Skift Megatrends is our largest companywide exercise every year and we have made our research-driven and editorially informed predictions for a decade now.
Skift collaborated with industry brainiacs and our readers to come up with a take on the future of travel.
It does seem a long time ago, but here are some highlights of how we did in January over the years.
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Today, many of the inaugural Skift Trends that we published in 2013 are taken for granted. Everyone wants a Chinese Tourist is a new trend. There is no doubt that ancillary fees are the new normal in the foreseeable future. Blurring of business and leisure travel has become fuzzier thanks to Covid-19 dynamics.
The Rise ofMyanmar didn't happen because of its descent into genocide. In dribs and drabs, airports as destinations are true, but not as widespread as they could have been.
The rise of the silent traveler is one of the trends that the travel industry is still wrestling with. Is it all about digital keys to unlocks hotel room doors or the general manager who knows your children's names and reserves your favorite table at the hardest restaurant to book in town?
The Rise of Local in HOSPITALITY was a trend that was very popular in the last few years and is still very popular today. It seems like a cruel joke given the year-plus visa wait times in many countries around the world.
Although the hotel and short-term rentals sectors don't have the exclusive patent on that phenomenon, artificial intelligence will continue to make smart strides in the future.
In 2015, we referred to it as The Online Travel Duopoly won't reign forever. The Trip.com Group, formerly known as Ctrip.com, is an up-and-comer in the travel industry, but we didn't mention it in our article. Booking travel through Facebook turned out to be a dud, despite our speculation about their potential futures in travel.
The travel industry is now ready for a 360-Degree view of the traveler, which would open up a huge number of possibilities for travel marketers, and personalize the travel experience further than ever. The travel industry jumped at this more intimate view of customers to target them with advertising and hopefully better cater to their personal likes and dislikes on the road or in a mountain retreat. This remains a travel industry aspiration, but detours such as the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, and Apple's do not track option, have diverted some of these efforts.
As global tourism recovers, the Rorschach Test of the travel industry's personality traits will be a thing of the past. In the summer of 2016 we sent a reporter to Iceland to report on what was happening on the ground and glaciers regarding overtourism in that country, and we should probably send another one back in the fall of 2023 to document the latest steps taken to remedy the situation.
Today, the jury is still out on whether these destinations will be able to effectively manage tourism, or will continue to struggle in the face of mounting backlash from their citizens.
The product-led vision of the Megatrend is still alive and well. In recent years for things to do and vacation rentals, as well as for flights, hotels, and other things, it is still as strong as ever. It turns out that we underestimated how long a scenario that might be in reality would be.
Extreme Weather creates travel upheaval due to Hurricane Maria in the fall of the previous year can be copied and pasted into any upcoming Megatrends predictions.
When we wrote our Megatrends, we didn't know what would happen the next year. The Megatrend entry, Labor Shortages Force a Wakeup Call for Travel Brands to Treat Workers Better and Healthier is the New Hook in Travel Marketing has gained credibility.
Labor shortages are still an issue in the travel industry, as many workers abandon the sector for better paying jobs. After customers experienced so much deprivation, isolation and suffering during the Pandemic, the marketing pitch of "Wellness" has only become more ingrained.
Our 2020 Megatrend, The Future of Travel will be driven by Urban Living Innovations, was written before the Pandemic began, and cities and their hotels were locked down. Less-crowded habitations have gained new appeal despite the fact that urban living innovations may once again become driving forces.
We were aware of the Skift Megatrend, Subscription Travel Is the Next Frontier of Loyalty andTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia was prescient about the Skift Megatrend, Subscription Travel Is the Next Frontier of LoyaltyTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia was prescient about the Ski frontiers are not for the meek according to any pioneer. A problematic subscription plan is still being considered by Tripadvisor, as well as the expansion of non-subscription products to expand its potential customer base.
At the height of the coronaviruses crisis in early 2021, we contemplated what the business of travel would look like in 25 years, when the epidemic would be seen as a tragedy.
Our megatrend, hotels are back with big upsides for owners that are stuck out the hard times, is looking better with each sunrise. Many hotels have come back and have not discounted their average daily rates. Many weaker competitors were forced to shut down and reopen under new brands.
We will have to wait to the year 2075 to find out if our banner Megatrend is more reflective of the times. Mass tourism may pick up in a sometimes soulless way where it left off in 2019.
Skift Megatrends are based on Uncertainty Is the New Certainty, and it was a core of the trend in 2022. There is a belief that every year will surprise and confound. Travel companies need to be prepared for crises and have succession plans in place.
Megatrend, Remote Work will define a new socialization for business travel. Our Skift Take stated that it was the beginning of an entirely new industry based around places and spaces.
Some companies will have to figure out how to bring together their workforces intermittently for face-to-face encounters as long as they labor remotely for at least a good chunk of their calendars. As businesses and their employees figure it out, the shape of these will change.
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