Japan’s biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn’t traveling at all.

For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that’s controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner (真空吸尘器) with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter’s face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she’s really there.

“Virtual travel” is nothing new, of course. Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been inspiring the senses of armchair tourists (足不出户的旅行者) for centuries. It’s only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non-wealthy.

Yet even as the worlds middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seats, there are hints of a post-travel society coming. Concerns about sustainability (可持续发展) are causing a loss to carbon-intensive airlines, which do harm to our environment. And the aging of wealthy societies is both limiting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an inviting response to these trends.

Of course, far-out technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn’t plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be a barrier. By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA’s traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.

But if the business case for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA’s robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they’ll almost certainly be a part of travels high-tech future.

Mi Teleferico, Bolivia

Crossing the Bolivian capital of La Paz, the Teleferico is both the highest and longest city cable-car system on the planet. Built to relieve the city’s extreme road traffic, the three lines of this "subway in the sky" spirit the city’s 2.3 million citizens. At an altitude of 3,700 metres, you' ll feel the thrill of flying as you’re smoothly carried over entire neighborhoods and business districts—all for a ticket price that' s less than a dollar.

Everest Flights, Nepal

It is no easy work to climb the Everest, a mountain second to none at an altitude of 8 ,848 metres. Most of us know that we'll never move along the Hillary Step and overcome this mountain. Fortunately, a number of local airlines operating out of Kathmandu’s small domestic airport offer a glimpse of this glory for about a hundred dollars. In a few hours, you'll get into the heart of the Himalayas, getting close enough to snap a few fantastic photos from your window seat before circling back. No oxygen tank required !

Rocky Mountaineer, Canada

With select routes that lead through Banff and Jasper national parks as well as Lake Louise, Rocky Mountaineer provides a best opportunity to spot the wildlife of western Canada, including elk, bighorn sheep, and possibly even bears of the black, brown, and grayish variety. Rocky Mountaineer' s multi-day journeys include

breakfasts and lunches prepared by world-class chefs, B.C. wines, and an invitation to sit back, relax, and let the Rockies come to you.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, South Africa

Few places in the world have appeal like Table Mountain, the flat-topped monolith( 独石) that serves as the backdrop for most tourists' photos— and memories—of Cape Town. Completed back in 1929, the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway carries nearly one million sightseers to the summit every year,rising roughly 1,000 metres in fewer than five minutes.

“City Cycling USA: Los Angeles,” a pocket-sized tour guide to seeing Los Angeles on two wheels, is seemingly for visitors; for locals, its series of bike-friendly paths and itineraries (行程) are a road-map to becoming tourists in their own city again.

“City Cycling” explores five neighborhoods in the Westside and Eastside and generally north of the 10 and south of the 101. Itineraries fit the period of a day, beginning with spots for coffee, walking along museums and shops, and finishing off with recommendations of where to buy a well-deserved drink. Published by Thames and Hudson in association with London cycling brand Rapha Racing, the guidebook is among the first U.S. sections — alongside New York, Chicago and San Francisco — in a series launched in 2013 with biking tours of eight European cities.

Greatest hits such as the Bradbury Building and Echo Park Lake are included in the neighborhood tours, with plenty of fashionable places for where to eat — Eggslut, Pine & Crane and Gjusta. The guide is a reminder of how crowdedly packed each enclave (飞地) of L.A. is with unusual destinations, the large number of places to explore within a few square mile radius (半径), easily done once we step out of the car.

Los Angeles’ famously pleasant weather makes it an ideal city for exploring by bike; neighborhoods have different styles. While the car still plays an important role, cycling culture, like CicLAvia, already has full support, and is prepared to grow with the implementation (实施) of Mobility Plan 2035, which aims to make the city more bike friendly. “City Cycling USA: Los Angeles” is a start.