Hot Travel trends in 2008

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald says that the “been there, done that” era of fleeting visits to famous sites is well and truly over – travel virgins excepted, with the modern traveller wanting to take home a memory, not a memento.

Travel in 2008 is about what you feel, think, eat, drink or learn as much as see. Get used to the phrase experiential travel because you are going to hear it a lot this year.

Here’s our rundown on travel trends for the next 12 months.

VOLUNTEERING

What’s it all about? Meaning, that’s what. The new way to add value to travel is to incorporate a feelgood factor.

Volunteering has been on the itinerary for a couple of years but this year it is set to become one of the dominant trends.

Look at the increasing popularity of gap-year programs. Apart from the Brits, who had ever heard of it a decade ago? Now school leavers (or their parents) are paying big dollars to build orphanages, save endangered species and generally right wrongs.

But volunteerism and making a difference is not the sole prerogative of the young. It crosses generation lines.

The people tracking the migratory patterns of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef on an Earthwatch project or laying bricks to build a house for the underprivileged in Cambodia on an i-to-i.com trip is as likely to be a retired schoolteacher or a thirtysomething marketing manager of an IT company as a school-leaver.

EAT, DRINK

Food-and-wine tourism attracts more than 8 million visitors domestically, with eating and drinking the No. 1 preference of international tourists in all capital cities, according to a 2007 Tourism Australia survey.

It couldn’t get any bigger, you say?

Don’t bet on it.

Have you tried to find a quiet spot in the Yarra or Hunter valleys on a sunny Sunday?

SINGLES MINGLE

Marriage numbers are declining, divorce rates are growing.

The result? More singles.

Intrepid Travel has heeded a call from consumers and introduced a new category called Solo and Active adventures.

There are seven trips on the slate this year and if numbers hold up, as expected, there will be more next year.

RSVP, the internet dating site owned by Fairfax Media, is offering a series of 30 trips for singles encompassing domestic and international destinations.

Lija Jarvis, RSVP’s marketing director, says single people travel for the love of it rather than specifically looking for love. “They are genuinely interested in the travel. But we find people want to travel with other singles and know that there will be someone who might want to go out to dinner or have a drink. If something else develops, then that is a bonus.”

SHORT AND SWEET

For most of us, the days of taking long, languid holidays are over. In its Travel and Lifestyle Trends Report, Lastminute.com.au found that 55 per cent of respondents prefer shorter holidays. A duration of one to two weeks was the optimum.

Chris Meehan of Lastminute.com.au says the advent of budget airlines is one factor leading to the rise in popularity of the shorter getaway.

Cheaper airfares mean that holiday-makers don’t have to justify the expense of travel with a longer stay.

The changing work ethic is another. These days, no one feels comfortable leaving the desk empty for too long in case someone else is sitting in it when they return.

THE GREEN EFFECT

A staggering 94 per cent of the 24,500 travellers surveyed by Lonely Planet last year say travelling in a low-impact way is the way they want to go and a raft of green initiatives will make it easier to tread lightly this year.

At home, Virgin Blue, Qantas and Jetstar operate voluntary carbon offset programs and Jetset is reporting 10 per cent of passengers are opting in. The tide is turning in Asia.

Cathay Pacific is the first Asian airline to launch a voluntary scheme. SAS is doing it in Europe and the European Union has approved a plan to make airlines part of a carbon-trading scheme by 2012. Also, many travel companies are making it easier to neutralise air travel with opt-in clauses on contracts.

Not surprisingly, Lonely Planet is getting in on the act; the new edition of its Australia guide includes a GreenDex – an index of sustainable accommodation, tours and experiences. Expect more titles with the green index.

And Ecotourism Australia’s 2008 Green Travel Directory lists more than 700 options that have the tick of approval from the peak body.

FAMILY FRIENDLY

Families have always holidayed together, now they are travelling together and often across generations. Mum, dad and the kids are being joined by grandma and grandpa. Or in the case of cashed-up families, that should read the younger members are travelling courtesy of the family matriarch and patriarch.

Nikki Fitzpatrick of CCAfrica, an upmarket safari company, says it is not unusual for one family to book out an entire lodge or a safari for themselves. “It’s a way for the grandparents to spend quality time with their family.”

Local operators have also enjoyed enormous success since starting family-style holidays. Peregrine Adventures created a family-specific division in 2004 and this year it will send out 28 adventures around the globe.

“Parents want their children to experience a different culture and learn first-hand what the world is like,” says Peregrine’s Jane Reed.

A Report by The Mole from The Sydney Morning Herald