4.) Enough to go round but millions still starve. Food has never been such a global issue. Some 1.5bn overweight and obese adults share the planet with 870m chronically hungry people, and governments are grappling with the same challenges: how to produce more food from less land, slash waste and reduce price volatility, while battling erratic climate patterns. December 18, 2012 at 03:06AM

The world’s population will continue to grow, reaching 8.3 billion by 2030 (up from 7.1 billion in 2012). Nations will become older and more urban. All these factors will combine to put pressure on precious resources. “[T]he volume of urban construction for housing, office space, and transport services over the next 40 years could roughly equal the entire volume of such construction to date in world history.” December 13, 2012 at 07:10AM

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;) January 04, 2013 at 09:53AM

4.) Enough to go round but millions still starve. Food has never been such a global issue. Some 1.5bn overweight and obese adults share the planet with 870m chronically hungry people, and governments are grappling with the same challenges: how to produce more food from less land, slash waste and reduce price volatility, while battling erratic climate patterns. December 18, 2012 at 03:06AM

The world’s population will continue to grow, reaching 8.3 billion by 2030 (up from 7.1 billion in 2012). Nations will become older and more urban. All these factors will combine to put pressure on precious resources. “[T]he volume of urban construction for housing, office space, and transport services over the next 40 years could roughly equal the entire volume of such construction to date in world history.” December 13, 2012 at 07:10AM