International travel agencies 2010 travel trends report
Travel trends picked to be influenced by ‘X-factor’: report
The 2010 Association British Travel Agents Travel Trends Report has predicted that travellers for the next twelve months will be heavily influenced by a will to contribute to their destination through charity, adventure holidays and destinations that are significant for an event or similar.
Predicted Trends:
- South Africa World Cup
- Charity Holidays to troubled regions (environmental leading the trends)
- Adventure Trips
- Combining charity pledges and adventure, dubbed “chadventures”
- Pop culture destinations
Overall what the report has indicated is that gone are the days of simply going on holiday to relax with many would-be travellers expecting to experience one-off occasions. Leading the charge of these experiences is South Africa with the World Cup which is taking place in June with many travel packages now being designed around this event with travellers able to book extensive South African holidays that incorporate a World Cup match and accommodation.
A report from the ABTA also stated that all trend indictors have lead travel industry experts to expect a shift towards holidays with a humanitarian purpose but with a strong adventure base. Dubbed ‘chadventures’ – a combination of adventure and raising money for charity, or ‘volunturism’ - these breaks are designed for the traveller to give back to their destination. Popular choices for this would be natural disaster sites or countries that have travel arrangements with Non-Government Organisations.
Frances Tuke from ABTA said: “This year has been remarkably resilient for the travel industry, and prospects are looking good for 2010, with the trend to more adventurous destinations continuing.”
This adventure aspect extends past the charity-based to adventurous destinations with Sri Lanka tipped as the new hot spot for young travellers keen to experience this emerging travel destination. The same can be said about Iraq which has begun promoting itself as a future holiday destination.
For those wishing for luxurious holidays in an exotic destination, Egypt, Turkey and Morocco have been picked as the top choices due to recent years of refurbishments and investment in luxury hotels and infrastructure, including more efficient airports and roads.
Of course, it is not all the exotic and adventurous that will be travelling this year with the United States re-emerging as a hot travel destination for its many pop culture attractions that are expected to come to light this year, such as the May opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Florida. In an unexpected twist, the small town of Forks, Washington State is surging in tourist numbers thanks to the town being the setting of the Twilight teen vampire saga.
Overall the year of 2010 for travel agencies is expected to lean more towards the adventure holidays with a basis in goodwill or charity work as more people become aware of the impact of travelling and the environmental implications.
