetched, but employees at both Epicenter in Stockholm and Three Square Market in Wisconsin already have microchips the size of rice grains implanted in their hands. Containing all your personal information and banking data, these devices will replace passports, boarding passes, e-tickets and contactless credit cards for the traveller of tomorrow.”

The final frontier
Says who? Lucie Greene, worldwide director, The Innovation Group
“Space travel will be fully operational and commercial, allowing for hotel stays in places like Mars and the Moon. As such, on Earth there will be theme parks about space, new luxury brands selling spacesuits, and time-shares to resorts on the Moon. Space dumping (sending waste into space), and mining asteroids for fuels, may also have solved Earth’s environmental issues, meaning catastrophic changes in weather and geographies are halted.”

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This article has been tagged Opinion, Technology