The look of travel,
especially by air, continues to change --- and we’re especially aware of that
today.
The Look of Travel brings to
mind clothing – what we wear. Think back
a few decades and remember that appropriate dress when flying meant coats, ties,
dresses and high heels. Fast forward to
a more recent time (2019) and the definition became clothing that was “comfortable”: jeans, yoga pants, flip flops.
Today, in this new decade any
of those ‘comfortable” clothes may show up, however, now we have new
accessories: masks and gloves and we
carry bottles of hand sanitizer or packages of wipes.
Yet it isn’t just the look of
travelers that’s changing. According to
Wunderman-Thompson airports, airplanes, even shuttles are changing. The changes won’t mimic the design of Jewel
Changi Airport in Singapore (https://www.jewelchangiairport.com/). A stunning new complex, opened barely a year
ago. Thought to set a new standard for
airports. Now, maybe not. Described on Wikipedia as “a nature-themed
entertainment and retail complex linked to three of its passenger terminals.
Its centerpiece is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the
Rain Vortex, which is surrounded by a terraced forest setting.” Makes one want to fly to Singapore just to
see it.
However, that’s not what’s
coming to airport design in 2020. The
airport that is evolving now, as described in the Wunderman-Thompson
Intelligence Brief of July 6, 2020, (https://intelligence.wundermanthompson.com)
is an one “that shields personal space and protects individual health”.
Some things you may see:
Sofas that encourage proper distancing,
Spaces designed to optimize sanitation and
facilitate cleaning
A transparent hood that can be fixed onto existing
seats.
From the spaces that accommodate travelers to the
vehicles that bring them there, the backdrop of tourism is being reimagined in
the wake of COVID-19. Rather than
dramatic vistas, forests and services, today’s travel environment is focused on
health and safety. The look and feel of
travel, what we wear, where we sit, what surrounds us continues to change. What’s next?
Let’s go and find out.
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