It goes without saying that travel has changed drastically in the past decade. Gone are the days of enormous seats, whizzing through the security line, free snacks and mystery meals on plastic trays. We now live in a post-9/11 world-strapped for cash, driven by technology, constantly worried by the unknown. These factors affect many aspects of society and business, but have hit travel in a specific number of ways.

These are the three biggest changes travel has experienced since 1993, according to a recent USA Today article by Bill McGee, who has been documenting the shifts in travel tendencies for years.

1. Security

Arguably the most palpable change, security has tightened ten-fold in the past ten years. All modes of transportation, especially air and sea travel, now make a traveler subject to extensive security checks. Remember when we didn't even have to take our shoes off at the airport? Then the shoe bomber came about and changed everything. Even large public areas-train and bus stations, hotels and theme parks-have been equipped with surveillance devices.

2. Technology

Apps, smart phones, tablets and new ways to check out various destinations have completely shifted the travel game. Travel agencies have all but disappeared or gone online, travel guides are available online rather than in book form, and any tourist can check into a hotel, select their seat on a plane, or reserve a rental car with a tap of a screen.

3. Mergers

A business merger is no new concept, but recently, many airline executives, analysts and even politicians wager that less competition in the market will prove positive for customers. Airlines have, subsequently, been merging at a rapid pace. Qantas and Emirates, US Airways and American Airlines and Southwest and AirTran are just some of the carriers who have joined forces in the past 10 years.