Abstract
Urry and Larsen (2011) in The Tourist Gaze construct a dystopia future of hyper mobility and hyper tourist consumption, resource shortages and the effects of climate change. At the centre of this future is Dubai, a neo-liberal, new design and themed park future of tourism. A place that echoes evil paradises of metropolis sprawl.
Urry and Larsen’s portrayal of the future reminds us of the writing of HG Wells (1895) in which the dark forces of technology and science impact on a human society. The portrayal of science fiction in a futurism paradigm is captured in the adventures of Flash Gordon, a Yale polo player who with companions rescues the planet Earth from Ming the Merciless. It’s his companion Dr Hans Zarkow who invents a spaceship for Flash Gordon’s intergalactic travels. As Brosnan (1978) argues in Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction, Flash Gordon symbolizes Italian futurism with a focus on speed, science and technology to save the world with a strong flavour of boyhood American bravada. What we have in this special issue is not a dystopia of the future but elements of technology, new service design models, brands, destinations and management.
Yeoman (2012) argues that futurism is a dynamic, energetic and radical movement that wholeheartedly embraces the modern, romantic and authentic aspects of the future in order that the future can be forward-thinking. The world is changing and has always changed. Will the future hotel be self-making beds, mood settings and robotic room attendants? Many of these ideas may sound like science fiction, but science fiction is fiction based upon science. We must remember that the communicator in Star Trek is the flip phone (remember those from the 1990s); touch screens that appeared in Minority Report are a central feature of your mobile phone today.
Social and demographic trends have a bearing on behavioural shifts with different market segments. Generation cohorts are seen as the future consumer indicator, as marketers shift their strategies according to each generation’s values, attitudes and beliefs. How will Generation X be different from Generation Z? An ageing population means an ageless society according to many trends’ forecasters (Yeoman, 2012). At the same time birth rates are falling so hotels may struggle recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce? So, does this mean Robbie the Robot (Wilcox, 1956) is the new Butler at the Ritz or more likely the Travelodge?
Yeoman (2012) states that we have seen more change in the last 5 years compared to the last 150 years. What does that mean? It has been the impact of technology. We have the shared economy that has changed the nature of distribution systems and destination capacity. All because of technology enablers. The mobile device has become the centre of marketing from smartphones, tablets and wearable gadgets. This evolution is changing destination marketing. Tourists can find out anything about a hotel or a destination brand. So, transparency is everything. Social media has brought about the end of big television campaigns in destination marketing. But at the same time, marketing has become bespoke given the nature of the Internet of things, big data and ubiquitous computing.
The future of hotels is about imagination, whether they are bigger or smaller, modern or authentic, creative or functional. They will be purposeful to stunning. Whether they are at the bottom of the sea or on the moon. Hotels are part of the future and the essence of this special issue is to present some of those imaginations through robust research.
We don’t have a crystal ball, but series of papers we feel are amazing from authors from around the world. A special thanks to all those who reviewed those papers, to Perry Hobson for providing the opportunity and Julie Glass for all the reminders and administrative support. Albert, Jeroen and I have all been connected through the European Tourism Futures Institute – a think tank that believes in the future.