TRENDS EXAM finalised

PRAYING

TRENDS

are dynamic, evolving, influential, impactful and they leave traces in our society. they are observable and manifest through language, culture, lifestyle, style ,taste behaviour, products, services, experiences and events

The rolling luggage Bernard Sadow 1972

Was not popular untill 1990 because then it was needed

💡 Why it matters:

It revolutionized travel by making luggage easier to transport, an early microtrend that later became a global norm.

✈ Originally laughed at, it became a travel megatrend as mobility and convenience became essential for modern travelers.

How did they invent rolling suitcases?

It is inspired by warehouse workers pushing boxes around on carts.

Why trendwatching?

Try to detect change, understand the change, act to make change implementable to companies and organisations, innovate, develop and market new products, services, experiences based on trends. Take advantage of trends, use them to your advantage

Pride month

5 words in trends

• Human behaviour; How people act, think, and make choices in daily life; key to understanding trends.

• Societal context; The cultural, economic, and political environment that influences how trends emerge and spread.

• Improve quality of life; Trends often aim to make life easier, healthier, or more enjoyable.

• Innovation; New ideas, products, or methods that drive change and shape future trends.

• Change; The shift or evolution in habits, values, or technologies that create or result from trends.

Negative wildcards

• an event or series of events causing enormous disruption, shaking up society completely, very rapidly and profoundly.

• caused by nature (meteorites)

• caused by humans (the french revolution, wars)

  • caused by a combination of the two (plagues)

Positive wildcards

• unexpected events, innovations, or developments that positively disrupt the tourism industry

• wheels

• fire

• money

• industrial revolution—> more prosperity, mass production, more materials, improved life quality

• computer

innovation

something existing that is renewed

invention

something new that is created

coolhunts

the observation of trends and style

hype

a group enthusiasm for something/someone; like a virus, spreads very fast; makes a bell curve that ends more abruptly than it starts

Bandwagon effect

Everybody wants to ride on the trend

Fashion

expression of trend in society

Who creates trends?

Anyone! Bryan Chesky created Aribnb

Where do trends arise from?

Anywhere, it depends on the points of interest in an area; airlines, art galleries, startups, trade shows and events, …

How to identify trends in different areas

Spot, observe, ask people

Kevin Bacon number

The amount of connections between you and other people

The Gartner Hype cycle

expectations and time slope on how trends evolve.

Trigger—> inflated expectations —> disillusionment—> enlightenment—>productivity

Dawnes and nunes

Big-bang disruption curve —> works in a cycle

Crowdfunding

Asking the public to fund your project ex. kisskissbangbang

Search terms for sustainable tourism

• green tourism

• ecological tourism

  • ex. searching for trains instead of planes for travel

What is the trendypyramid

 

How will companies innovate when their ads are no longer being seen?? 

1. Product-Led – UX drives growth
2. Influencers – Creator partnerships
3. Branded Content – Entertaining ads
4. Community – Fans grow brand
5. Content Marketing – Blogs, videos, SEO
6. Guerrilla – Creative stunts
7. Personalization – AI-driven targeting
8. Integration – Seamless ecosystem fit

What if in 2040 we can only travel within a distance of max. 750 miles/1.100 kilometers?

Less overtourism

Illegal travel

Phychological age identity; elasticity

People in their 70’s feel like they’re in their 20s

Ex. Lacoste uses older people in their catalog, Beck’s is a beer that is made more bitter for older people’s palates

Gender revolution

Petra De Sutter became a woman in 2004. Tourism aids LGBTQA+ groups

Genetic identity

Online dating platform based on your DNA test in the USA

NOMIGE: skincare based on your DNA

Heritage travel; Italy calling it’s nativesH

Medical tourism

In 2023, an estimated 45%

People go to Türkiye to get hairtransplants

Henrik Vejlgaarrd, The lifestyle puzzle What makes an American, French, Belgian, Unique?

Americans value individuality and innovation, the French emphasise tradition and style, and Belgians focus on modesty and practicality, each shaped by unique cultural histories and social norms.

Identitiy = lifestyle

Chinese buy more and more online = way of life

American eat out a lot

Identity = age of person

Old people cannot travel as much

Identity = taste

What you like to do

Alter ego enthusiasts

People on holiday are different from themselves at home

 Use the trends for what people are searching for in their lives to attract tourists:

example, how can Qatar improve your personal growth.

Hyper Personalized travel:

bucket list, travel journal, travel passport idea. House in UP that you can stay in on Airbnb.  

You can also edit your room to be different from your neighbour’s room via Hotelverse. 

Masterboomers, “The Protest Generation”: born between 1945 and 1954, feel like they are 50 yrs old. 

Lived through the reconstruction in Europe, lived through the Cold War. Wanted to improve their quality of life by looking at the USA's wealth.  

 

Baby Bloomers 1955 and 1964

feel like they are 40 yrs old, introduced to the pill, no longer want to have a lot of kids. Children in these people’s homes were left alone because more women were joining the workforce. 

