From airlines going bankrupt
to the rise of agglomerators like Kayak.com, the year was a big one for travelers…esp Web-obsessed ones. MSNBC.com takes a look at some of the big trends and events to come
out of the year. Among some of the other trends the author mentions are the implementation by various travel sites of
an Amazon-like system for rating and reviewing. This is wonderful because nothing beats Wiki-like citizen input.
Another BIG trend which I hope continues, albeit with a twist: the
spread of Wi-fi…a trend that you can’t gainsay, but as we’ve bitched about here many times, the issue is not Wi-fi,
it’s FREE Wi-fi. It is my romantic notion (Google, are you listening?) that Wi-fi should be like water. There are free
drinking fountains everywhere. In airports, public spaces, Starbucks…and like water, Wi-fi should flow freely (and
for free) into the public sphere. But again, I’m a bit odd that way…especially in the way I HATE spending $9 to check
email in an airport terminal.
Anyhow, I suppose one of the travel stories missed by this survey
is the rise of travel blogs. Sure ,we were around for a year or so before 2005, but this year blogs like Gadling, Gridskipper, Written Road, Travel Post and more have
really taken off. We do podcasts and some do video (we hope to do some more at some point here) and we keep up a steady
stream of travel-related information for people to monitor and contribute to. Not that I am tooting our horn here, but
the travel blog is a new and notable trend, I think. (ah, and did I mention we
got a whoile new look…that’s worth some celebration, to be sure ;-)), and more have really taken off.
We do podcasts and some do video (we hope to do some more at some point here) and we keep up a steady stream of
travel-related information for people to monitor and contribute to. Not that I am tooting our horn here, but the travel
blog is a new and notable trend, I think.
Anyway, I suggest this was a very fine year. It was for me, and I
hope/trust it was for others. Let’s hope 2006 is as good or better.