2019 travel trends

Industry watchers say these are some of the top emerging trends:

❚ Immersive, culturally-rich travel: About 82 percent of USTOA’s members are offering art and culture travel experiences. The art and culture category was the highest ranked experiential tour type last year based on sales volume.

❚ Generation Z: This generation after Millennials, typically defined as those born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, are starting to travel and brands are noticing them, according to The Innovation Group’s annual trend report. Generation Z travelers want affordable but authentic experiences. UK tour operator the Holiday Place says Generation Z travelers expect Instagrammability, good internet connectivity, and off-the-beaten track destinations.

❚ Vacation rentals get super-sized: More travelers have opted to forgo a hotel stay in favor of a home rental on Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, and many other such websites. HomeAway says demand for castles and estates is up 55 percent and 25 percent, respectively, this year.

❚ Culinary tourism: More than three in four respondents to a survey of American Express card members say they want to try local cuisine when traveling. “As globalization increases through social media and streaming culinary travel shows, consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with different food cultures and they want to experience the local gastronomy scene,” says Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel.