# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Thank you to Sun Search Holidays for sharing this infographic with us.

About The Author

Moira Bishop, managing editor of the Healthy Travel Blog, is on the Marketing & Communications team at HTH Worldwide. Moira earned an M.A. from Rosemont College and a B.A. from York College of Pennsylvania.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Travel Trends & Destinations of the Future, an Infographic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Thank you to Sun Search Holidays for sharing this infographic with us. Moira Bishop, managing editor of the Healthy Travel Blog, is on the Marketing & Communications team at HTH Worldwide. Moira earned an M.A. from Rosemont College and a B.A. from York College of Pennsylvania.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Across the globe, people are beginning to rely on travel. They don't consider it an optional luxury, but rather an essential part of who they are and who they want to become. Millennials, in particular, value the experience associated with travel, and prefer to invest in adventures rather than major purchases, such as furniture, collectibles and expensive cars. As a tour and activity provider, it's important to take note of this changing mentality and the emerging trends that are occurring throughout the industry.

6 Travel Trends in the Tourism Industry

1. The Chinese travel market is booming. Chinese travelers are heading out into the world, and spending big money along the way. In 2014, this demographic spent $498 billion traveling outside of the country. Chinese travelers prefer to book with tour companies that have a solid presence on social media, and that accept bookings over mobile platforms.

2. An increasing number of travelers are unplugging while they are away. Mobile technology allows everyone to stay connected wherever they are - and people are beginning to realize that this isn't always ideal. In 2013, more than 70% of travelers from the UK unplugged completely while on holiday. While you may not want to eliminate Wi-Fi from your property, you should be considerate of this desire as you conduct your tours and activities.

3. It's becoming easier to get to every corner of the world. Many airlines are offering low-cost flights to local destinations, making weekend getaways to faraway lands more feasible for the average traveler. As travel becomes more convenient and affordable, there will be an increase in the total number of tourists heading to your remote region.

4. The hottest destinations are the lesser-known locales. While the city lights of Paris and the buzz of Tokyo will always be appealing to those afflicted with wanderlust, there's an increasing desire to explore smaller and less popular destinations. In these cities and countries, people are discovering uninterrupted local culture and authentic experiences.

5. Locals are learning to explore their own cities and countries. Dubbed the Staycation, many people are simply having fun touring their local area. No longer should you market only to out-of-town travelers, try to make your products appealing to those who live in your region as well.

6. Adventure travel is on the rise. Jungle treks, kayaking and white water rafting are just a few of the adventure experiences that people crave. Millennials, in particular, love a good adventure. Considering they represent one of the largest travel markets, you might want to add a few exciting options in order to attract their attention.

The good news is, more people are hoping to explore the world in 2016, and your tour and activity company can take advantage of this influx of tourists. Take note of these emerging trends, and target specific audiences by following distribution trends. Rezdy conducted a industry survey on how tour and activity providers distribute their products, you can download the results by clicking on the image below.

Join over 30,000 tour and activity professionals on Rezdy

You may also be interested in

About Simon Lenoir
Simon has over 15 years' experience as an IT professional. He also has extensive experience in the travel industry from being an around-the-world traveller and managing a dive centre in Southeast Asia for over 3 years. Simon is now dedicated to providing the best online booking solution for tours and activities operators; he is the brains behind Rezdy.Outside office hours Simon is a true activity addict - mountain biking, sailing, swimming, beach volleyball - just to name a few. But most of all he loves diving in Australian waters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Across the globe, people are beginning to rely on travel. They don't consider it an optional luxury, but rather an essential part of who they are and who they want to become. Millennials, in particular, value the experience associated with travel, and prefer to invest in adventures rather than major purchases, such as furniture, collectibles...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
2017 Travel Trends, Destinations & Resolutions

It's hard to believe that we're already in 2017-it seems like 2016 flew by! To help everyone prepare for a new year of exciting travel experiences, we made 2017 the focus of our December Twitter chat.

