ABTA unveils top five travel trends
ABTA has unveiled the major travel trends for 2017 in its latest report…
The currency conscious holiday
Recent fluctuations in the value of the pound are expected to continue into 2017 and it is likely that this will influence holiday decisions. Destinations where the pound may go further include Argentina, Mexico and South Africa.
Long haul city breaks
With the city break firmly established as British people’s favourite holiday type – over half of people (53%) took one in 2016 compared to 38% who took a beach holiday – city breakers are looking further afield for their next holiday, and the city break is going long haul. Long haul city break destinations include Tokyo, Cape Town, Dubai, Hong Kong and Bangkok. US cities including LA, Miami, Boston and Washington are also popular.
Micro-adventures
Defined by British adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys as ‘small and achievable, for normal people with real lives’, busy holidaymakers are opting to spend some of their holiday or a short break, experiencing destinations in a more active way by taking part in a micro-adventure.
Travel technology hits the high street
Holidaymakers may well find themselves enjoying their hotel, resort or destination before they travel, as travel companies use technology such as virtual reality to let people ‘try before they fly’.
Sustainable tourism takes centre stage
2017 is the UN Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, and this is expected to put sustainable tourism right at the heart of the agenda. According to the UN, ‘well-designed and well-managed tourism’ can contribute to sustainable development, to job creation and to trade, and it is expected that travel companies may be inspired by this year to look at their role in the destinations they sell to.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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