Generation X born between 1965 and 1979

First generation introduced to technology and the internet. Saw the tearing down of the Berlin wall.

Generation Y, or the Millennials born between 1980 and 1994

more technology.  

Gen alpha generation vacation trend

parents want to please their children more and more. 

Multi generational travel trend

bring your grandparents on vacation with you because they can travel free! (Easyjet)

Trends in Gen Z 

Gig tripping (follow Taylor Swift or other famous people) 

Stadium safari  

Set Jetting: visit places where a movie was filmed 

Tik Tok trailblazing  

City Hopping to Second Cities 

Weekend extenders (Digital nomads)  

Gastro Globetrotting (Bogota Fruit tour: taste fruits that you can find nowhere else in the world) 

Nocturnal activities (Berghain, Berlin) 

Human population growth

Even with birth control, just after world war 2, the world’s population began to increase dramatically. 

Scientists predict a growth, and then a decline in 2050. 

Overtourism

 

“Sight being overcome by tourists in an insubstantial and unhealthy way.” 

 

Causes: 

China’s middle class is more and more being able to afford travel.  

Growth of cruise industry

Tourists spend their money on the boat so they don't spend enough in the city itself. 

Response of locals on overtourism

: they don’t like it 

So… they spread the tourists all over the area: they find other areas to send the tourists to that are as beautiful. 

Kyoto: overtourism, bike the city! 

Ageing population

In Belgium in 2020, 1 in 2 Belgians were over 50 years old. 

Europe is aging enormously. How should we target old people in Europe for tourism? 

Tours for seniors (seen in Amsterdam!) 

Tourism industries are targeting more and more old people. 

Tourism industries are increasingly targeting older people because they travel more in the off-season, stay longer, and have stable incomes.

Example: The Canary Islands Senior Plus Tourism Program offers special deals and activities for seniors, encouraging retirees from Europe to enjoy the islands’ mild climate year-round.

Growth of life expectancy

People aged 100+ will grow exponentially.  

Women live longer than men. 

Canyon Ranch

4- or 5- day retreat for the elderly. Focus on life longevity for elderly.

Clinique la Prairie, Switzerland

a place for middle aged to recover from surgeries?? 

Blue zone retreats

are wellness getaways inspired by regions where people live the longest (like Okinawa, Japan, and Sardinia, Italy). These retreats focus on healthy habits known as the Power 9, including:

• Moving naturally

• Eating mostly plants

• Reducing stress

• Finding purpose

• Strong social connections

Feminization 

Wander women: more women want to travel alone and hotels are responding by lowering the prices for one room hotels.  

Single person household

Number of single person households is growing dramatically. 

Solo traveler platform called Greether: mostly for female solo travelers. 

Solotravelling of me mooners (solo travelers). 

 What about loneliness? 

→ there is more loneliness in the world today than before. 

Hikikomori→ children in Japan who are all alone and who have online friends and play video games, but who never leave their room. 

A new job in the Japanese job market: cleaning the houses of people who have been lying dead for months. 

The Essentialism Shift: 

We go for more meaningful activities, experiences and products that are essential to our life. 

Against a backdrop of chaos and change, people are yearning to reconnect with their intuitive selves. 

People are doing more compared to last year: 

Listening to their body more by 46%  

Prioritizing sleep by 44% 

Mindography

Recreating people’s memories and printing them out.

Instax

Sensecaping

the psychological effect of travel.

Dream Tourism

Hotel de la Ville Rome→ creating a holiday where you can rest.  

 The Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel London. 

Heyday and Nostalgia traveling 

Visiting places at their most exciting, lively, and popular moments.

Visiting places that bring back memories or a feeling of the past. 

Getting away from technology trend: 

The Phone Free Island: Kotka-Hamina 

Take the time to get to your destination: 

Travel by train. 

Elite pets on vacation

Bark air→ take your dog on vacation. 

Metaverse

the virtual shift. Owner of meta thinks that The virtual world will become more important than the real world. 

Trends to encourage children to travel 

Hello Tokyo friends: roblox in Tokyo to visit Tokyo.  

Roblox Hilton: visiting Hilton hotels on Roblox. 

Travly

app where you turn your travel videos into cash.

Avatars in tourism

more and more used.

Urbanization

In the next 25 to 30 years, 3 in 4 people will live in cities.  

Megacities

cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. Offer tons of opportunities, but there are also challenges: overcrowding, 

City trends 

Megacities will take over the world.  

→ urban and countryside are merging. 

Vertical agriculture is brand new from the last 10-15 years

→Honey in New York on the top of skyscrapers.  

→People from the countryside bring their attitudes to the city and people from the city bring their attitudes to the countryside. 

Smart cities: cities are becoming more technologically advanced

Barcelona is a good example.  

Vienna is the most liveable city in Europe.  

15 minute city

urban planning concept, everything a resident needs should be 15 minutes away from peoples’ homes by foot or by bike. 