What is a Twitter chat? For those not familiar, TripIt holds a monthly chat on Twitter on the third Thursday of each month from 2-3 pm Pacific Time under the hashtag #TripItChat. Every month there's a new travel topic where we encourage participants to share advice with one another. To learn more, please see: http://landlopers.com/2013/05/01/tripitchat/

Here are some of the key takeaways from our last #TripItChat about 2017 Travel!

#Goals

We all dream about visiting new destinations, places featured on our screen savers and desktop calendars. There's no better time to plan that trip than now, and we wanted to hear what was on everyone's 2017 travel wish list. Warning: the answers will inspire deep wanderlust.

Some people love to return to favorite places, like @VoyagerVicki who is planning on trips back to Mexico and Spain.

Other folks make plans around a major event like @DGQuoVadimus who is taking a honeymoon trip to South America!

For chat co-host @Bloggeries food plays a role in his decision making which is why Japan is high on his travel to-do list.

Some other popular answers included: Scandinavia, Thailand, the Maldives, Canada and Australia.

The Next Best Thing

While we love highlighting the world's most popular travel destinations, we are also interested in knowing about those up and coming hotspots that haven't hit the mainstream yet. We asked everyone to share their picks for the top destinations that will be popular in 2017.

A popular answer for Americans, @enjoytravel_kra said that Cuba will be one of the year's hottest destinations.

For chat co-host @RickGriffin the answer was an easy one - Portugal. The country has all of the charm we love in Europe without the crowds.

Natural attractions are important for @always5star and she would love to track the Northern Lights whether it's in Canada or Norway!

Other up and coming destinations to keep an eye on include: Oman, Ethiopia, Canada's National Parks, rural Nevada, Finland and Vietnam.

Packing Smart

There's no end to travel tech and gadgetry on the market, but how much of it do we actually need? We put that question to the test when we asked the chatters to share important tech they plan to take on their 2017 travels.

Drones are becoming more and more popular which is why chat co-hosts @theplanetd want to upgrade in 2017 to the DJI Mavic Pro drone.

While not high-tech, @AquamarineSteph wants to invest in more packing cubes to help her stay organized when she travels.

Staying active when he travels is important for @LeeAbbamonte which is why he's planning to invest in some new golf gear!

Small items can make all the difference, like a good portable speaker so that @XploreDreamTrav can listen to tunes anywhere in the world.

Staying Trendy

How we travel and what we do on the road changes all the time, and since we always want to stay ahead of the curve we asked our online community to share what they think the big travel trends in 2017 will be.

Always on point, co-hosts @theplanetd said that they believe responsible travel will be top of mind for most travelers in 2017.

Travel pro @LeeAbbamonte went on to list trends such as the sharing economy, free Wi-Fi everywhere and boutique hotels instead of the mega-chains.

More answers included: diminished value from frequent flyer programs, more people traveling to remote areas and travelers spending more for authentic and local experiences.

Resolutions

Almost everyone has a list of resolutions as they start the new year and for many people some of those resolutions are travel related. Our last question was focused on what everyone has resolved to do when it comes to travel in 2017.

For @metallic_kiss it's all about pushing boundaries, which is why she wants to take her first solo trip!

Chatter @findinganeish also wants to expand his travel horizons, but in different ways: hitchhiking around Scotland and dog-sitting in Nice to start.

Slower travel is the name of the game in 2017 for @SheTalksTravel who wants to try to appreciate new places in a more thoughtful way.

The most popular answer though was staying healthy on the road-good advice for any traveler!

Don't forget to join us for the next #TripItChat! They take place on the third Thursday of every month at 2:00 pm Pacific/5:00 pm Eastern.

About the Author

Matt Long is a travel blogger, writer and photographer specializing in luxury adventure travel. As editor-in-chief and creator of LandLopers.com, Matt shows people that it's possible to have a job and family and still see the best the world has to offer. Matt shares his travel tips and expertise so that you can get out and explore the world - one adventure at a time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
2017 Travel Trends, Destinations & Resolutions - TripIt Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
2017 Travel Trends, Destinations & Resolutions It's hard to believe that we're already in 2017-it seems like 2016 flew by! To help everyone prepare for a new year of exciting travel experiences, we made 2017 the focus of our December Twitter chat. What is a Twitter chat?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What's going to happen this year in travel? 2017 will showcase some never-before-seen travel trends to delight every generation of traveler. Trends curated by ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Understanding travel trends is crucial in helping us shape the future of travel with our partners.

