Photo: is space travel just around the corner?

Travel has come a long way in the last century.

It goes without saying that the landscape of tourism 30, 40, or 50 years from now will be different from that of today. In what ways will our norms and expectations change?

Here’s a look at 6 predictions for the future of travel.

1. Virtual tourism

Mexico as seen in Second Life

As technology advances, it becomes easier to virtually experience the essence of a place. For example, sites like WHTour aim to preserve UNESCO heritage sites in 3D photography, and then allow web surfers to interact with these images in 360 degrees, “as if you were really there.”

Online communities like Second Life are being used to recreate destinations virtually. While it’s unlikely technology will ever actually replace physical travel, but it can bring access to the world ever closer to us.

2. Changing traveler demographics

As this New York Times article from 2006 suggests, countries such as China have growing economies and a burgeoning middle class with disposable income for activities like international travel.

As demographics of large tourist populations change, popular destinations will begin to cater to their needs. Will aspiring tour guides flock to learn Chinese? It’s a possibility in the world of future travel.

3. New York, Paris, Pyongyang?

Photo yeowatzup

Travel can certainly be an economic boon to a country, bringing in much needed economic revenue. In the future, countries currently viewed as closed to the world may begin to open up using tourism as a vehicle.

An example of this can be seen in Libya right now, although as USA Today suggests, it has a ways to go. Even North Korea allows small (albeit tightly controlled) groups of foreign tourists in to visit.

As the political and economic landscape of the world changes, people may begin to travel to places previously considered to be “off limits,” with this increased openness benefiting both host and visitor.

4. Extinct sites

Photo 14983

Just as travel in the future can open up opportunities, it can also reduce possibilities as well. Over-visitation of popular sites can wreak havoc on the environment and infrastructure.

From “sinking” Venice to the impact of mass tourism on Machu Picchu or the Galapagos Islands, finding ways of mediating the negative effects of travel (such as introducing stricter quotas) is one potential (though undesirable) outcome of travel in the future.

5. Mentality changes

Photo Mannequin Display

Of course, if the current energy situation heralds a new trend, we may have to re-think our assumptions about travel. Just as the “staycation” became a buzzword this summer, we may need to consider the moral and behavioral impacts of leisure travel.

6. The final frontier?

One of the more “futuristic” predictions, space travel could one day become a feasible option for people besides the mega-rich.

As described in a recent New York Times story, both the Russian space program and the private company of Virgin Galactic are sinking their teeth into this emerging niche market.

The degree to which this takes off, both figuratively and literally, has yet to be seen, but perhaps sometime within our lifetimes it won’t be unheard of to receive a postcard from the moon.

Someone 50 years ago would be shocked to imagine a future where one could travel from London to Paris by train, or fly across Europe for the price of a guidebook.

Similarly, changes occurring in the future of travel in the next century, whether good or bad, will undoubtedly surprise us as well.

What predictions do you have for the future of travel? Share in the comments!

Brokedown Palace / Photo 20th Century Fox

It’s every traveler’s worst nightmare: Being arrested or even imprisoned while visiting a foreign country far from home.

As movies like Brokedown Palace and Bridget Jones’ Diary have shown, such occurrences can and do occur.

Whether it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being uninformed about different laws, or putting trust in the wrong people…none of this matters when a foreigner is at the mercy of the host country’s regulations and authorities. According to the US State Department, “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

Fortunately, most people’s voyages go off without a hitch, but an unlucky minority find themselves on the wrong side of a jail cell.

Here are 10 cases, some with happy endings, others that have yet to be resolved:

10. Overstaying Your Welcome

2007 – An Icelandic woman was arrested at JFK airport for having overstayed a U.S. tourist visa nearly a decade before. She was interrogated and spent a day shackled in prison before being deported.

9. Mistaken Bullets

2003 – While being arrested in Singapore for chewing gum seems to be an urban myth, a British backpacker ran afoul of the law in this small country for carrying a model plane in her hand luggage with replica missiles that were mistaken for live bullets. She was freed with a warning after spending 10 hours in a jail cell.

8. Tourist Gone Wild

2003 – A female holidaymaker was arrested in the Greek town of Faliraki for indecent exposure (baring her breasts in a resort competition) by police fed up with an epidemic of loutish behaviour by tourists. In the end, she paid a fine to avoid an 8 month prison sentence.

7. Spy Versus Spy

2001 – A group of 14 British and Dutch “planespotters” (airplane enthusiasts) were arrested and sentenced to up to 3 years in Greek jail for allegedly committing espionage by photographing military aircraft at an airshow. After a long process, their convictions were finally overturned one year later.

6. Wrong Place, Wrong Time

2005 – An 18 year old English football fan was arrested in Bulgaria for allegedly attacking a local man (which another English man later confessed to.)

He was found guilty of attempted murder and given a sentence of 15 years. This was eventually reduced to 10 years (with the remainder served in Britain) but no retrial was granted. The case has recently been taken to the European Parliament.

5. An Indecent Proposal

2006 – A 19 year old Briton was arrested in Tunisia for having sex with a minor (a consenting 14 year old British girl who had told him she was 18.) The sentence was for up to 6 years but eventually he served a suspended 6 months in prison and returned home in 2007.

4. The Drug Mule

Carrying drugs (either knowingly or unknowingly) is often one of the most harshly punished offenses around the world. Some people consciously take the risk of trafficking substances across borders, but others become unsuspecting mules.

2002 – A British backpacker was arrested in India and sentenced to ten years in jail for drug smuggling (when the drugs had been planted in her bag by an acquaintance.) Fortunately, her story ended (relatively) happily: after spending 5 years in Indian prison, she was pardoned and released.

