It’s that time of the year when we pause to reflect on the year that’s just zipped past and the new path that will unfold before us in just a couple of weeks. WIT asked our circle of industry experts to pick the three events that shifted the needle for travel in 2013 and predict three events for 2014. Here’s Part 1.

Fritz Demopoulos, CEO, Queen’s Road Capital

Three events in 2013 that shifted the needle for travel  

• Mobile is prime time

• Vacation rentals/collaborative consumption are prime time

• The Chinese leisure traveler is prime time

Three events in 2014 that will shift the needle for travel 

• Resurgence of the Japanese travel market

• Emergence of the Indonesian consumer

• Transparency of the consumer

Philip Wolf, Founder, PhoCusWright 

Three events in 2013 that shifted the needle for travel 

• Chinese becoming #1 as travelers

• Jeff Boyd (CEO of Priceline Group) retiring

• Sharing economy becoming mainstream

Three events in 2014 that will shift the needle for travel 

• Airbnb becoming the world’s largest hotel company

• Breakthrough in visa simplification globally

• Priceline acquiring Homeaway

Morris Sim, CEO & co-founder, Circos Brand Karma

Three events in 2013 that shifted the needle for travel 

• Cross-platform advertising done by Expedia, making retargeting a reality and creating a new model to build awareness using multiple digital channels

• Chinese travelers let their impact be known: boom for leisure business (in Thailand because of a movie) and bust for domestic/government business (because of a leadership change)

• Arrival of the Gen Ys, and all their selfie habits: last-minute bookings, disposal brand loyalty, instagramable moments, and constant wechat/whatsapp/line

Three events in 2014 that will shift the needle for travel 

• Consumer space travel begins limited offering

• Truly useful wearable technology becomes widely available

• As exchange platforms for transportation, rooms, local guides become mainstream, a new set of services emerges to integrate the exchanges

Turochas Fuad, CEO & co-founder, Travelmob 

Three events in 2013 that shifted the needle for travel 

• Sharing Economy – opening up untapped accommodations and travel related experiences

• Middle Incomers – 90M new middle incomers in Asia driving up growth

• Mobile Adoption – it IS NOW an integral part of travel from pre-planning to post booking.

Three events in 2014 that will shift the needle for travel 

• Consolidation & Acquisitions – larger companies buying up innovative companies in order to compete and maintain relevancy

• South-east Asia – the region will continue to drive and shape travel growth

• Bespoke Itineraries – it’s not about how to get there, and not only where to stay, but what you do when you get there. New companies and services will evolve.

Kevin May, Editor, Tnooz

Three events in 2013 that shifted the needle for travel 

• Priceline closing its deal to buy Kayak and Expedia buying majority stake in Trivago.

• Continued rise of same-day mobile booking as a viable – if still rather narrow – distribution channel.

• Acceptance in the airline sector that distribution will NEVER be the same again.

Three events in 2014 that will shift the needle for travel 

• First major signs of Chinese outbound growth triggering changes to Western travel brand strategies.

• Hotels and OTAs realising the potential for in-destination services as a product line.

• Consolidation in the metasearch sector – intra-brand or outside sectors.