Looking ahead into the Travel Industry 2021

“Being passionate about travel and individual freedoms it is becoming more challenging to construct a positive and at the same time sincere narrative.  About 10 days ago I was in the audience of a virtual Israeli Tourist Board presentation.  To their credit hospitality industry in general and government tourism authorities from around the world, in particular, are doing their best so that we won’t forget how amazing travel is!  Be it inspirational, educational, or simply recreational it is all invaluable.

In early March of 2020 Israel was one of the very first countries to close its borders to tourists.  That rule still stands.  Therefore, when I received the presentation invitation promising a different kind of experience ‘stepping in to the future’, I was intrigued.  They did a better than average job!  The event included not only the usual type of guests- hotel and tour company representatives along with government officials but also a futurist scientist, exceptional entrepreneurs, and a fun media personality.  That certainly added some flair and some unexpected themes.  That for me reinforced the idea which I admire- ‘never assume’!  It is  part of the reason I love travel.  You may be going to a well-known site and yet on the way you could see something less famous and yet more amazing.  You can learn incredible insights from a taxi driver or make friends not only with locals but perhaps with someone visiting the same attraction from the other side of the world.

As a good example of the ‘unexpected’, the presentation included a speech by an accomplished entrepreneur Yanki Margalit.  He said that one of the projects he is working on is creating a sea in the Sahara Desert!   It seems far fetched, however, remember, ‘never assume’!

On a more practical side, the event included a presentation by a start-up company called Pruvo.  They developed an app that monitors your cancelable hotel reservation.  According to the statistics they gathered, an average hotel rate changes 22 times between the moment a reservation is made and the day of an actual property stay.  In current more uncertain times, rates change even more often.  Their app would monitor the rates across various booking platforms and would inform you of any price drops as well as booking channels for taking advantage of the new lower rate.    In addition to Pruvo, two other travel-related start ups were featured- Gamatee and Bridgify.   These companies help make the travel booking experience easier, more fun, and more efficient.

The initial purpose of this post was to summarize a tourist board presentation.  Yet, it morphed into a partially philosophical, hopefully somewhat informative piece about big dreams, useful technology, and ‘never assume’! “