Planning on heading to Europe in 2024? Definitely book your tickets ASAP, but in the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the following trends.
A focus on sustainability
It's a difficult truth for adventurers to hear, but aviation is one of the leading causes of CO2 emissions. No wonder then that a report from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) found that 69% of travellers are increasingly seeking more sustainable travel options.
Obviously, the most efficient way to reduce your carbon footprint is to take fewer flights and to consider other methods of transport, such as rail travel and coaches. Opting to stay at a sustainable property (these can be found through GoKinda) and making small changes to your day-to-day on the road, such as abstaining from using the air-conditioning and opting for local produce where possible.
As climate change continues to batter the planet, this is a trend we're only going to see increase.
Pop culture influences
Cast your mind back to when The Lord of the Rings trilogy came out and suddenly everyone was booking tours to Hobbiton, New Zealand. Now that we all have access to pop culture 24/7 through our phones, the influence hit TV shows, movies, music videos and even paparazzi photos of holidaying celebrities can have on our own holiday plans is becoming increasingly clear.
According to a survey by Robb Report, bookings from the UK to Sicily were up 61% compared with the previous year - thanks to the popularity of the second season of The White Lotus, which was filmed at San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel.
Similarly, dude ranch stays in and around Montana, plus requests to visit Midhope Castle in Scotland, have also increased significantly thanks to Yellowstone and Outlander.
Bleisure travel
Guilty of combining a little work with your travel? You're already on trend, although you may not yet know it. Bleisure - the act of combining business and pleasure - has taken off since the end of COVID restrictions with a recent report from Statistica showing bleisure travel could reach a market value of some 600 billion U.S. dollars globally by the end of this year alone.
READ MORE: How to save thousands on your school holiday travel
Bleisure can either be that you're doing both all at once (spending the day at the beach with the family and then getting on the laptop at night once the kids are down) or it could be extending a work trip and locking in a few days of holiday time (or vice versa).
A study by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found 89% of travellers were planning to add personal leave to their business trips moving forward, so this is likely to be our new normal - if not for good, at least for a number of years.
Touring travel
Whether you're a Taylor Swift fan or not, it was difficult not to notice the hysteria that revolved around the sale of her 2024 Australian concert dates. Not only did they sell out as soon as they were released, but data showed a significant rise in flight bookings around the show dates. Hotel chain Accor reported a 180 per cent increase in booking demand across their Sydney hotels over the concert dates (compared to the year prior).
READ MORE: 11 things you need to know before you travel to Europe
With plenty of other big acts (Beyonce, Pearl Jam, Madonna, U2) touring in 2024, it's a trend that's expected to carry through. Your best bet? Act quickly to ensure success.
Culinary showstoppers
Most of us will readily admit to travelling for new taste sensations and now, the figures are in: 70 per cent of Virtuoso advisors have seen an increase in food-focused travel, with 20 per cent of Virtuoso clients booking holidays with food and wine as the key element.
Fancy a tour geared around satisfying those taste buds? Be sure to also check out Intrepid Travel's range of food tours.
