Top Travel Trends 2017 : Volunteering & Last Chance tourism

You want to know what hot in travel this year? Find out here the top travel trends 2017! It is now more about experience than anything else!

2016 was an extremely productive year for the travel sector. Certainly, some countries have suffered from their political or even health situation, but overall tourism has never been more profitable. The travel trends in 2017 promise to challenge the situation for many companies in the sector and announce the color of a tourism which will be “greener” and overall closer to nature, experience and technology.

• More short-term volunteering

A day or a week and suddenly volunteering becomes a holiday activity just like any other! Numerous associations propose volunteering options for tourists. And if you live in the US, or going on holidays there, this site offers nice volunteering short options.

• Top Travel trend 2017 : last-chance tourism

A new trend, not necessarily one of the best, is the last chance travel. What does that imply exactly? Well, it is tourism aimed at seeing one last time certain animal species, places or cultures that are fading away due to our careless consumption. North Pole expeditions are very much trendy, safaris to see the last gorillas, orangutans or white rhinos, expeditions in South Africa to encounter the remaining people of a Zoulu tribe. It’s a tourism trend for 2017 that is not exactly the most beneficial.

• Gastronomy of “clean eating”

It’s all about traditional and local cuisine that is also healthy, organic and environmentally friendly! The most important aspect of this trend is to feed oneself healthy, local, bio products! More and more we discover restaurants that offer vegan and vegetarian options. With the constantly rising demand for products that are “good” for the body, of activity trackers and connected propositions, eating “clean” becomes an actual trend even in the world of tourism! Careful though as many restaurants label themselves “eco” but they are not at all!

• Tourism of the exceptional and the superlative

Not really a completely new trend, but one that keeps getting stronger. Millennials are pushing this trend of extreme travel as they are looking for unique and sensational adventures: the most breathtaking sunset, the most bizarre dishes, the cutest little street, the most incredible hotel. They are looking, first of all, to do something that few other people would be able to accomplish. Obviously all of this is strongly linked to the desire to share on social media platforms. People want to impress and to have their 15 minutes of fame. Sometimes at the cost of authenticity.

• Cruises are gaining popularity

Cruises have long been labeled as reserved for the elderly, for the retired people, being the exact opposite of adventurous travel. However in the past years, due to effective marketing and constant innovations, the cruise sector has grown tremendously, becoming the tourism sector having the strongest growth in 2015 and 2016. Themes cruises, more countries addressed diversified onboard activities and more and more affordable prices have made cruise travel increasingly attractive. no yet 100% sustainable but working on it as green has become the new black…

• A rise in the demand for innovative hotels

The trend is all about innovation in the hotel industry. Between the “edible” hotels and crane hotels, we are witnessing the arrival of a new range of hotels that is far removed from the standard offering of a traditional chain. A special design like the one of Qbic hotel or hotels that propose adopting pets for a night – we are in for quite the experience.

• The new luxury: the return to simplicity

More and more hotels and tour operators offer packages such as “robinson crusoe” or “alone on the world”. In the same way, the search for a return to nature, survival experiences, the return to a lack of comfort by sleeping in yurts in Mongolia or with the locals in the Chapada Diamantina, all of these are part of the newly defined “luxury” – that of being able to do without. It’s all about the search for primary sensations of survival and isolation.

• Budget travel

You want to travel cheaper? This is a trend that is getting stronger, as the journey has become a life experience and not just a getaway from everyday life. More and more young people want to take advantage of the finalization of their studies in order to travel and others decide to quit their jobs for the same purpose. The travel on a budget is applicable to a lot of people, but especially to the ones who travel for a long period of time, more than a month. Unlike the classical traveler, the budget traveler won’t be tempted to “indulge” himself/herself and will avoid tourist traps in order to benefit from more authentically local experiences.

• Solo female travel on the rise

Female Solo Travellers Campaign from Israel Requene on Vimeo.

Solo female tourism is not taking a break. It has already flourished in recent years. But 2017 will definitely be its year. Women are claiming their ability to travel alone. No need for a man to see the world! I agree!

• Safety first travel: the zika virus, terrorism and other threats will significantly impact the destinations undergoing them

With the rising concerns regarding terrorism, kidnapping, infectious diseases, travelers will have to double their efforts regarding their own safety. The Maldives will be preferred over Mexico and Dubai over Istanbul.

• More and more apps, connected products and VR

New apps aimed at tourists will see the light of day in 2017. A huge step had already been witnessed before and in 2016 with the appearance of online trip planners and the significant improvement of applications such as Google translate. Maybe 2017 will give us the first app capable of translating our dialogues in real time. It would pretty cool for the conversations with the locals! And virtual reality goes on to a whole new stage with the opportunity to visit some cities behind a VR headset!

• Free Wifi connection worldwide becomes mandatory

A hotel that doesn’t offer Wifi in 2017 is a hotel on the brink of bankruptcy. It’s mandatory for hotels worldwide to provide good quality Wifi. With the exception of hotels that propose Robinson Crusoe type of experience, but even in this case the customer should be offered the option and warned about it.

• Live stories on social media

Always more live and more stories! Tourists create their own stories live that they share with their friends. Whether it is from the plane to the depths of the jungle, the live feed is within reach for everybody and it attracts more and more users. Through the pushed promotion on Facebook for Facebook Live, it becomes easy to follow one’s friends live and comment on their activities. It’s another way of being a star for a couple of minutes. This means that tourism has to be ready and able to offer its clients spots, moments and experiences that are worthy of being shared. No more offline, just live feeds!

Cet article est disponible en Français (French)