Okay, so science fiction-like technology has officially entered the travel sphere, and it’s now possible for a device to read your mind and recommend a destination based on your brain wave activity.
Say what? Is this a joke? I know this is the year 2017 and all, but surely such technology is another 10 or 20 years in the making?
Nuh-uh, guys. This is for real. The new device, pioneered by UK adventure travel company, Explore, is the real deal, and it has the potential to radically alter the way Travel Agents do their job…
But first, what is this new device and how does it work? There’s no actual name for said device yet, but basically the technology works by analysing a consumer’s brain wave activity in response to visual stimuli (such as videos and photographs) using electroencephalography, or EEG. It then determines what kind of emotional response the images elicited in the individual, either positive or negative.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Then, by crunching the numbers through some pretty advanced algorithms, it can reveal which visual stimuli resulted in the highest positive emotional response. That data can then be used by a Travel Agent (or just about anyone) to suggest destinations that flaunt such visuals.
For example, if the consumer got all excited upon seeing a shot of NYC from Top of the Rock, then perhaps a stint in the Big Apple is on the cards. Or maybe pictures of crystalline water and swaying palm trees made the consumer feel all zen-like? Then perhaps a Caribbean island holiday is called for. Or suppose that videos of wild animals in Africa elicited the highest positive response in the user – you can see where I’m going with this…
Check the device in action below:
Okay, so what are the potential ramifications for the industry with the introduction of this new technology?
Well obviously, we are quite some time before these are likely to be laid out across travel agencies across the country. But looking into our crystal ball, it’s likely these devices will probably only be of use to the stock-standard package holiday consumer. You know the ones – those clients that do the same thing every year. These guys like to play it safe on holiday, and don’t want to risk wasting their hard-earned annual leave flying somewhere and not having an amazing time.
So maybe they’ll want to hook one of this devices up to themselves to find out where they’d like to go next on holiday.
But it’s likely that many will reject this new kind of technology, because a HUGE reason why travelling is so rewarding and fun is its element of surprise and adventure. It’s going somewhere completely different and out of your comfort zone that ultimately makes travelling so addictive.
Source: entrepreneur.com
And that’s where Travel Agents are incredibly useful. They’re able to suggest destinations that may not be on the client’s travel radar, but ultimately prove to be their best travel experience yet.
I’m not saying that this new technology won’t have a more widespread use if/when it is more commonly used, but I’m just saying that travel is basically a synonym of adventure, and what makes adventure so damn alluring is it’s element of surprise.
But still, what an exciting new piece of technology, and I’d definitely be keen on trying it out…
What about you?
Source: DailyMail.