Virtually everyone on the planet who has used the internet recognizes the three leading search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing. Along with the big 3, there are several others, such as the Chinese search engine Baidu and DuckDuckGo, which does not track and record users’ actions. Despite these advances, we have just begun to unlock the potential of search.

Transportation and travel. Travel and transportation. For obvious reasons, the two cannot be treated as mutually exclusive. Both are being transformed by ever-hastening technological advances, and though the naysayers dismiss the likelihood of total disruption, one has only to look at other technological leapfrog moments: the Ford Model T, Southwest Airlines, Apple’s iPhone, Uber. In each of these instances, mass adoption occurred because of a disruptor, and once that disruptor entered the market, adoption took place in fewer than 10 years. History is about to repeat, and it will once again involve how people get around. Many predict this change will be the most transformative one in transportation for the next 100 years. This analysis will explore various aspects and implications of this transformation on the travel industry.

Virtual reality (VR) may capture the imagination – and the headlines -- but for travel companies, augmented reality (AR) is where it’s at. While VR creates a fully immersive experience that can virtually transport people to other worlds, AR enhances the user’s view of the real world. By superimposing digital content onto the physical world via a mobile device, headgear or other viewing method, AR has the potential to engage, entertain, inform and assist travelers. Google’s early Glass experiment in 2013-2014 highlighted both interesting applications for AR glasses and problems (e.g., usability, battery life, privacy issues, social stigma) that need to be solved before they are widely adopted. But while standalone headgear or peripherals may eventually gain traction, they are still expensive and cumbersome, so in the near term it is mobile devices that will fuel AR growth. This article reviews the state of AR in 2018 and provides an overview and examples of AR applications for travel. This article reviews the state of AR in 2018 and provides an overview and examples of AR applications for travel.