Today’s travel trends are showing where people are going, who they are going with and what they want to do while on a trip.
“People are taking more trips and they are talking about them with their friends,” said Randy Yaroch, CEO and owner of The Travel Society in Greenwood Village. “Then you add social media and that really accentuates how people make choices on where to travel next.”
Knowing what the trends are can be reassuring and inspiring — such as women traveling solo — or possibly lead to making a different choice — like opting to avoid traditional Western European favorites due to crowds.
Yaroch’s Travel Society is a member of Virtuoso, a global network of agencies that specialize in luxury and experiential travel with thousands of travel advisers. A travel adviser is similar to the travel agents of the past, but they offer more advice and insights.
“Travel agents were order taking, but in today’s world they have become professional advisers, more like a consultant that is absolutely curating itineraries,” Yaroch explained. While travel advisers tend to work with premium- to ultra-luxury clientele, Yaroch said, they can also assist with more basic trips such as booking an all-inclusive package and transportation to and from a resort.
A tour guide gives information to a group of tourists outside of the National Theatre in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Feb. 6, 2024. The National Theatre is a building of historic architecture completed in 1897. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in national history and the main architectural jewel of the city of San Jose. Tourism represents one of the main sources of income in Costa Rica’s economy. (Photo by Ezequiel Becerra/AFP via Getty Images)
When working with clients, Yaroch and his team are looking at the trends and factoring in how this information might be used to get their clients the best trip possible.
Virtuoso released a travel trends report recently and had some interesting insights:
Domestic travel is dominating in fall 2024, but international travel continues to break records with Canada seeing a 168% increase year over year and Japan seeing a 160% increase.
Some hot spots are cooling a little just like the weather, so this fall could be the ideal time to head to Napa, Calif.; Amsterdam or Taormina, Sicily.
The holiday or “festive” season is seeing continued interest in Mexico, Hawaii, Anguilla and Costa Rica, with double- to triple-percentage increases in places such as Saint Lucia, the Dominican Republic and Grenada. Although Maui, Hawaii, did see a dip in travelers after the devastating fires in 2023, there is a 23% increase in fall bookings and a 32% increase for the holiday season.
Those ultra-luxury travelers are seeking expedition cruises, exotic destinations like Fiji or Thailand, and African safaris. This group is motivated to travel for celebrations and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Have you heard about “Coolcations?” According to Virtuoso, this is a trend to visit colder climates in summer (think Canada or Northern Europe) where they saw a 44% increase. Traditionally warmer places like Greece saw …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