3. Wrongly Convicted

2006 – In a similar story, another backpacker in India was accused of drug smuggling (again, it is suspected they were placed in his luggage by someone else.) This man is currently in prison serving the early stages of a ten-year sentence, though his family continues to fight for his freedom.

2. Every Bit Counts

2008 – The United Arab Emirates is well known for its incredibly stringent drugs rules. Possession of a long list of substances is illegal (and this includes traces found in the bloodstream.) In 2008, a traveler passing through Dubai airport was jailed for 4 years after a .003 gram trace of cannabis was found stuck to the tread of his shoe (an amount roughly equivalent in size to a grain of sugar).

1. Seeds Of Guilt

2008 – And finally, in another recent high-profile case coming out of Dubai, “A Swiss national is serving a four-year jail term after three poppy seeds from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow airport were found on his clothes.”

Further details of the situation are hard to come by, but as this BBC article suggests, while it may be the most “extreme,” it’s not the only occurrence. Even a member of the Pakistani cricket team was held for 19 days and just recently released without charge.

While it’s unlikely the average person will encounter any problems, information and preparation can often go a long way in helping ensure that any experience with foreign prisons can be limited to that which is seen on the movie screens!

Here’s to safe travels!

UPDATE: Check out the documentary Ganja Queen, airing tonight on HBO.

Other resources:

• NG’s guide to sneaking out of jail.
• American State Department advice
• Fair Trials – Non-profit group cited in Dubai case

Do you know any other extreme cases of travelers arrested abroad? Share in the comments!

Photo by Betssssy

One sunny spring afternoon in Dublin, a female friend and I stood waiting next to the massive “spike” on O’Connell Street.

The air of anticipation suggested that she was waiting for a blind date, with me there for moral support in case she changed her mind and decided to leave.

With several people milling about, it didn’t seem like the best place to locate a stranger for the first time. Yet, in the midst of the hubbub, a long-haired, sunglasses-clad man emerged and approached us.

Handshakes were exchanged, and my friend went off, duffel bag in hand, to spend the weekend with him.

This shady-seeming encounter represents just one of hundreds of meet-ups being played out around the world each day, arranged via “couch-sharing” websites such as Couchsurfing and Hospitality Club.

The premise of these sites, which began in 2002 and 2003, respectively, is to connect travelers with hosts who volunteer to act as free tour guides or even accommodation providers, offering up lodging in their own homes.

The Kindness of Strangers

I felt a bit nervous as my friend walked away with the lanky, long-haired Irishman. She, too, must have had slight misgivings: after all, she hadn’t told her family that she’d be sleeping in a stranger’s living room for two nights.

Yet, when Monday arrived, my friend had lived to tell the tale – and, as her pictures of new friends and music jam sessions revealed, she had a great time in the process. She’s since “couchsurfed” with two other people.

By its very nature, staying with a stranger from the Internet seems fraught with risks for guest and host alike. Sure, the allure of a free place to crash is appealing, but then again, the peace of mind afforded by a youth hostel could be worth its weight in gold.

Therefore the allure of “couch-sharing” sites must be about more than purely financial concerns. In fact, the sites’ mission statements underline this basic premise.

Couchsurfing.com states that it “is not about the furniture, not just about finding free accommodations around the world; it’s about making connections worldwide.”

Monetary considerations are just one element of Hospitality Club’s assertion that it offers a “fun, ecological, economical and socially beneficial way of traveling.”

Both of these sites do take measures to encourage safety, including the possibility of “vouching” for people and encouraging public feedback after a meet-up occurs.

The Couchsurfing website statistics mention that in a given week, there were 12,962 real-life introductions, of which 81% were reported as “positive,” and less than 1% as “negative” (the other rating option was “neutral”).

While it’s unlikely that every encounter is without trouble, successful exchanges seem to be the rule rather than the exception.

A Local Connection

Photo by PhilipC

Hosts aren’t obliged to offer lodging (some may just be available to meet up for a drink). Jana’s host in Alicante took her out to “an original Spanish outdoor party I would have never found myself,” and her Portuguese host “showed us very nice local places in Funchal and drove us in his car over the whole island.”

Similarly, Jessica’s hostess in Bucharest shared her local knowledge of the capital, driving her around to cover the most sights in the limited time available.

Motivations for Couchsurfers are often based around wanting to experience a place from the point of view of a local; to avoid the traps and well-trodden paths forged by guidebook-worshipping backpackers.

Couchsurfing, in a way, enables a person to gain a different experience; to become a traveler rather than a tourist.

This sentiment is echoed by Mehdi, another surfer who says: “Traveling in CS way will involve you in people’s culture, so it’s more than seeing different places…All these things can help us to make a wonderful paradise out of this damn multimedia robotic world!”

The World On Your Doorstep

Motivations for hosts are often less clear, although a tendency towards altruism tends to prevail. Some people enjoy the feeling of being an “expert” and in sharing special places with others.

Another commonality among hosts is a desire for inter-cultural exchange, with the added benefit of being able to meet people from other countries without having to go anywhere.

As a host, George explains, “I love how the culture comes to me when I am not able to travel myself.”

The possibility of making new friends from around the world (who might be able to return the favor of hosting one day) is another major draw for the people upon whose generosity the couch-sharing sites must rely.

The Internet has enabled people from around the world to communicate with each other, and hospitality sites take this to the next level by facilitating real-life cultural exchange and sharing. While there are bound to be a minority of unscrupulous people who abuse the system, overall, the success of these sites tend to speak for the power of trust and good will.

The couch-sharing trend seems to provide an alternative travel paradigm that many people find fulfilling and return to support in the future.

Have you ever couch surfed, or hosted a Couchsurfer? Share your experiences in the comments!