Ten Years from Now

When it comes to predicting future trends, the travel industry works harder than most. Ask any Asian-travel player what’s going to be hot in the future, and he already knowsor thinks he does. Why? Because hotels and airports take a long time to build. And if the new rooms and seats are to be filled, someone had better know who might be checking in once construction is completed (assuming war, terrorism, a bumpy economy or a fuel shortage doesn’t mess it all up first). The pundits are already predicting new kinds of travelers, hot new destinations and fresh attitudes to leisure over the next 10 years. Here’s a look at where Asian travel may end up in 2014.

Where we’ll be going: Forget about sharing Asia’s beaches with pasty Europeans and North Americans. In a decade, the continent’s resorts will be packed with domestic and intraregional travelers. This will mean less emphasis on cultural attractions and more on shopping, golf and dining. Stoked by the Beijing Olympics in 2008, China will become the world’s hottest tourist ticket and the most visited destination on the planet. The Silk Road will be fashionable again. From Kyrgzstan to Turkmenistan, expect backpackers to outnumber camels. Cruising will also take a new tack, becoming less formal with affordable, family-themed floating entertainment centers plying old maritime routes. Meanwhile, cold spots will be hot, from ice hotels in Japan and Heilongjiang to Arctic hideaways in Siberia, skiing in Kashmir and snuggling up in a Mongolian yurt.

Where we’ll be staying: Hip concept accommodation will become the norm. Take the accoutrements of today’s trendier hotelsthe yoga mats, minimal aesthetics and Egyptian cotton duvetsthen add tomorrow’s technology. Your entire ceiling may be backlit for ambiance; the in-room movie might be screened on an entire wall. Spas and well-being getaways will also become mass market, with everyone seeking escape from the region’s bursting cities.

Who’ll be traveling: In a word, Chinese. China’s middle class is growing exponentially and packing its designer luggage with increasing frequency. By 2014, expect its ranks to do away with the caps and flags of package tours to take up independent travel instead. Menus and signs in Chinese characters will be commonplace in the region’s major cities. Expect more Devanagari and Cyrillic on the streets as well, with affluent Indians and Russians increasingly coming to a resort near you. And while Asia’s population will age, it will remain active60 will become the new 40, with the travel industry vying for business from a very lucrative market of frequent, senior travelers.

Why we’ll travel: Aside from the usual vacations and business trips, we’ll be undertaking more journeys in search of what we were once content to find at home. Want to lose weight? Then you won’t simply be going to the gym on the corner but on a fat-camp holiday as well. With the rise of obesity and other affluence-related illnesses, health tourism will surge across Asia. Low-cost air travel will also bring event tourism into its ownyou won’t think twice about traveling for concerts or sports matches. Short-haul trips for casual shopping or dinner with an overseas friend will become regular weekend fixtures.

How we’ll get there: Budget airlines will rule Asia’s open skies. Bookings will be Internet-driven, ticketless and will probably involve some biometric ID. With the hassle of hub-to-hub travel will come more high-speed trains on major routes like Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and a few others in China and India.

What we’ll bring: Expect to pack a palm-size, e-mail-enabled device, with a voice link to call home. You will take wireless connectivity for grantednot just by the hotel pool but on a mountain in Borneo or in the jungles of Laos. Translation software and GPS navigation will help you get around. Systems will also be seamlessly integrated: point your device at a rental car and it will tell you how much it costs, or wave it at a restaurant for a full and frank review.