Amadeus analyses travel industry trends to create innovative technology that empowers travel players. To this end, we've created the following pages which explore , travel community trends and that will play a major role in the future of travel.

These pages look at how the latest travel technology will influence the overall travel experience and examines the question of just what the future will hold for the travel industry based upon the key trends we are seeing today.

Explore what industry trends can lead to innovative travel business ideas.

Find out more!

Learn more about the needs and demands of future traveller types.

Find out more!

Discover what emerging technologies can make the difference in the future travel industry.
Find out more!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Understanding travel trends is crucial in helping us shape the future of travel with our partners. Amadeus analyses travel industry trends to create innovative technology that empowers travel players. To this end, we've created the following pages which explore , travel community trends and that will play a major role in the future of travel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Travel trends - Office for National Statistics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Estimates and profiles of travel and tourism visits and associated earnings and expenditure between the UK and the rest of the world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Follow the trend lines, not the headlines." - Bill Clinton

We live in unsettling times. Up is down, left is right, losers win. Who really knows what is going on--let alone what will be. The wonderful world of travel is no different. No one has a proverbial crystal ball and the annual rituals of forecasting more usually need to offer mea culpas on last year's prognostications.

While the algorithms of Big Data make it easier these days to see nuances, in the end, demographic trends are just that--demographic trends--that always increase. (Every year there are more solo travelers because, dah, there are more solo travelers!) And old travel metric analysis, with the likes of: the Robinson Crusoe Index identifying the best beaches, the Big Mac Index that costs out burgers globally, and the Bribe Payers Index, for negotiating the going get-out-of-jail rates--leave me wanting.

Unsatisfied with those mostly travel industry-derived and PR firm written indicators (loyalty plans will be devalued, coach class will get tighter, AirBnB will grow, and Cuba will be the new hot travel destination), I annually offer readers some rather untraditional 21st-century mashup travel metrics observed and culled from a year's worth of traveling the globe. Here are 8 Coming Travel Trends for 2017 to look for...first the good news:

1. America's Vacation Deficit Disorder: Workers are starting to comprehend the strong relationship between wellness and taking time off ( AKA vacations); with enlightened employers leading the charge. Vacation shaming is so 2015. Wellness travel is growing 50% faster than regular travel, with travelers recognizing that recharging, refreshing and rejuvenating themselves regularly is part of a healthy work-life balance. Smart value-minded employers are investing in their employees time-off knowing that a happy, creative and fresh employee--is a motivated and profitable employee. St. Barts here we come!

2. The Connectivity Index: It is my firm belief that you can now go anywhere and be anywhere within 24 hours. Regional low-cost carriers have proliferated globally; and over the past decade, airlines have added over 10,000 new routes -- a 37 percent increase -- serving more than 37,000 city pairs. There are now 1,280 international airports serving 48,977 routes worldwide. That means that secondary destinations are making the world smaller and cheaper!

3. The Competitive Travel Index: The more mundane our daily routines, the more ambitious our adventures. Today travelers want authentic in the age of reality TV, and are no longer satisfied being force-fed dull cruises or sleep on the beach vacations. They want adventurous participatory experiences (site-doing) and to be challenged. Exciting travel adventure products have begun to fill their soul-aching void, like: the regional rickshaw rallies of Southeast Asia, and the mac daddy of all competitive travel, the annual world travel championship known as The Global Scavenger Hunt. Competitive adventures like these, allow the most jaded and adventurous travelers to test their savvy and Travel IQ against the world's best. Maybe we'll see travel as an Olympic sport in 2024?

