By Satyaki Dutta
With the passing of another year, the changes in the travel industry are evident from the consumer demands and searching patterns. 2019 heralds a year with new and emerging ways of travel. The extensive use of digital resources and search engines is causing the travelling horizon to expand into fresh, experimental and non-traditional categories. According to the reports and expert opinions, these trends emerge as the major trendsetter among the new ways to see the world.
Micro-trip: More than half of global travellers are opting for taking shorter or ‘bite-sized travel’ options, targeting the weekends. This gives a boost to the local economy, and the rising need for a customized, compact tour plan. Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay stated, “Thanks to better flight routes, coupled with a desire to fit more experiences into a fixed holiday allowance, we predict a rise in weekend trips with a purpose.
Technology: Integration of modern technology is going to play a key role, with an emphasis on Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and speech recognition. Keyless room-access with phone, real-time luggage tracking or a robotic concierge who can communicate with guests in their mother tongue are carefully curated to serve the purpose. 31 percent of global travellers admit to liking the idea of a ‘virtual travel agent’ in their home. This is where digital travel platforms like ‘Trip101’, an innovative one-stop travel guide designed for travel-savvy nomads, come in. Putting together a global network of travel experts and volunteers to offer personalised ideas from around the world, the website publishes travel guides for over 150 countries, with stories filled with local insight. On the other hand, social networking platforms are playing their role too.
Ecological and Educational tours: The various tourism surveys state that ecological conscious travellers are trending. Tour operators are creating itineraries with first-hand experiences to educate and share information on conservation areas, and ways to protect it for the future. The profits from these projects are used to fund ecological projects such as forest or animal habitat restoration.
Wellness travel: The growing demand for health-conscious travellers is resulting in a rise of tour packages with the goal of personal well-being. There are a number of new cycling tours and meditation camps across Peru, Bali, China and Bhutan which specifically caters to this need. The locations that provide organic foods are being preferred. The state of Sikkim in India received the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award, and this resulted in an influx of tourist activities in the region.
Conscious travel: The year marks the era of the conscious traveller, with factors like human rights, environmental issues, equality, working conditions etc. influencing people’s decisions to choose a destination. According to Booking.com, travellers are choosing places with importance in social issues as their destination, and avoiding to go to a destination if their visit may impact it negatively. Safety, Ethnicity, Acceptance of Sexual orientation are also of great importance to explorers. The data reveals that almost one in five travellers plan to travel to attend a Pride festival in 2019, especially the younger generation.
Sustainable and Luxury Cruises: Celebrity Cruises offer a new cruise liner, Celebrity Edge in the luxury segment. It features suites with plunge pools, 270-degree horizon views, 29 restaurants, a Spa that is nature-inspired, with quartz crystal treatment tables and an all-glass venue- Magic Carpet, suspended from the side of the ship, moving along its exterior. Also, large ship cruises are attempting to reduce their environmental footprint.
Adventure: According to Innovation Group’s annual trend report, there is a hybridisation of adventure and luxury. Thanks to an imaginative new architecture, amidst scenic surroundings, guests can experience the rush of adrenaline. The luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet is going to open Hôtel des Horlogers in 2020, designed by Danish architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group. This will reimagine the purpose of buildings and will send guests skiing off the rooftop, literally as it has five zig-zagging rooftop slopes for adventurous guests to ski down and ultimately arrive at Audemars Piguet’s museum at the foot of the ski path.
Historical and heritage tours: The trend is re-emerging, by coupling with skip-the-line tours. This sector grew more than double in the recent years, as the specially curated and crafted tours help people to check in their bucket list destination and experiences. The immersive travel experience and local touch in this sector as boosted the sell in heritage and historical travels.
Volun-tours: More than half of the global travellers state that it has enriched them with invaluable life experiences. The new trend indicated that seeing the world is going to include volunteering and skills-based holidays across the world. The new generation is interested to learn the hands-on experiences instead of classic university-based education, and plan to take part in cultural exchange to learn a new skill, and volunteering to projects, teaching and international work placements.
Extreme Uncharted territories: Futuristic travel options are now on the verge of being realised. NASA will start construction of its Lunar Space Station in 2019 (launching in 2022) and considerable investment is being done in orbital spaceflight in 2019. 38 percent of travellers are excited about the prospect of space travel and want to try it themselves.