The Tech Side of Travel

In the next five to ten years, technology will give us many new ways to enjoy travel — from the planning phase to the actual trip. Tomorrow’s travel will look nothing like it does today, and the travel adventures anyone can go on will be limited only by our imagination.

So what are some of these drastic changes I’m referring to? The following is a good idea of what you can expect:

• Semantic Voice Search Technologies. These will revolutionize how people discover, discuss and plan their travel. This technology is already working fairly well with Apple’s Siri and Google’s voice search tools, and it will improve even further in the near future thanks to the advances of the Three Digital Accelerators: processing power, digital storage and digital bandwidth. Within the next five years, most of our searching will be with voice to what I have called an ultra-intelligent electronic agent (an audio and/or visual version of Siri and the others).
• Ultra-Intelligent Electronic Agents. Think of this electronic travel buddy as your virtual concierge, troubleshooter and travel guide. If you don’t have your own ultra-intelligent electronic agent, you will be able to rent one as part of your travel package via the travel agent or company you’re booking with. These travel buddies will help you with everything from securing movie, show or park tickets at your destination…