4. Airline Ticket Futures Index: Millennial travelers are online 24/7 and always looking for the "best deals". But the vagaries of the airline industry's dynamic pricing create a lot of angst in the era of microaggressions, safe spaces and triggers that unfettered capitalism unleash. Flying is viewed as commodity-- the lowest price wins--so why not an airline ticket futures market? With would-be travelers visiting on average 161 travel websites--before finally narrowing it down to 48 visits to eight sites--before reluctantly booking; finding the cheapest fare is harder than just clearing your cookies and search engine history. Watch for mega-search sites like FLYR and Hopper, and like-minded upstarts, that accurately predict (with a 95% accuracy?) the lowest airfare prices, to not only offer advice on when to buy, but start selling price insurance policies that lock-in airfares--airline ticket futures.

5. The Xenophobic Travel Index: When Air Jordan election day ad says: " Travel to the U.S.--while you are still allowed to!", take heed. While reprehensible, travelers need to be vigilant for a turbulent xenophobic backlash of nasty US-versus-Themism; with the creation of travel barriers--both at home and abroad. Look for travel to moderate Islamic nations, to take a big hit. And look for reactionary fear-based American policy to begin building a type of Veiled Wall of screening, security and surveillance around Islamic nations by redlining them--not allowing Americans to travel there (unless there is a Trump-brand hotel of course), or earning the CBP third degree when they do; along with declaring their traveler's persona non grata in the USA, full stop. The Babel drawbridge is being pulled up with legislation sure to radically alter the tourist visa wavier for some 20 million visitors a year coming to America (who spend over $4,000 per visitor) and look for a tit-for-tat diplomatic escalation of traveler inconveniences (and costs) to rise. On the flipside: Contrarian Travelers who calculate the odds and balance the risks knowing that the world is a 95% conflict free zone and the chances of them being directly affected by terrorism is akin to winning power ball. They will enjoy cheaper prices, less crowded destinations and great emotional payoffs, while becoming the true traveling ambassadors for America. They will also use Facebook's check-in feature to inform friends that they are safe.

6. The Loving it to Death Tax Index: Face it, we travelers in our never-ending quest to see everything are slowly killing the Golden Goose. It is a ranking travel paradox of our time: Our irresistible urge to destroy what we are attracted to--we are loving places to death. Once exclusive hot, must-see, once-in-a-lifetime Shangri-La-like dream destinations like: Angkor, Venice, Machu Picchu, Galapagos, and the Louvre (you name it), all have skyrocketing demand. It leads to what Harvard professors, Paul F. Nunes and Mark Spelman term "scarcity of place". And when demand goes up and scarcity occurs, something has got to give. Look for tourism caps to be introduced like ski resorts only selling so many daily lift tickets; watch for dynamic pricing to begin increasing during peak times--like Uber's surge charges--and destinations maybe even using a lottery system to limit visitors during peak holiday times. Bottom line: prices will go up.

7. The Protest Tourism Index: Travelers are always looking for meaning in their travels--well, some of them do anyway--and socially conscious travelers are taking to social media to shame, boycott, belittle and otherwise discourage fellow travelers from going to places deemed verboten. Whether visiting Myanmar during the general's reign or Apartheid-era South Africa, travelers are beginning to ratchet up their angst against places like: Uganda and North Carolina for their anti-LGBT laws; Russia for its annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian aggression and meddling in the recent US elections; and even Israel, as the pro-Palestinian statehood Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement gains momentum. Effective or not, look for highly socially conscious Millennials, who changed American cultural values, attempt to effect global change by choosing where to and where not to spend their money, be it: human rights, environmental degradation or cultural heritage with the most powerful words known to man: That is not right!

8. The Bargain Basement Travel Index: The race to the bottom continues unabated when full majority, 60 percent of American travelers are "price driven"; and United Airlines is following Delta's lead by giving the people what they want: even cheaper cheap fares with what is called "basic economy"--middle seat, no luggage and no carry-ons and no bathroom privileges (just kidding on that last one; although word is UA is trying to configure a coin operated restroom). While people of all ages still want what Americans call "value"--and the rest of the world knows as cheap--Airbnb will continue to expand its inventory of less than stellar properties, and look for cheaper versions (shitty cars) of Uber and Lyft to arrive on the scene. In the lottery-mentality of Americans--if it ain't reality-TV free, we don't want it.

