Today, when we want to get away from it all we pack a suitcase and head to Hawaii or the Bahamas or, if you have kids, somewhere obnoxious and loud. But what could the future bring for tourism? According to tourism futurist (yes, that's a real job – we checked) Ian Yeoman, vacations in the future could consist of robots handling every little detail, from folding your towels to – ahem – knocking your boots.
Yeoman, from New Zealand's University of Wellington, spoke at Australia's Tourism Futures conference and created a pretty interesting picture of vacations in the year 2050. His predictions included more indoor vacations due to global warming. He predicts we'll create artificial destinations, like indoor ski resorts (we already have those?), recreated indoor landscapes, indoor circuses and zoos (pretty sure we have those already, too), and "giant sea-faring cruise ships" (what the hell, Future Guy? We definitely have those). However, despite his predicting several things that already exist, he made some good and interesting points, also.
Namely, that robots will be doing most of the caring for travelers. Yeoman predicted that there will be labor shortages in the year 2050, so we will come to depend on robot laborers more and more. And we may perhaps even call on robotic prostitutes to calm our primal urges. Robot hookers could potentially cut down on the cases of STDs and AIDS, but wives still probably wouldn't appreciate their husbands stepping out on them, even if it was with a 'droid.
Other predictions from Yeoman: beds that can sense a guest's comfort needs and adjust automatically, pills to keep vacationers awake so they don't miss a minute of fun, and mood wallpaper that changes color based on the guest's feelings. He also states that vacations in space will become "the ultimate luxury."
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