Touchless Travel: What The Future Of Travel Will Look Like

The travel industry came to a sudden halt in 2020 for reasons that are all too familiar. For the tourism sector to recover, travelers will need to feel confident that their health and safety are protected. Now that the virus has made the world aware of the potential risks associated with physical touchpoints, an irreversible shift toward touchless technology is taking place. This trend has been developing for several years, with boarding pass scanners and hotels offering digital room keys and in-room voice services, but the pandemic has given it renewed momentum.

We will be traveling the world again, but it will be an entirely different experience with travel-focused contactless technologies. Here are some of the key developments coming online to make traveling safer.

At The Airport

The most immediate and visible change will be at the airport where in the near future the only thing you'll probably touch will be your mobile phone. In July, United Airlines became the first airline to introduce touchless technology in the Heathrow Airport check-in process. Passengers check-in online and scan their boarding pass from their mobiles at terminal kiosks without touching any surface. These kiosks also print out luggage tags associated with the booking.

Security checkpoints are also set to go contactless with advanced body scanners and bag scanners that remove the need for taking out items such as liquids. Biometrics is already a widely accepted solution for verifying identities, and their use will become more widespread.

Airport shopping will be another contactless experience through digital vending machines and ordering via apps. Other airport innovations that could soon become the norm include touchless boarding (using biometrics and self-scanning of travel documents), vital sign detection for arriving passengers and electronic customs forms.

In The Air

Touchless technologies are also slated to extend to the passenger flight experience. Seat-back pockets are among the dirtiest places on a plane, home to dust, dirt, old tissues, food remnants, sick bags, half-sucked sweets and much more. They could be replaced by digital versions that encompass menus, inflight magazines and entertainment. Other changes include all purchases being made cashless, and instead of queuing in a confined space for the lavatory, digital queue management systems could be installed. After use, the toilet will flush automatically.

Touchless Tech At Sea

Cruise lines are also adapting to the touchless tech transformation. For example, Princess Cruises will be expanding on its MedallionClassExperience. Passengers aboard each ship will be given an OceanMedallion, a wearable device used for touchless boarding, touchless shopping, keyless room entry, and on-demand food services. Additionally, guests can also download a mobile app to chat with guest services, watch on-board entertainment and complete safety training. This high-tech solution eliminates potential queues and reduces the amount of unnecessary contact between crew and travelers.

There are many other examples of contactless products in use before the pandemic that will now be further leveraged to safeguard guests and crew. Among them are facial-recognition software and geofenced beacons to speed up passenger boarding.

At The Hotel

The touchless experience can also decrease or eliminate the need for guests to interact with possible germ-ridden services as much as possible during their stays. More hotels, notably smaller enterprises, are adopting mobile app checking solutions. There may also be a rise in the number of digital concierge bots. These helpful robotic solutions receive and respond to guest questions and needs such as ordering room service, making spa bookings or requesting extra towels and pillows. There is no need for anyone to handle a room phone or stand in line in the lobby because bots can be accessed through mobile devices.

On The beach

The benefits of touchless technologies may also extend all the way to the beach with COVID-ready products built long before the appearance of the virus. One example is Beachy, a software product that makes it easy for hotels and resorts to service guests lounging on golden sands or around the pool. The platform combines mapping technology and a reservation and payment system so guests can reserve things like a lounge chair and umbrellas and carry out food and beverage transactions. This technology also helps hotels to better control capacity and social distancing at their pools and beaches.

The Future Of Travel Is Touchless

No one can predict what the future may bring, but it is crystal clear that flying, sailing and traveling around the world will never be the same again. It's going to be different but still as exciting, enjoyable and enriching as before.