Finally, I am as optimistic as anyone ( In fact, my glass is half full right now!), but please don't tell me that either virtual reality travel ("Google goes rafting down the Colorado River so you don't have to!") or Elon Musk's space travel boondoggle are going to trend in 2017--imagination and great demos don't create trends, reality does. And until they do, let's leave it off our travel trends list in favor of real and satisfying terrestrial pursuits.

The Clash once sang that, "...the future is unwritten." Happy trails in 2017.

What trends do you see coming?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Follow the trend lines, not the headlines." - Bill Clinton We live in unsettling times. Up is down, left is right, losers win. Who really knows what is going on--let alone what will be. The wonderful world of travel is no different.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Every December, top hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, travel agents, and members of the media descend upon Cannes, France, for the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), the travel industry's version of the Cannes Film Festival.

The gorgeous hotels there-the Hotel Barrière le Majestic, the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez, and more-feel like movie sets, their lobbies bubbling with travel gossip and champagne. Each time I walked into the lobby of the InterContinental's Carlton, I imagined bumping into Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, who filmed the great French Riviera caper To Catch a Thief there.

Here, plucked from Cannes' sands like so many rare shells, are seven luxurious trends and favorite finds to inspire your 2017 travel plans:

Backlash Against Luxury

Luxury, one of travel's most overused declarations, can feel like a dirty word. (I stayed at a hotel once where my shower cap was labeled as luxury.) But 2017's not about solid marble suites or gold-leaf interiors. Many at Cannes talked about returning luxury to its roots-something precious, rare, and most important, invested in emotional value.

Defining your own luxury, says Gary Murphy of AmaWaterways, could be a surfing camp with no electricity or a five-star river cruise with plenty of bikes onboard for shore excursions. Grace Hotels takes personalization even further; with Bespoke by Grace, guests can pick their room fragrance and bath products but also choose from insider experiences like blending your own wine in Argentina or a guided hike in Connecticut.

Experience Over Ownership

Luxurians no longer want souvenirs. The elite traveler now thirsts for access over acquisition, and experiences over owning stuff. This is "good news for travel, bad news for handbags," Chris Sanderson, co-founder of the Future Laboratory, a trend-forecasting agency, said at a Ritz-Carlton hotels breakfast. Owning specific, expensive products like the Hermès Kelly bag doesn't mean as much anymore. Travel experiences-and posting about them-matter more.

Anne Scully, president at McCabe World Travel, recently posted about her adventures in Paris and booked several clients because of it. "It's all about being a storyteller," she says. "We are all storytellers and we trust other travelers. I plan to tell the story of Istanbul this year-I will visit and help promote one of my favorite cities."

The Next Travel Buzz Word: Simplicity

Words like "curated," "artisanal," and "authentic" fill press releases, but at ILTM, the bonniest bon mot was "simplicity." True luxury is slowing down-that moment of decompression when you see a phenomenal view-and feeling completely unburdened.

"[There are] too many options," says Jack Ezon, president of Ovation Vacations. "People are overwhelmed with apps, blogs, reviews, aggregator sites, social media channels, and news feeds."

Travel advisors are now information navigators and matchmakers, pairing people with experiences. For Ezon, the right answer is not which is better, but which is best for them. "Computers cannot yet dig beneath the surface," Ezon explains. "We don't take orders for destinations. We listen and give them what they perhaps had not considered. One client spent hours deciding if they should go to the Four Seasons or the St. Regis in Bora Bora for Christmas. But they didn't know it was monsoon season and when they called us, we asked why they wanted to go and learned they wanted cultural immersion with a beach and some nightlife. Bora Bora wasn't a great match. They ended up going to Phuket, which was exactly what they wanted, but didn't know it."

Other hotels are also serving this trend. The Park Hyatt St. Kitts (opening summer 2017) will offer personalized experiences focusing on the island's adventure, cultural, and historic offerings.

