Top 3 Travel Trends 2018

Most people would take pictures of the same hot tourist spots and post it on social media to get more likes – i.e Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo and so on. Of course they are still beautiful must-see places, but besides that, there are growing trends of venturing to off beaten tracks, eating Durians with the locals or even volunteering to pick up trash at a local beach area. Below are some of the latest emerging travel trends I’ve noticed:

1) Sustainability Travel: Discovering New Places As growing numbers of people travelling the world (despite the economic downturn), it also means more tourists recorded in each popular sites. For example, Thailand has average 10-20% increase in number of tourists every year since 2014, Bali had 1.9 million visitors in 2008 and 4.9 million visitors in 2016, and international visitors to Australia spent 7% more in 2017 compared to the previous year. I could go on with other examples just to explain that tourism is booming, but this has impacted the environment, causing “overtourism” which means too many people visiting one place that causes an impact on the greenhouse gas emission, water and waste. Imagine if you have a house party and you invite 2 to 3 people, versus inviting 20 guests to your small 2 bedroom apartment – that’s a lot to handle! Even in Barcelona, the locals are complaining on partying tourists who disrespect the residence, or sometimes we see our local beaches polluted with cigarettes, food wrappers, containers, and so on. So, if we get to discover more unknown places, tourists would want to visit them for their holidays instead of the usual tourist spots. As part of my sustainable travel, I would include some of the less popular spots in my travel plans and do my part in minimizing the impact to the environment to help create a better place for our future generations.

2) More local experience Some bloggers have shared their experience living in one country (either for few months or migrated there) and posted their daily experiences on social media. I feel it is more authentic to really live as the locals do. However, if you are travelling alone, especially solo female traveller, it is better to have trusted companions or travel agencies who can provide advice on the do’s and don’ts and help to communicate better with the locals. Have you watched Anthony Bourdain’s show called No Reservations? Anthony is a chef and traveller who travels around the world to capture the differences in culture, food and people in each places. When you get a more local experience, you will understand and appreciate the unique cultures and get a better experience that you can never read it in any book or websites.

3) Winter travels Winter travel is becoming a trend and more people would prefer to avoid peak season and enjoy winter activities like skiing, snowboarding or even just enjoying that beautiful view of snow-capped mountains while sipping hot chocolate or dip in a hot bath. Some people would travel all the way to the arctic before it melts due to global warming as it is melting rapidly each year. Even the northern lights are said to appear less frequently or even disappear! I’d definitely plan my trip to chase the northern lights when I can, but I’m not sure how I would stand the cold weather though ;) The next time you travel, hope you can try to get as much experience with the locals, perhaps also volunteer to help them with what you can and have a wonderful time!