As the world is getting closer, travel firmly established itself as one of the largest industries in the world, contributing almost USD 8 trillion to the global economy. It employs over 300 million people, which means about one in 10 working persons is in travel.
By 2050, almost 70 percent of the world's booming population will be living in cities. In addition to the challenges of climate change, an exponential urban sprawl might accelerate issues like pollution or extreme weather vulnerability.
We've come a long way from ringing the doorbell or even needing keys to enter our homes, offices and buildings. Technology has given us smartphone apps, finger scanners and key cards. And now, facial recognition is making access even more convenient and secure.
Creating homes and structures from scratch is a rewarding career path for many. However, working in construction has unique risks and stressors. Exposure to harmful chemicals, constant loud noise, handling heavy loads, and potential hazards such as falling from a high place or electric shocks are among the daily risks for millions who work on construction sites.
very three seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. There are currently about 50 million people globally who have Alzheimer's or related dementia. As the disease overwhelmingly affects older persons, Alzheimer's is increasingly more prevalent in the aging societies of Northern America, Western Europe, and East Asia.
There are about 700,000 hotels worldwide, accepting guests in over 16.4 million rooms. As the travel and hospitality industries are rapidly growing, millions of customers are checking in and out of hotels every day. The interactions between a guest and a hotel are much more than just a business transaction.
As building projects often take years and sometimes even decades, architecture isn't a career for the impatient. Even if architects complete many striking projects, it takes a lifetime for some to get recognized for their work. Nevertheless, the interest in this rewarding career path is on the rise.
Globally, the number of persons aged 80 years or will rise from 137 million in 2017 to 425 million by 2050. These developments create an unprecedented rise in demand for services for older persons. In the United States alone, about 1.5 million people in need of daily assistance reside in retirement homes, a number that steadily keeps rising.
As a resource-intensive industry, construction has a notoriously high environmental impact: According to some estimates, it accounts for up to 40 percent of the global carbon emissions. The sector is also a significant source of pollutants. The World Bank states that the construction waste will increase by 70 percent by 2050 unless there's urgent action.
Millennials, the generation born between 1980 and 2000, are taking the offices by storm. As of 2020, 35 percent of the global workforce are millennials, also known as Generation Y. By 2025, this figure will rise to 75 percent. In some of the advanced economies of Europe and North America, they're already the largest working cohort.
Manufacturers of building products are striving to optimize their internal processes to be more competitive, innovative, and powerful. It's no secret that embracing digitalization is the easiest way to achieve this novel goal. However, how does one optimize the process of optimization?
A global educational revolution is in the making. University attendance rates are skyrocketing at a dramatic rate. By 2040, there will be around 600 million students around the world enrolled at universities -- up from roughly 216 million in 2016. Even with the global population changes adjusted, this translates into a 200 percent growth in the number of university students.