Travel Trends 2019

It’s that time again! That time when prognosticators of all ilk and stripe make grand predictions of what the New Year will bring in their industry.

Hey - I’m no different, so as we ring out 2018 to usher in 2019, let’s dust off the ‘ol crystal ball, to see what trends will come to the fore in the coming year in the world of travel.

And some of them may affect the way you take your next next vacation!

TRAVEL TRENDS 2019

VOLUNTOURISM

When I first wrote about experiential travel and voluntourism in April 2018, this type of travel was truly on a small but meaningful scale. Wow - has that changed! What started out as experiments by a handful of companies, Beaches Resorts and Collette Vacations in particular, will take on a life of their own for 2019!

20 companies, both large and small, are now offering experiential travel and voluntourism vacations! With everything from living with local families in Germany on Preferred Travel Services’ exclusive tour, to building schools in Central America or living in an agritourismo in Tuscany, the opportunities will be widespread and worldwide.

FIT-CATION

No longer the realm of swanky destination spas, wellness and fitness vacations will be big in 2019. Want to do yoga on the top deck of a river cruise ship? Meditate in the Peru’s Sacred Valley? There’s a cruise and tour for that. Want to bike and hike your way through Croatia or Italy? There’s a tour for that, too!

The major cruise lines have also seen the light for this type of travel. The fitness centers and spas on all the new ships are much larger than in the past, offering you any number of ways to “workout your way” through the Caribbean or Mediterranean!

OVER TOURISM

Is there such a thing as over tourism, you might ask? When it means loving a destination to the point it’s no longer the destination we love, the answer is a profound yes, and several important and popular destinations will take steps in the coming year to combat it.

Venice, Italy, has already closed the lagoon to large cruise ships, and will take additional steps to curtail some of the activities of “day trip” tourists to this historic and scenic island. No more sitting on the steps in St. Mark’s Square, or even eating there (unless it’s part of a restaurant).

Beautiful Dubrovnik, Croatia, has forced cruise lines to alter itineraries, so as not to have too many ships in port on the same day.

Barcelona, Spain, is also taking steps to alter the numbers of passengers embarking and disembarking from their main cruise ports on a given day. They are also increasing taxes on existing vacation rental properties and will no longer license new short term rental properties in an effort to maintain affordable neighborhoods. They’ve even halted all hotel development in the central city. I have no doubt several other popular destinations will take similar steps in the coming year.

How might these trends affect you and your next vacation? Between tours, cruises, and experiential travel, you now have more styles of travel than ever before, letting you and your travel advisor craft your perfect getaway!

What kind of vacation will you take in 2019?