Top trends
Industry watchers says these are some of the top emerging trends:
“Bucket list” travel:
Baby Boomers are retiring and using their money to travel, turning bucket-list destinations into a reality. They are choosing South African safaris or a trip to Machu Picchu over beach resorts. “But the trend is broader than that,” says Greg Geronemus, the co-CEO of smarTours http, a guided tour company based in New York City. “Even Millennials are contemplating their bucket lists and social media is inspiring a whole new generation of travelers interested in pushing the envelope in terms of where they travel.”
Shoulder season travel:
More travelers are willing to take off-season trips to avoid crowds and take advantage of better prices. Backroads, an adventure travel company, says it is offering more tours during off-season periods to destinations such as Scotland, England, Iceland and Portugal.
Digital travel:
Kristian Valk, chief executive officer and co-founder of
Hotelchamp, says more travelers are using functions such as Google Translate to give them live translations, apps such as EatWith to find social dining options, and their Smartphones to serve as hotel room keys and even control parts of their rooms. If they want, they can have a completely digital experience.
Hyper-personalized travel:
Bealby says travelers are looking for even more hands-on local experiences, such as dancing and cooking lessons. Other experiences his tour guide company have organized are meeting with fisherman, watching weddings in India, and taking arrow lessons from a bushman. Traveling with experts also is popular, such as culinary tours with cookbook authors.