Top Trends in Tourism

Oct 22, 2019 - 4 min read
Top Trends in Tourism
Tourism /ˈtʊərɪz(ə)m/

The commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest.

The thing about tourism is that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it. - Martin Parr

Introduction to Tourism 

Tourism is an industry where the competition is pretty fierce. It’s crucial to regularly check the latest trends, and know what customers are into to get the edge over your competitors. So let's take a look at the most recent top trends in tourism. What’s been changing? What might be expected in the near future?

You can’t afford not being on Instagram

60% of millennial travelers on social media use Instagram, and almost half of Instagram users use the app to find new destinations, research shows. Aware of the fact, Instagram has been adding features such as “book” and “reserve” buttons for the feeds of businesses to make it easier for their target audience to book their vacation instantly after they see a photo of a place they like.

Homeware hotels outcompeting the traditional ones

Homeware hotels, which are themed hotels opened by popular homeware chains, were created as a way for guests to try the products before they buy them. However, they have become a trend and started to outcompete traditional hotels. In the US, UK, Denmark, India, China, and many other countries, traditional hotels -especially boutique hotels- are having a hard time competing against these new rivals.

Families are into adventure destinations now

Adventure tourism is no longer for the young and the single. Families have been showing an interest in adventure destinations, and it looks like they won't stop. They have their own favorite destinations in the US, and all over the world. It's not only the kids and the parents either, boomers of the day are more active than their predecessors, which means you should consider addressing to the grandparents in your ads too.

Short and frequent trips are trending in 2019. A two-day weekend trip doesn’t need days off from work or wasting extra nights paying for accommodation. They need better planning, though. The flight times must be convenient, the transfer times too. So, if you have a travel agency, it would be wise to prepare and present the whole two-days micro trip as one package.

Food tourism on the rise

Also known as culinary tourism or gastronomy tourism, food tourism has been growing consistently, especially by the help of social media. Apart from the “usual suspects” such as Japan, Thailand, France, Lebanon, Italy, etc., Nordic countries have entered the competition as well.

Bleisure travel is getting bigger

Bleisure travel is a new term that grew out of the words business and leisure. As the boundaries between work life and personal life blur, bleisure travel gets more popular. People who are on business trips take one or two extra days off to see the destination. If your travel business is in a city which is also a popular business destination, you should find ways to take advantage of this latest trend.

Sri Lanka and Montenegro outcompeting

Tropical islands and Mediterranean are still trendy travel destinations. Sri Lanka is the latest leader when it comes to tropical islands. It has been named the best country in the world to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet. Meanwhile, Montenegro's tourism has been growing steadily in recent years. Today, "The Pearl of Mediterranean" has become one of the most popular destinations in the area.

Green travel and ecotourism

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education." As a direct result of millennials and Gen Z becoming more and more conscious about environmental issues, green travel and ecotourism have been gaining importance. If these two generations are your target audience, like they should be, consider to market them by emphasizing the importance of these concepts when traveling.

If you’d like to continue to keep up with the top trends in the tourism industry, Kimola can help you. “Trends” feature of our Social Research Platform allows you to see what is trending for your target audience.

To know more about Kimola Trends and the ways you can benefit from it, you can always reach us via Contact Sales Page, or you can book a call via Calendly.

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