January 2017
There’s one thing we can all agree on… 2016 was a year full of unpredictable twists and turns.
We can’t profess to know exactly what 2017 holds, but we can take a look at emerging patterns and trends to make some educated guesses.
Don’t worry, we’re not talking politics, or Premier League football, or how the Great British Bake Off will transfer to Channel 4 - we’re talking about travel.
More great travel apps
To say that smartphones will become even more important for travellers in 2017 is less of a prediction and more of a fact.
More businesses are taking a mobile-first approach to their strategy and development which can only be a good thing for travellers.
We’ve got some exciting plans ourselves for 2017 and we’re delighted to see so many great projects on the horizon. Here are a few of them.
Airbnb are releasing a new ‘Trips’ feature whereby they introduce travellers to ‘local co-hosts’ who help you experience and enjoy the city as a local.
Apps such as Hopper and Kayak are also making it cheaper to book flights by scanning millions of flights and setting price alerts for you.
Hopper itself can predict future flight prices with 95% accuracy and will recommend you to buy your flight immediately or wait for a better price. Good to see other apps saving travellers money!
Sidekix is another interesting app that lets you download maps abroad to find fun interesting art galleries, bakeries, restaurants etc that you may not have known about. All complete with reviews from people have already experienced it.
Travellers riding solo
Stats show that people aren’t waiting for friends to be free or keen on a place that they want to go. Millennials and female travellers in particular are becoming more brave and jumping on plane. It makes it easier that there are apps helping solo travellers with similar interests to meet up such as Travello.
The rise of European Islands
Continuing their popularity in 2016 many people are choosing the solitude of relaxing hideaways such as Pantelleria in Italy (home of Giorgio Armani) and Naxos is Italy.
Mykonos is also expected to continue growing its popularity amongst holiday makers. It has a glamorous reputation of being a happy medium between St-Tropez and Ibiza. New hotels, restaurants and beach bars are popping up in anticipation - when you see the pictures you can see why.
Eco travel
It seems that we’re starting to heed the warnings of climate change and travelling greener. Eventually economic incentives such as tax breaks for greener travel are likely to encourage this. However even in the meantime taking a train and even cycling are proving more popular as travellers become more planet conscious.
Airlines such as Virgin and Quantas have also started carbon offset programmes which calculate the emissions produced from a trip and offer customers to purchase ‘carbon credits’ which then go towards programmes which finance renewable energy and conservation projects.
A little controversial amongst environmentalists but more airlines are expected to develop similar programmes.
Taking relaxation to a new level
Experts expect to see the rise of the ‘SanctuStay’. What is that exactly? Simply put, its travellers interested in relaxation travel. Many of these resorts run wellness workshops and meditation classes which vary in degrees of intensity.
On one side of the scale there are beach resorts that simply offer meditation classes. For those looking for a deeper journey into their 'zen' 10 day silent retreats are available where you are only allowed to communicate by writing notes.
