LIFE BY LEXUS 40
THINK MICRO
Travellers are spending smarter – so accommodation-providers are having to think smarter too. For those who’ve outgrown hostels, a new “micro-hotel” trend focuses on providing travellers with small, personal, comfortable spaces to use as bases for exploring cities. Accommodation can be expensive and is
really just a place to safely store your baggage, shower and lay your head on a pillow for a few hours before heading off on your next adventure, so being able to do that in a comfortable, affordable way is a major new trend.
When launching its new micro-hotel in
New York, Arlo Hotels said it values quality over quantity and purposeful design over prescriptive hospitality, without compromising on comfort, style or luxury. The trend is an extension of the capsule hotels popular in Japan, but with more space and modern conveniences for those who don’t find the idea of spending a night in a plastic tube appealing.
DIGITAL DESTINATIONS
Crowd-sourcing advice on where to eat, drink, explore and simply hang out in far-flung places has been simplified by a host of apps. Whereas experiences were previously
packaged by tour operators and travel agents – and though there’s still a place for both, in the modern travel world – it’s now possible to plan an entire, customised trip from start to finish without speaking to another human being. Once you’ve decided where you’d like to go
after trawling wanderlust-inducing destination images on Instagram, you can search for the cheapest, fastest or easiest way to get there with flight aggregator SkyScanner. Pick the best seat on the plane with advice from SeatGuru. Find accommodation that matches your style and requirements with Airbnb; discover what the area you’ll be staying in looks like via Google Maps; plan how to get around with Uber; book experiences with Expedia and if you don’t have the time to learn a little of the local language via Duolingo before you go, you can ask for directions to that great bar with Google Translate when you arrive.
SMARTPHONE TOURGUIDE
There’s something special about following a knowledgeable local tour guide through the streets of your destination, picking up colourful local insights and being able to ask personal questions. But that no longer means following a person holding aloft a small flag through a crowded piazza – instead, there’s an app for that. Immersive local audio tours are big business
around the world and South African-founded VoiceMap offers GPS-based, offline-ready, audio tours of destinations in more than 42 countries around the world. The audio tours are presented through locals’ voices, helping familiarise tourists with their location and creating a sense of being right next to the storyteller. While many of the tours are free – including a West-End Theatreland tour voiced by Sir Ian McKellen – their cost is generally R30-R140. Another great South African app which
satisfies the inbound tourist demand for quality safari experiences is Africa: Live. Users can log wildlife sightings and view recent sightings nearby, effectively crowd- sourcing the best possible game-viewing experiences via their phones. The information gleaned from the sighting logs assists with conservation efforts, allowing rangers and specialists to keep abreast of wildlife movements.
“SKIP-GEN” TRAVELS
While online searches for “solo travel” reached an all-time high at the start of 2018, another emerging travel trend is “Skip-Gen” travel. More and more grandparents and grandchildren are travelling together, with moms and dads either too busy rushing around, or wanting a bit of quality downtime of their own. For the younger generation, the chance to
travel and explore with their elders is a massive opportunity to learn more about them – to visit the towns where they grew up and experience the world of their youth, through their eyes. For the older generation, it’s a chance to indulge in nostalgia, pass on their experiences and be revitalised by the energy of the youthful traveller.
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