Future of Business & Communications: FuturistGerd

Air travel is now the safest it has been since the dawn of jet planes, with the global airline industry set to mark its lowest rate of fatal accidents since the early 1960s.

Flying Is Safest Since Dawn of Jet Age - WSJ.com

The Wall Street Journal

(via Hotels in Extremely Remote Locations : Condé Nast Traveler)

cntraveler.com

Skift Report: 13 Global Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013 by Skift

We believe these 13 trends, by no means exhaustive, will help define travel and many other interconnected sectors:

Everyone wants a Chinese tourist
Ancillary fees are the new normal
Last-minute mobile hotel booking
The rise of price transparency
Travelers are hungry for food tourism
Airports as destinations
Destination branding through movies
Digital maps are one of travel’s key battlegrounds
Personal in-flight entertainment through mobile devices
Affordable design at hotels
Blurring of business and leisure travel
Cementing of the Gulf as the next great global aviation hub
Lure of the last unknown: The rise of Myanmar

Gerd adds: nice report ( and free;)

An article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal lists some of Google’s recent content moves with its 2011 purchase of review service Zagat Survey, a purchase of an equity stake in video content creator Machinima, and its $350 million investment in creating professional quality videos for YouTube among them. These were just the big ones: The Internet is abuzz with smaller content companies that Google snatched up entirely.

Google’s content acquisitions leaves search engine role in question Gerd adds: interesting development indeed. It’s all about DATA, TRUST, CONTENT :))

upstart.bizjournals.com

A new French start-up is changing the way we travel. The site, TripnCo, is a social media spin on traditional vacation sites that helps you find the right trip for the right price and, most importantly, with the right people. For students backpacking through Germany or businessmen looking for a weekend on the French Riviera, the site offers a different way to plan a getaway.

French make social media the new travel agent | SmartPlanet

Good idea:)

smartplanet.com

(via The Go-Nowhere Generation - NYTimes.com)

good read

The New York Times

86 Futurist Video-Podcasts on iTunes

futuresagency:

Gerd Leonhard’s keynotes, speeches, presentations and think-tanks are renowned for his hard-hitting and provocative yet inspiring and motivational style. With over 750 engagements in 37 countries during the past 7 years, Gerd has addressed over 250.000 executives and professionals, and is considered a key influencer. He has now made many live video recordings of his speeches as well as some special lecture videos available for free on iTunes. Enjoy!