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The year of “surprise trips”?
“More and more surprise travel agencies are appearing”
(Image credit: aanbetta/Shutterstock)
“Surprise trips” could become the big trend of 2024, declared David Farley on the occasion of the BBC. A survey of 27,000 travelers in 33 countries by Reservation.com found that 52% are “eager” to book a surprise trip where “everything up to the destination is unknown until arrival.” Over the past decade, “more and more surprise travel companies have popped up,” Farley added, and the “element of mystery” “makes travelers look for a new way to see the world.”
Mongolia and Nairobi included in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel ranking
Mongolia is considered one of the best countries to visit
(Image credit: Narantungalag Dashtseren/Shutterstock)
In its “Best in Travel” report for 2024, Planet alone predicted the top 50 most profitable and sustainable countries, regions, cities, destinations in the world. Looking at the best places to “relax, connect, eat, learn and travel,” there are “lots of takeaways” over the next year. Destinations highlighted in the report include Mongolia (country), Western Balkans Trans Dinarica Cycle Route (region), Nairobi Kenya (city), Spain (sustainable) and Midwest, USA (best report price quality).
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Set-jetting continues to take off
New season of 'Emily in Paris' will inspire travel to the French capital
(Image credit: Carole Bethuel/Netflix)
Travelers turning to their TVs and cinema screens for inspiration “show no signs of stopping in 2024”, said Expedia Group. In its “Unpack '24: The Trends in Travel” survey, more than half of travelers have researched or booked travel to a destination “after seeing it on a TV show or movie,” and one in four admit that TV shows and movies “have even more influence on their travel plans than before.” In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok and podcasts.
In its “set-jetting forecast,” the group predicts the “entertainment-inspired destinations” tourists will head to in 2024. Top picks include Thailand, inspired by the third season of “The White Lotus”; Romania, inspired by the second season of “Wednesday”; Malta, inspired by the new film “Gladiator 2”; and Paris, inspired by the fourth season of “Emily in Paris”.
Music tourism is “accelerating”
Taylor Swift performs at Lumen Field, Seattle, during the Eras Tour
(Image credit: Mat Hayward / TAS23 / Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Travel technology company Amédée released its fourth travel trends report. Using the latest data and cutting-edge industry insights, travel in 2024 will be dominated by five trends: music tourism, unbundled business class fares, influencers becoming agents, artificial intelligence matures and electric planes vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft prepare to take off.
Music tourism is a trend expected to “accelerate” in 2024, Amadeus said. After social isolation due to the pandemic, when bands and musical artists were “grounded for months,” the concert and festival “boom” in 2023 harnessed “a desire for connection.” When Taylor Swift announced her Asia Pacific tour dates for 2024, Amadeus research suggested that Swift's concert dates in Australia, Singapore and Japan had a “significant impact on travel searches and searches.” booking volumes in these countries.
Palace Guided Holidays and Getaways in the UK
The Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa in Wiltshire is part of the PoB Hotels collection
(Image credit: PoB Hotels)
Hotels in PoBThe 'Cultivating Luxury' market trends report reveals that palate-friendly holidays and a rise in domestic getaways in the UK were among the key findings for 2024. Food and drink 'undeniably take center stage' for “capture the attention” of domestic travelers, commanding an impressive 82% of their interests. A significant 54% of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) plan to enjoy “three or more” UK leisure holidays in the coming year, reflecting a “notable increase on the previous 12 months “. And 27% of affluent/wealthy travelers plan to take trips to the UK “lasting three nights or more” in the coming year.
Cultural exploration and picturesque towns
Bydgoszcz in Poland is one of the “picturesque towns” that arouses interest
(Image credit: Tomasz Guzowski/Shutterstock)
“Cultural exploration” will be “more than ever” a priority for travelers, Skyscanner said in its 2024 Travel Trends Report. Expect “concert travelers” to jet off to see their favorite artists and “budget foodies” looking for the best dining experiences. When it comes to destinations that whet potential tourists' appetites, the metasearch engine and travel agency are seeing an increase in searches for “picturesque towns” like Vigo in Spain (+1.235%) and Bydgoszcz in Poland (+313). . %). Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis remains “top of mind”, with Skyscanner's 'Everywhere' search tool being the “top search destination for travelers around the world”.
Trips with “meaning”
'Off-Grid' Peru Makes Black Tomato's 2024 Destination List
(Image credit: Pavel Svoboda Photography/Shutterstock)
The founders of a luxury travel company Black tomato predict that travelers will look to travel with “purpose” in 2024. With ever-increasing demands on time and the desire to make travel truly count, travelers want to create “positive, lasting change” – not just in destinations. they visit, but in their own lives.
“What we found,” Black Tomato said, is that the feeling a trip ultimately evokes “greatly informs the destination booked.” For groups “looking for togetherness,” trips that “strengthen bonds and connection” are “priority.” Black Tomato has selected 'off-grid' Peru, Tangier in Morocco, the Miter Peninsula in Argentina's most remote Patagonia and the waterways of New Zealand on its 2024 destination list.
The new “keys” of the Michelin Guide
Which hotels will receive a Michelin key?
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THE Michelin Guide will award “keys” to hotels under a “new rating system” launching in 2024, the Visit California Public Relations Pulse Report. The system will aim to recognize hotels based on factors such as “location, design, service, uniqueness and value”. As with restaurants, the guide intends to independently recommend hotels that “are true destinations” and will offer a new selection of more than “5,000 remarkable hotels in 120 countries”.
Fodor's 'No List' for 2024
Venice is one of the destinations affected by overtourism
(Image credit: Kirk Fisher/Shutterstock)
Most travel experts recommend places to go in their annual reports, but Fodor has a “no list” of nine regions to “reconsider” in 2024. The travel guide company said it was not a “list of places we revile” but a “statement places that we revere.” However, the “frantic admiration” and the “incessant need to experience them” are “not sustainable”.
The No List 2024 focuses on three main areas of tourism impact: overtourism, waste generation, and water quality and sufficiency. For overtourism, Venice in Italy, Athens in Greece and Mount Fuji in Japan are highlighted. Waste generation bans include California's San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, and Chile's Atacama Desert. Water quality and sufficiency has impacted Lake Superior in North America, the Ganges in India, and Koh Samui in Thailand.
