The future of travel?

Jan 29, 2010 3:43:52 AM

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In 2009, the travel world was rocked by swine flu and ’staycations’, but what about 2010? Tim Moore, author and travel writer, takes a look at possible travel trends.

Reverse-slum tours - Jaded high-end travellers from the emerging economies of India and China will travel to Britain in search of a more insightful experience of British urban culture. Think meal-deals and train-replacement buses.

Standing on crabs - Swimming with dolphins falls out of favour due to suspected sarcastic attitudes of highly evolved dolphins and tourists will look to less critical creatures to hang out with.

Low-cost cut-backs - Airlines will scrape every last possible penny from the cost of airline tickets by such methods as replacing throwaway boarding passes with barcodes tattooed on travellers’ forearms.

Carbon on-setting schemes - Environmental cynics will be invited to take part in on-setting schemes, where good deeds like riding a bike are off-set by acts of emission-heavy recklessness.

Home camping - Taking staycations to the next level, people will camp in their own backyards, leaving their houses available to be sublet to fancy-pants travellers.

Antarctic stag weekends - The UN will ban British stag parties from all member states, but a loophole will be discovered and stags will head to the Antarctic for ‘pick up a penguin’ nights.

Flu fatigue - A pandemic of pandemics will break out but travellers will become so weary of the flus du jour that they will become cynical and lazy - and unwittingly infected with the bubonic plague.

Anti-spas - Who really wants health and wellness on a holiday? The anti-spa will aim to bring you illness and fatness with a strict regime of hedonism.