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Into the future: More Asian guests, mid-life spenders, human-free travel
Asian travelers will account for a third of the world’s travel spend by 2020, and 400 largely unknown midsize cities, predominantly in China and India, will generate 40% of global economic growth over the next decade, predicts a new report from InterContinental Hotels Group and the Futures Company.
IHG, parent of Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, has more than 50,000 rooms under development in this region, and already is seeing strong growth in secondary and tertiary cities, such as Chengdu, Hainan, Xian, and Nanjing in China, and Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad in India, the company said.
The fastest-growing and most affluent age group, meanwhile, is the "expansive mid-lifers" segment, defined as "adventurous over-50s travelers." This group is looking for new experiences and demands services "that respect their needs without labeling them as old."
The survey also identifies for the first time a group it calls "the individual traveler," a guest looking for an end-to-end "human-free travel experience." These travelers go from planning to booking, check-in at the airport to check-in at the hotel, room service and even concierge services entirely independently, without ever interacting with a staff member.
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