Travel tech trends 2016

Marriott, one of the world’s largest hotel chains, has been experimenting with “VRoom Service,” where lodgers can use virtual reality technology to explore Chile, Beijing, or another sel

Wouldn’t it be nice if you

could tour foreign cities and landmarks without leaving your home? Believe it or not,

“virtual travel” is already here, and it’s likely to become more refined in the coming years Marriott, one of the world’s largest hotel chains, has been experimenting with “VRoom Service,” where lodgers can use virtual reality technology

to explore Chile, Beijing, or another select locale.1

Increasingly, getting from Point A to Point B can be managed

without having to

interface with human beings For example, many hotels allow

lodgers to carry out various tasks and

requests (e.g., room service requests) with smartphone apps Airports are also

getting in on the act, enabling travelers to bypass human agents with the use of these kinds of apps

We’ll probably see notable improvements in Wi-Fi

technology in planes over the next year, particularly faster speeds

Wi-Fi has been a fantastic resource for travelers who need to connect their electronic devices to the Internet while on the road To meet this demand, many hotels and airports offer Wi-Fi

Search engine giant Google has already substantially remodeled the travel

experience with tools such

as Google Maps The

company is developing

another innovation for

today’s busy traveler:

Project Fi

Currently invite-only,

Google’s Project Fi is a

mobile virtual network that provides various data and voice services It is

expected to be available to consumers at a basic rate

of $20/month.2

There was a time when most travelers had to make do with cheap cameras if they wanted to take pictures of the sights they encountered on their trips The advent of drone photography is changing that tradition, however Drones allow users to take photos from hundreds of feet in the air, giving them access to angles that are

otherwise impossible

Drone photography is projected to increase in popularity over the next few years

While we’re on the subject of drones, this technology is rapidly evolving to the point where it will soon be possible

to transport people in the air

In January 2016, the Chinese company Ehang debuted a human-carrying drone at the Consumers Electronics Show (CES) This drone can travel more than 10,000 feet into the air, and can be folded up into a five-foot area.3

The days of having to lug a beat-up passport

everywhere may soon be over U.S Customs and Border Protection is

currently experimenting with its Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app, which will streamline the entry process into America The app was launched on

a trial run at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta

International Airport in August 2014.4

Founded in 1967, Scenic Airlines is

renowned across the globe for its aerial sightseeing tours of the Grand Canyon The company escorts around 300,000 passengers each year around this famous site Please visit www.scenic.com for more information

1 http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/28/vroom-service-marriott-hotel/

2 https://fi.google.com/about/

3 http://money.cnn.com/gallery/technology/2016/01/08/ces-2016-hits-flops/

4 http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-contro