The document provides predictions and trends for the travel industry in the coming year. Some key points include: - Travel apps will provide more personalized recommendations and opportunities to connect with locals. - Culinary, craft, and farm-to-table tours are gaining popularity as travelers seek more authentic experiences. - Hotel rates are expected to rise 6.5-7.5% due to increased business and leisure travel demand. - Technology like virtual reality and self-driving vehicles will further transform the travel experience. - Millennials and "hipster" travelers will drive demand for less touristy destinations and attractions. - Consolidation in the travel industry will continue as large companies acquire competitors.

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2. Driving around in unfamiliar cities can
be extremely daunting, but with apps
like Ask A Stranger, you can find
real-time travel advice personalized
to your exact location, weather con-
ditions, and interests. For example,
“Hi, Maggie! I see you’re traveling by
foot in Wicker Park, Chicago. It’s
cold outside, so may we suggest
some warm pho at Penny’s Noodle
Shop?”
Keeping it relevant:

3. Take it in:
Enjoy a chocolate-making class in Saint Lucia, join a foodie tour in Italy
that takes you from farm to table, and learn how to make traditional crafts
in Southeast Asia. Taking last year’s authen- tic/local trend a step further,
you can now plan travel with a stranger via social media apps or use the
Tripr app to meet up with fellow travelers nearby.

4. Havana nights:
Famous for their fantastic food culture with entrees such as
arroz con pollo, ropa vieja, and let’s not forget the Cuban
sand- wich, culinary tours to Cuba are quickly gaining ground.
US-based passenger airlines will open flights to Cuba in 2016,
and travel to the island nation is expected to double next
year.

5. Globetrotting Travel:
With business travel to expand 5.4%,
companies are growing their busi- ness trip
scope to the global sector next year. But
beware, hotel rates will rise by an
estimated 6.5 - 7.5% to accommodate
increased demand.

6. Have time off, will
travel:
Americans will be getting
out more often as
increasing numbers of
employers offer unlimited
holidays. A few famous
ones? Prezi, Virgin, and
Netflix.

7. Tiny travel:
You’ve heard of packing up your suitcase and going on a trip, but have you
heard of toting an entire HOUSE? Yep, you can hitch these 100-400 square
foot beauties to the back of a truck or SUV or even book a reservation at
places like the Tiny House Hotel in Portland. Companies that are
popularizing these compact casas include Tumbleweed and Getaway.

8. Ready to mingle:
National Geographic grows into a major hotel media marketer with the
introduction of its new Unique Lodges Around the World. Discovery Channel
is following suit with the hotel/resort-finding tool, Discovery Destinations.

9. Try before you travel:
You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it. Why not enjoy a virtual tour
of a destination before setting your luggage down? With wearables like the
Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR, travel agencies are giving us a real sneak
peek.

10. Freaky fast:
How scary is it that supercomput-
ers know what you want before you
do? As unsettling as it sounds,
personalization can have two huge
benefits--understanding the travel-
er, and speeding up the discovery
and decision process for anything
from booking rooms to choosing
restaurants.

11. Driving Miss Daisy:
Remember when we talked about the Mercedes that could drive
itself? Next year, the UK plans to introduce self-driving pods which use
Bluetooth connectivity to provide visitors with information relevant to
their location.

12. Totally checked out:
When was the last time you felt that
you truly got away from it all during
your getaway? Growing options for
relaxation, spirituality, exercise, and
mental health motivate health-con-
scious travelers to focus on their
personal journey instead of their
destination.

13. The young and restless:
Watch out! Millennials are joining Baby Boomers on the road. They favor
more authentic, less touristy locations and attrac- tions. According to
MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travel- ers, one-third of millenials
plan more vacations next year than in previous years. 10% of them will
devote more of their budget to future trips in 2016.

14. Beards and brews:
People are scouting out locations before they’re cool. “Hipster holidays”
have included such novelties as staying in a bee- hive-style treehouse,
brewery yurts, or communal camps. Be on the lookout for the new
hipster yuppie hybrid, the “yuccie.”

15. It’s a bird, it’s a plane:
You’ll see several breakthroughs in the air industry next
year, including the birth of the Stratolaunch Carrier, the
world’s first “mega plane” that will span more than the
length of a football field and send astronauts into
orbit. In other news: emissions-free flights are
projected to sail in Europe next spring,
and Americans are squeezing into
cabins designed for even higher
passenger volume, referred
to as “sardine flights.”

16. Merger madness:
Marriott International just announced
their plans to acquire Starwood.
If the deal goes through, Marriott
will become the world's largest hotel
chain, with 5,500 hotels spanning a
30-brand empire. Other big compa-
nies keep on getting bigger: Expedia
bought HomeAway and merged with
Orbitz Worldwide.

17. Google did WHAT?!:
The 66 billion dollar software company is trying travel on for size. When
searching for a hotel room on Google, users can start working on their
reservations in a few clicks. Field experts and consumers fear Google
because, well, they’re Google.
TRAVEL