Turning fear into joy
THE JOMO phenomenon – Joy of Missing Out – is real. After being seized by anxiety-inducing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) thanks to perfectly curated Instagram posts, social media users are pushing back and recognising the need to disconnect and be present in the moment. And according to a major online hotel reservation site, the proof is in the bookings.
Hotels.com reports seeing an 18% increase in searches for remote destinations and off-grid travel in 2018 compared to 2017.
Likewise, searches for Greenland increased by over 65% this year compared to last, leading Hotels.com to believe that one of the coldest places on Earth will become one of the hottest destinations in 2019.
Data is based on searched conducted on Hotels.com.
The findings piggyback on a report released earlier from market research group Euromonitor International, which also identified JOMO as a major trend for 2019, particularly among Asian countries which are frontrunners in digital connectivity.
In light of the results, Hotels.com is putting up travellers seeking JOMO at a remote off-grid hotel in Ittoqqortoormiit in East Greenland, population 450.
This is not, warns the site, for high maintenance travellers. Rather, it’s for adventure seekers who find the idea of scaling Arctic mountains, watching the Northern Lights, dogsledding and paddling past icebergs in wintry cold climes enticing.
Bookings are for the month of March and Hotels.com says they will pick up most of the tab. Reduced room rates are applied at checkout with the code “Remote”. – AFP Relaxnews