There's an App for That

I consider most apps to be like vitamins -- they're nice to have but not life-changing. The technology is easier, but it doesn't replace personal service. TheFour Seasons Hotels And Resorts app is different. Guests use it primarily for two reasons: to check-in on the way to the hotel and to order room service. I recently used the app at Four Seasons properties in Geneva and Cairo, and loved it. I ordered dessert to my room without talking to anyone, and even retrieved a forgotten razor from housekeeping. TripIt is a stand-out travel app, where you can manage your travel plans, points, mileage, and reservations seamlessly-though the best benefits come when you pay $49 annually for TripIt Pro. But many travel and hotel apps still need work-and I expect by year's end we'll have many new ones to love.

' Small Has Never Been Bigger'

Small Luxury Hotels of the World coined this phrase, perhaps fighting back at large chain hotels and resorts. The average size across the brand is 48 rooms. InterContinental Hotels will open a hotel in Venice in 2018 with just 55 rooms, unusual for a larger luxury chain. Guests staying in small hotels tend to want ultra-immersive experiences. "Clients are asking us to create experiences for them that will help them grow as people and as a family," Ezon says of the trend. "A beach resort is no longer just about pampering yourself; it's about connecting."

Family-Owned Properties

Family-owned properties, capitalizing on the travelers' desire to make deep, local connections, will become an even bigger draw in the upcoming year. In Alaska, Winterlake and Tutka Bay Lodges (both are National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World) are owned and operated by renowned chef Kirsten Dixon, her outdoorsman husband Carl, and their grown children. In Sorrento, Italy, the beloved Grand Excelsior Vittoria, surrounded by lush gardens and Bay of Naples views, has been run by the Fiorentino family since 1834. The Beau-Rivage in Geneva is adding 17 show-stopping top-floor suites to its historic building this spring, and is still run by the Mayer family as it has for the past five generations.

Yes, Cuba still sizzles, and Rwanda might just be Africa's next hot destination, but look out for these destinations, too. InterContinental Hotels announced 2017 openings in Sofia, Bulgaria; Ljubljana, Slovenia (Melania Trump's old stomping grounds); and Tbilisi, Georgia. Eastern Europe, with underrated cities and good value for the money, will continue to grow in popularity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Every December, top hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, travel agents, and members of the media descend upon Cannes, France, for the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), the travel industry's version of the Cannes Film Festival. The gorgeous hotels there-the Hotel Barrière le Majestic, the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez, and more-feel like movie sets, their lobbies bubbling with travel gossip and champagne.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
2017 Predictions: The Next Big Travel Trends

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A new capital of Nordic cool will be crowned in Europe. Surfing gets replaced by an extreme sport gone mainstream. On-demand, in-room movies are traded for a very different way to zone out. An up-and-coming wine region takes off as a hub for culture and adventurous pursuits.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The reasons people travel haven't changed much from year to year, let alone from decade to decade. And yet the paths people travel before they travel have been transformed. Travel trends show that consumers increasingly turn to mobile to get itinerary ideas, compare flight fares, or reserve experiences. These moments are what we at Google call micro-moments: decision points when a well-positioned brand can influence a consumer.

We looked across billions of searches during the travel customer journey to see travelers' digital journey to this year's hot spots. To build a complete view of path-to-purchase trends, we partnered with Sojern, a global performance marketing engine for travel brands, to layer on the company's booking data from 350 million anonymized traveler profiles. The result: an unprecedented look at the traveler customer journey based on intent signals across online, mobile, and video channels.

Emerging travel trends in 2016 In I-want-to-get-away moments, travelers turn to Search and YouTube for ideas and inspiration. As such, they're great barometers for gauging people's interest and purchase intent.

What places are travelers looking to visit? Looking at the fastest-rising searches from the first half of this year, a handful of destinations rose to the top:

Who's interested in going to these cities? Consumer behavior across the web shows who potential travelers may be, where they are, and other passion points.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Travel Trends 2016: Data Reveals Hot Spots and New Consumer Insights

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The reasons people travel haven't changed much from year to year, let alone from decade to decade. And yet the paths people travel before they travel have been transformed. Travel trends show that consumers increasingly turn to mobile to get itinerary ideas, compare flight fares, or reserve experiences.