Global property developer Colliers International has produced a travel tech trends report which looks specifically at the Middle East region.

While virtual reality travel and electronic baggage labels are generic and familiar, “spontaneous travel” is a fresh idea. The report suggests that apps which can service demand for “day trips within the GCC, given the short flight durations”  are in a strong position to exploit this trend.

It names Hopper and Utrip as examples of apps which are meeting this need in the region.

Cloud-based or cyber-passports are mentioned as a trend which could benefit the Middle East’s increasingly crowded airports.

Australia is leading the way on this, having announced plans last year to look into the possibility of document-free travel with all details secured in the cloud.

Personalisation has been around for a few years so is hardly a trend.  Colliers’ report mentions airline menu pricing options as an example but notes “opinions are raised whether these travel improvements are intrusive…”

Intrusion is also relevant in the context of hotels using bluetooth beacons on-property to supposedly enhance the guest experience, Colliers says, with “a fine line to be drawn by hoteliers”.

It is unusual for a travel tech trends report to raise, not once but twice, the idea some tech initiatives could cross over from helpful to intrusive. Intrusion could be a specific concern of Middle Eastern travellers.

Or it could be that the topic has been raised as the result of a real estate specialist producing a travel tech report without knowing it is not the done thing to suggest that some travellers are becoming sensitive to the privacy implications of personalisation.

NB: Image by SwissHippo/BigStock