Every new year, as sure as balloons and fireworks in the sky, there are articles predicting the state of travel and hospitality for the 12 months that follow. Most of these predictions are logical, based on hard data, and momentum from trends in the previous year. A few of these projections however die on paper, ink spilt in vain, victims of changes in consumer expectations and rapid swings in technology directions.

Hotels.ng takes a look at some of the failed projections, projections that either didn’t live up to the hype, or that took more than the predicted one year to catch on in the hospitality industry.

Space Tourism
Prior to Virgin Atlantic’s 2013 space launch, there was a lot of talk about how space tourism was the trend to look out for. The launch itself marked a significant milestone in recreational space travel. The associated high costs - about a fifth of a million USD per traveller - however make it out of the reach of the general public and makes it, four years later, a piece of adventure for the future.
It is expected that when the underlying technology becomes significantly cheaper, space tourism will become mainstream and truly become a trend.

Social Travel
Pre 2014, there was a rise in the concept of social travel. Online social platforms with users with shared travel interests would pool in resources and funds, hitch their backpacks and travel together - strangers tied together solely by their passion for travel. It would be cheaper, more fun, and more engaging - perks that the community would supposedly help create.

Security challenges, one - of traveling with strangers, and two - of violence, conflicts, and riots across the world have however dampened the enthusiasm of several who might have partook in these travels. As hot regions on the map keep cooling, this dying trend might find life again.

Tornado Tourism
Tornado tourism, a niche and extreme form of tourism was in the early part of 2013 predicted to become a trend amongst adrenaline junkies and extreme thrill chasers. The activity, quite popular in the USA has people from across the world led by tour guides who are usually experienced meteorologists and thrill chasers themselves. They chase tornadoes across miles, feel the heaviness in the air, and in several cases attempt to punch through the heart of the tornadoes.
This form of tourism despite projections of relative explosion in popularity have remained niche even amongst thrill chasers. The high costs of travel insurance for this thrill chase and its relatively high risks to life might be reasons for its tamed growth.

Flexible hotel check out times
For several reasons such as late flight take-off times, it is sometimes very inconvenient for travelers to leave their rooms by the traditional 12pm.

Throughout the past 5 years, there have been clamours for flexible check out times followed by projections that following years would be the years when it finally becomes a trend, widely embraced by the majority of hotels.

One hopes that soon, hotel users can have flexible check out times or pay per hour of room occupancy.

Wearable Devices
In late 2015 and throughout 2016, projections were made about wearables becoming a trend in travel - earpieces that translate foreign languages in real time, VR travel experiences, and several more.

There has however been a two pronged challenge; a lag in the acceptance of wearable technologies and a slow roll out of wearables from tech companies themselves - a chicken and egg problem of available market and product.

Conclusion
Projections in travel and hospitality are popular because often, they are reflections of consumers’ expectation and the direction of the big players in the travel industry. When they don’t come to pass, well, they just get to be rolled over to the next year’s projections.

It’s not an overstatement if it is that said all businesses in a country benefit from the travel and tourism industry directly or indirectly. Apart from the economic growth benefits every nation gets from travel and tourism, many businesses in such countries exists only because the travel industry exists. We’ll be taking a quick review of the category of businesses that benefit from the travel industry. More and more businesses these days are catching on to the fact that travel and tourism is kind of a big deal. But there are some businesses that seem to take advantage of the travel industry better than others. At the very least, this will serve as a guide on many travel related businesses one could start up in a country.
1. Tour Guiding Service
Tour guides exist in almost every country and everywhere there are tourist attractions. One of the travel and tourism related businesses that an entrepreneur can successfully start with little or no money is to become a tourist guide. All that is required to successfully launch this type of business is to ensure that you can speak at least one or more foreign languages.
2. Restaurants and Bars
Beverage and liquor is yet another business that is part of the business value chain of the travels and tourism industry. Although, most tourists may prefer to eat the food they are familiar with, but it wouldn’t be out of place if you could also include some local delicacy as part of the food you sell in your restaurant. The truth is that some tourists make it mandatory to try out the local delicacies of the community they are visiting. So, ensure that you include local delicacies as part of the food you sell in your restaurant if your restaurant is located in a tourist town.
3. Hotel and Lodge
It is a must for visitors to look for places to lodge when they visit any town. Unless, of course, they have a host who is ready to accommodate them for the duration their stay. As a matter of fact, before tourists visit a tourist town, part of their findings will be how to locate the nearest hotel and lodge in that town. Therefore, hotels and lodges is a business that benefits significantly from travel and tourism. Hence, many people are investing in building one no matter are small it is. Even large established brands like Starwood are expanding by opening subsidiary brands in different countries. Some large hotel brand subsidiaries in Nigeria and many parts of Africa include Intercontinental Lagos Hotel, Le Meridien and Best Western Hotel.

4. The Transport Sector
Taxi and bus shuttle business is another fantastic travels and tourism related business that thrives pretty well in tourist towns. Of course, tourists would want to move together from one tourist site to another hence the need for a bus shuttle services. The bus shuttle could also help transport them (tourists) on arrival from the airport to their hotels and also from their hotels to the airports on their departure. Taxi services like Uber and Taxify is also ideal. Many companies are already keying into this benefit worldwide.
5. Vehicle Rental Business
Rental business is yet another travels and tourism related business that benefits from the existence of tourism in a country. There are several stuffs that tourists could rent when they visit tourist sites. It could be a car, scooter, speed boat, canoe or even horse, donkey or camel.
6. Photography Business
Although a dying business, but not dead. Photography business is an added business venture in the value chain of travels and tourism industry. Most tourists would always travel with their cameras to capture beautiful sites and moments, but if they have the option to make use of a professional photographer, they would gladly embrace it. Many photographer partner with travel agencies to become their official photographers rather than just opening a photography business.
7. Souvenir Shops
Souvenir shop is another travels and tours business that benefits significantly from the travel industry and one that exists only because travel and tourism is made possible. It is highly profitable in any tourist town as loads of visitors would prefer to buy local crafts, unique gifts and native wears from a tourist town as a mark of remembrance.

8. The Healthcare Industry
Very often, people travel to places that offer better health services and more advanced technology, especially when their host countries are developing countries.

9. Education
It's hard to call education a "business", but at the same time, you just can't overlook the benefits the education system of many nations get from travelers. Whether for a professional course or just a quest for knowledge and history, millions of people travel each year to study at a distant institutions and educational learning centre of some sorts. This adds a substantial financial resources to such institutions.

10. Online Travel Agencies
The emergence of online travel agents and booking platforms like hotels.ng is as a result of the significant financial benefits inherent in the travel sector. OTAs plan trips on behalf of their clients, ranging from flights and hotel bookings to travel itineraries.
Many other businesses that benefits from the travel and tourism sector directly and indirectly are small and large consumer stores, luggage delivery services, airlines, ticketing and reservation services, helicopter transport services and many more.
The travels and tourism industry is a major source of income for most countries of the world. The travels and tourism industry provide jobs directly or indirectly to countless numbers of entrepreneurs all over the globe. The benefit and opportunities that are available as a result of travel are numerous. The number of businesses that benefit from the travel industry is extensive, from the passport cover sellers at the immigration office to the taxis parked in front of airports and hotels.
The fact remains that travel and tourism affects almost all businesses in a country whether we accept it or not. The sooner a country realizes this, the sooner they can start taking advantage of the growing travel industry.

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