According to a Future Holiday Forum report from the Thomson Holidays group, vacations in the future could consist of staying in flatpack ‘super pod’ hotels, taking advantage of £50 flights to New York or enjoying a week in Australia via a Cosmoplane for just £99 – and this could be a reality in just 20 years time.
By far the most radical of the predictions, the ‘super pod’ hotels would contain different sized rooms that could be upgraded, or downgraded, according to travel budgets.
The pods would move from location to location, from sea to arctic tundra, and would be totally self-sustained. Meanwhile, the interior of each pod would be suitably hi-tech, featuring ‘active’ walls and an eco-friendly disposable waste system.
The forum also predicted that holidaymakers will become more adventurous, but, due to an ageing population, 60 will become the new 40 as over-50s outnumber every other age group.
A Cosmoplane could become a new generation successor to Concorde, while, to cope with expanding waistlines, airlines may begin installing wider seats and holidays may also begin to include special diet programmes.
As for holiday destinations, Slovakia is tipped as one of the future most popular European destinations alongside other ‘new’ holiday places set to rise in favour including Turkmenistan, China and middle eastern desert state, Qatar.
Chair of the forum, Russell Amerasekera, said: “These predictions for the holiday of the future may seem extreme, but who would have predicted 20 years ago that we’d be holidaying in Vietnam or getting to European cities for under £20?”
Marketing director for Thomson, Hugh Edwards, added: “The predictions from the future forum are based on projections from experts who have carried out in-depth research into future trends. Holidays in pods and family holidays in Qatar are very likely scenarios for holidays of the future.” www.thomson.co.uk
