Exploring the metaverse, new biometric possibilities, working from anywhere

November 18, 2022

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Smile for a smooth travel payment experience.

Biometric payments – via ApplePay and GooglePay – are now mainstream for retail and travel payments.

Walt Disney Co. has plans to create a real-world theme park ride that incorporates a similar 3D virtual world experience, while Seoul is blazing a trail with its plans to go “meta” by 2023 with a platform titled “Metaverse Seoul”.

American Express Global Business Travel even published a paper titled ‘Why Business Travel Is At The Center Of The New Company Culture’.

Daniel Batchelor, Vice President, Global Corporate Marketing, Communications & Social Responsibility, Amadeus, said: “The world used to predict technology’s impact on travel in an entirely physical way, visualising more significant and faster modes of transport than ever. With global travel increasing, expectations among companies and individual travellers are higher than ever when it comes to having a smooth travel experience.

Wide shot of woman standing in luxury hotel suite looking at view with curtains blowing in wind — Wide shot of a woman standing in a luxury hotel suite, looking at the view with curtains blowing in the wind

Taking the words “traveling light” to the next level

The Amadeus 2023 Travel Trends identify five new developments the company believes will play a part in shaping travel over the coming year.

Global brands such as Hilton offer exercise gear and equipment, helping travellers get closer to a “suitcase free stay”.

The annual travel trends were identified by the expertise of Amadeus’ team of travel tech experts. As a result, we are witnessing an uptick in “internal travel” plans, where teams are brought together to strengthen relationships.

Working from roaming

Remote workers will become increasingly nomadic, migrating to different locations. Airports already use biometrics for travel document identification, so the logical next step is to leverage this identity check for any payments travellers make during their trips. Airports and travel operators will offer a wholly contactless and convenient payment experience for passengers using biometrics at all points of the journey.

Welcome to bonding business breaks

Corporate team building, playing miniature golf — A multi-ethnic group of business people participating in corporate team-building activities. The coworkers range in age from 20s to 60s. They are playing miniature golf. A mid-adult Asian woman in her 30s is standing in the middle, facing a mature African-American man in his 50s. Everyone is happy, celebrating with fist pumps.

Business travel is back, with a difference. The trends are all connected to personal and societal concerns, from the desire to travel with a lighter ecological footprint to the desire for more people to be free to work from anywhere.

“In this exciting new reality, technology is enabling us to reach these goals. Alongside this, travellers are looking to buy essentials from the local destination, supporting and engaging with the community and ensuring they have meaningful travel experiences.

It’s travel, but not as we know it. New tools, solutions and expertise, easier airport transitions, and the opportunity to travel with less luggage are all creating headlines. The metaverse, biometrics and traveller expectations from the travel industry are combining to shift the landscape rapidly. With employee experience being more important now than ever, team travel programs will increase exponentially.

Workers will opt to spend time with friends and family in their domestic market or might spend a month working abroad. From paying for train tickets to seat upgrades, in-flight meals or late checkout at the hotel, with biometrics, travellers worldwide will use convenient, more secure biometric payment solutions. But over the coming years, travel will likely take biometric payments to the next level.

They employed the Amazon One biometric payment solution at their store at Nashville International Airport, allowing customers to “just walk out” and pay with the palm of their hand. The technology also offers enormous potential for pre-trip assistance and the opportunity to “try before you buy,” creating further wanderlust and excitement.

We will see workforces spend less time at their homes due to the widespread corporate formalisation of “work from anywhere” policies. In that case, these identity checks could double up to cover payments they could make while travelling, like adding an in-flight meal, delivering a smooth payment experience.

Father and daughter — Beautiful father and daughter enjoying a tropical vacation.

Hotels and resorts are increasingly hiring bulky items, such as sports equipment and workout clothes.

Countries including Georgia, Croatia, Iceland and Germany have already created official schemes to attract digital nomads. Nomad list is a platform connecting a global community of remote workers living and travelling worldwide, helping them find competitively priced locations to work from.

Talk of the tech revolution in travel is no longer hypothetical. They have identified that, while technology is a significant driver of change, and Web3 and biometrics will have a big part to play, human relationships are equally important.

You are no more rooting around in a handbag for your wallet so that you can upgrade to business class.

Small trials have already begun with travel retailer Hudson. Qatar Airways recently announced Qverse with a MetaHuman cabin crew, providing an immersive experience to tour, navigate and check in at Hamad International Airport. Suppose a traveller uses biometrics to check in, drop off luggage, and board the plane.

This will become increasingly popular as a way to trial higher-priced items such as luxury cruise holidays. They are an excellent way to motivate teams, improve employee satisfaction, strengthen company loyalty, and unlock creativity. It is an inspiring time for the industry.” Travellers can enjoy more profound cultural experiences online, exploring virtual concerts and exhibitions. A combination of customers becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint and the cost of checked-in luggage is slimming down suitcases.

Multiple trolley-loads of designer luggage are no longer a status symbol – quite the opposite. From a governmental perspective, we will see the continued rise of countries encouraging digital nomads through visa schemes and incentives. People want to reduce their impact on the planet while putting human relationships and broader society first. The metaverse will take traveller engagement to the next level in the coming years. Over the past few years, many companies have introduced work-from-anywhere policies.

The platform lists Bangkok and Lisbon as its top five cities for digital working. Over the next 12 months, we will witness a continual change in how we take trips. Our industry is evolving rapidly to meet ever-changing demands. Amadeus has seen a search increase of 165% from Sydney to Bangkok during September 2022 as compared to 2019.