SCANDI SKIES北國藍天下

THIS MONTH WE are concentrating on three themes: Asian heritage, wellness and northern Europe. One is about buildings, the second about human bodies and the third’s about a geographic area. What can they possibly have in common?

It’s this: those themes will account for a lot of travel, and travellers’ dollars, in the coming year. We surveyed what’s happening in hotels, aviation and experiential travel; we spoke to a lot of people – tour operators, writers, industry experts and the like. Those words came up again and again.

None of these trends are exactly new. The new century has seen conservation becoming a more dominant theme in Asian cities (though still not as dominant as many would like). But this year we expect to see some really ambitious projects take off, beginning with Aman’s extraordinary new Shanghai hotel in January.

Wellness in all its forms has been a huge driver of revenue for the travel industry ever since the spa revolution of the 1990s. In 2018 and beyond we’ll see the line between hospitality and therapy become ever more blurred.

Finally, northern Europe. Tourism to Scandinavia and the Baltics used to be largely confined to locals and cruises. The region’s design and culinary rise has transformed its fortunes, as has the greater accessibility of natural wonders like the Norwegian fjords and Iceland’s volcanoes. And let’s not forget: this airline launches three northern European routes this year.

Choosing our 2018 trends was easy. Deciding on a cover was harder. In the end, Kim Larsen’s neo-impressionist views (above) of his native Jutland, in Denmark, did the most important thing a landscape image can do: it made us want to go there.

Another new trend that we hope will continue in 2018 is the brilliant work of Discovery’s creative director, Steve Ellul, who recently won Designer of the Year at the 2017 Content Marketing Awards.

Mark Jones Editorial director

本月我們有三個主題：亞洲古蹟、保健養生與北歐。第一個主題與建築物有關，第二個主題與身體有關，至於第三個主題則與一個地理區域有關。三者之間，到底有何共通之處？

答案就是：這三個主題都與來年的旅遊趨勢及遊客花費的金錢有密切關係。我們對酒店業、航空業及體驗式旅遊業進行連串調查，亦與旅行社經營者、旅遊作者及業內專家交流，這幾個主題均不斷重覆出現。

這些趨勢其實不是新鮮事物。踏入新世紀以來，亞洲多個城市對保育古蹟愈加重視（雖然仍未盡如人意）。但本年會有多個極具雄心壯志的項目面世，1月首先有安縵集團位於上海的全新酒店開幕，別具巧思的出色設計，令人耳目一新。

自從1990年代水療中心進行大變革以來，五花八門的養生保健方式一直為旅遊業帶來大量收入。由2018年開始，我們將會見到酒店業與保健理療之間的界線變得愈來愈模糊。

最後，北歐亦將成為旅遊熱門之選。以往斯堪的納維亞及波羅的海一帶的旅遊業，對象主要是當地人或是乘郵輪前來的遊客。然而特色設計與美食將這個地區的命運改變，吸引更多外地人前往，而現在前往挪威的峽灣與欣賞冰島的火山地帶亦比以前更方便。在此提醒讀者，國泰航空本年推出三條飛往北歐的航線，讓你可飽覽北國風光。

選出2018年的旅遊新趨勢並不困難，但是挑選封面則困難得多。再三取捨之後，終於選了Kim Larsen的作品。他以新印象派風格（上圖）繪畫家鄉丹麥日德蘭半島的風景，深得風景畫的要旨：看過之後令我們很想去那個地方遊覽一番。

此外， 2017年一件令人高興的事，就是《Discovery》的創意總監Steve Ellul於2017年Content Marketing Awards大獎榮獲年度設計師獎項。