Dholera (India): New Smart City. 

Cities are becoming less noisy, less cars, more trees, in city centers.

→ Paris et l’arc de Triomphe. 

→ Barcelona becomes hotter in the summer… cool walks: places where you can be cool when walking (areas with trees, even vampire walks where you completely avoid the sun) 

→ London on a micro scale: small gardens planted in the city 

→ Warsaw: small bubbles planted near the river to show the effect of air pollution on children. 

Hotels are being inspired by nature in their art

→ Parkhotel Tokyo: an artful stay in Tokyo 

→ Venice Simplon– Orient Express 

Space Travel

→ Will become more accessible to all in the future years. 

→ However for now, it is more in private hands (e.g. Elon Musk) 

→ A lot of progress is being made in terms of luxury travel 

→ There also exists travel insurance for space tourism 

→ Spacehotel to open first in 2027 for long-term stays 

→ Elon Musk’s dream: to die on Mars→ he will be living on Mars for the last years of his life 

 

Also living in the ocean! 

Ecological trends

→Corona beer company created an eco-tourism island. It is entirely plastic-free. 

→Casa Terracotta: a house entirely made out of clay. 

→IHG opens a net zero carbon hotel in the UK. 

→Arctic Blue Resort: your pay is based on your emissions! Guests who consume less energy pay less. 

→ Environmental happy hour promotes sustainable tourism on Fiji Islands: instead of a cockctail, plant a tree! 
→ Trainhugger: you book a train ticket, we plant a tree. 

→ Victor launches sustainable aviation fuel app: booking app allowing clients to book sustainable flights. 

How to calculate your ecological footprint

Green by Numbers. 

→ Shoe factory. Carbon footprint calculated for every pair made. 

Carbon footprint calculators are being enforced everywhere. 

Coolcations

are vacations taken in cooler or colder destinations, often as an escape from extreme heat or to avoid overcrowded hot-weather spots.

Instead of going to a tropical beach in summer, a coolcation might be a trip to Iceland or the Scottish Highlands for a refreshing, scenic getaway.

Airports of the future

ubai Al Maktoum Airport: will surpass other airports in the area, size goes hand in hand with the growth of tourism in the world.  

 

Projects of the future Denver airport: not as big as Dubai, but still.  Next Gen planes

Next Gen planes

London to New York in 1 to 2 hours. Experiments done over the Mojave Desert in California to test the speed of light.  

Hydrogen planes!

Zeroe. 

Airlander Airships

Airships became less popular after the 1930s. More popular now, but it is not very fast. Could be used as an aircruise in tourism! It also has ultra low emissions.

Flying car

Legislation is keeping it on the ground for now; Liberty car. 

Hyperloops

A vacuum train that would compete with planes.  

Mumbai hyperloop.  

Self-driving cars

10 to 15 years in the future.  

→ Tesla Cybercab: self-driving cabs in SF. We already have the …?? 

3D-printed Pegasus super yacht 

First Hydrogen Cruise Ship 

Personal Submarine

Little submarine you can use to visit underwater worlds!

Water Bike

Cool bike that you can use to ride on the waves!

AI streamlining flight bookings

AI that acts like a virtual travel agent that books your flights for you.

 

AI powered vacation tools.  

→ TripGen 

TUI AI Explorer Lena 

→Very beautiful AI explorer who helps you to discover new places. 

Optimus Tesla Hospitality World 

→ Robot that provides service for tourists, a concierge, check-in and check-out, airport help guy. 

Robotic Bar in Bali 

Serves people drinks on the beach. 

Robotic massages Lotte New York Palace hotel 

→ AI robot analyzes your body and then massages you based on its analysis.  

Kawasaki animal for field exploration

utility vehicle designed for field exploration ideal for rough terrain, carrying equipment, and transporting personnel in outdoor environments.

AI powered exoskeletons

Helps hikers by supporting their back, legs, and thighs while hiking.  

Scandinavian Airline

are providing Free Starlink Wifi on all planes by the end of 2025.  

Tipping point

The moment when an idea, trend, or behaviour crosses a threshold and spreads rapidly, like a virus.

1. The Law of the Few

A small number of people (Connectors, Mavens, Salesmen) have a big impact on spreading ideas.

2. The Stickiness Factor

The idea/message must be memorable and impactful to stick in people's minds.

3. The Power of Context

Small changes in the environment can cause big shifts in behaviour.

Trend pyramid

1. Microtrends (Bottom)

Small-scale trends, often niche or emerging within specific groups or communities.
Short-term, fast-changing.
Example: “Slow travel” among Gen Z.

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2. Macrotrends (Middle)

Broader trends affecting larger groups across industries or regions.
Medium-term, more stable.
Example: Growth of eco-tourism.

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3. Megatrends (Top)

Deep, global shifts shaping society, economy, or environment.
Long-term (10–30+ years).
Example: Climate change awareness influencing global travel habits.