28 Jul Travel Trends for 2015
We caught up with Tom Marchant, co-founder of bespoke luxury Travel Company Black Tomato; Shane Green, host of Resort Rescue; Jen Murphy, AFAR editor; and Nevin Martell, a food and travel author, to find out what changes in travel are getting their attention. From experiencing a destination through virtual reality to dining on celebrity-chef cuisine on the go, these travel experts predict how we’ll be traveling in 2015.
Hungry travelers won’t have to sacrifice taste to get food on the fly in 2015. “Expect to see more high-end chefs turning their talents toward more casual, more affordable eateries,” says food and travel writer Nevin Martell, author of Freak Show Without a Tent. Top Chef: All-Stars runner-up Mike Isabella plans to open more locations of his popular sandwich shop, G.
Destination Marketing With Virtual Reality
Once reserved for gamers, virtual-reality technology is now giving new meaning to armchair travel. Destination British Columbia is leading the charge of using VR for tourism marketing, offering trade and media partners with a new and unique way to experience British Columbia from their desk chairs. Of course, travelers who are booking vacations are the end target. “As the headsets become more widely available to consumers, virtual reality gives them a 360-degree experience– immersing them in the extraordinary travel opportunities that British Columbia offers, from raw wilderness to refined cities,” says Marsha Walden, CEO of Destination British Columbia. While the Destination BC virtual-reality experience was developed for the Oculus Rift headset, it can be transferred to other technologies as they become available. Samsung’s virtual-reality headset, Gear VR, is the first VR headset available to consumers; it costs $200.
Local Experiences
More travel companies such as NorthEast Charter & Tour Co. that offers charter bus Maine are catering to travelers wanting to experience a destination through the eyes of the people who live there by offering unique ways to connect with locals. Travel start-ups geared to local experiences are popping up, such as EatWith.com, which connects hosts who love to cook with travelers who want a taste of local cuisine, and OneFineStay.com, which provides travelers with homes abroad so they can truly live like a local while on vacation.
Adventure Travel That Gives Back
As the sustainable travel movement grows, companies are enticing do-gooders with once-in-a-lifetime trips that also give back to the local communities. WHOA Travel (Women High on Adventure) founders Allison Fleece and Danielle Thornton lead women from around the world on life-altering adventures, such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, while connecting with the local women in the countries they visit. Not only have they raised more than $10,000 to support women’s educational programs in Kenya and Tanzania by climbing the roof of Africa on International Women’s Day, but they used Mount Kilimanjaro’s first local female guide and sponsored 2 local women to climb with them on the unforgettable trek.
Another sustainable travel company, G Adventures, is leading the return of tourism to Haiti– the Caribbean island nation still recovering from a devastating earthquake 5 years ago– with 5 trips in 2015. Using local suppliers in an effort to keep money in the country, G Adventures is one of the pioneering companies that firmly believe tourism can be a force for good in Haiti.
Multigenerational Aspirational Trips
Forget solo travel. Families are forgoing the family vacations of the past, where quality time was spent parked at the beach, and instead are looking for transformative experiences that the whole family can share. AFAR editor Jen Murphy sees the trend of multigenerational travel growing, with a focus on educational travel experiences.
Hotels Embracing Technology
Checking in, accessing rooms, ordering drinks and paying hotel bills with a smartphone will all become more common in 2015, says Resort Rescue host and hospitality expert Shane Green. By the summer of 2015, Hilton Worldwide plans to introduce a similar keyless service. Hotel companies are also realizing how powerful social media is in highlighting inconsistencies between what a brand promises and what it actually delivers.
Pop-Culture Tourism
It’s no surprise that as a TV network, we believe in the power of being inspired by travel on-screen and have been following the pop-culture tourism trends over the years. Whether it’s the Disney blockbuster Frozen, which inspires fans to flock to Norway in search of snow-covered fjords and ice castles, or Game of Thrones fans wanting to see Westeros in real life, movies and TV are playing a big part in where travelers get inspiration for their next vacation. As fandom becomes more ingrained in our culture, we see pop-culture tourism becoming even more prevalent in 2015. We don’t expect expeditions to follow the Hobbit Trail in New Zealand to stop anytime soon, and we wouldn’t be surprised if 2015’s Jurassic World inspires dinosaur lovers to book a Hawaiian vacation to see the filming locations on Oahu’s Kualoa Ranch.
No Comments