Cox & Kings Travel Style 2018 Study

MUMBAI:
It’s that time of the year, where we look forward to popular destinations and trends that will shape our travel behaviour in 2018. While destinations will continue to determine the kind of trips one wants to take, one cannot ignore that ultimately immersive experiences will take precedence over destinations. In the coming year, travellers will seek experiences that are defined by their personality, interests and style, most of which have been evolving over the years but will find a definite pattern as we move towards 2018.
Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings Ltd. presents the Top 8 experiences that will gain momentum in the coming year.
• Culinary Tours:
While culinary trips as part of larger holidays are already in place, what will emerge in the coming year is Food tours that will not only focus on dining or food tasting but rather delve more into the cooking style, history of cuisines, local flavours and tradition. Gourmet travellers looking to connect with the history and culture are joining local Chefs in Spain for hands-on cooking lessons, taking wine tours around Tuscany, exploring farm tours in Israel to learn about the fresh produces. The appetite for food and travel is only going to get bigger.
• Glamping:
The growing need for experiential travel has made way for Glamping or Glamorous camping lately. Travellers want to be a part of immersive experiences without compromising on the luxuries, and glamping is the perfect marriage of luxurious accommodation and unforgettable in-destination experiences. With glamping taking various forms – think Canvas tents at TUTC in the mountains of Ladakh, Safari lodges in the thick forests of Masaai Mara in Africa, igloo pods in Swiss Alpes or floating cabins on the coast of Cambodia, Glamping, clearly is one of the most popular travel segments the coming year.
• Genealogy:
Technology has made this world smaller and easier to connect with people from different destinations. The curiosity to know more about the world and about oneself, their past, legacy, and ancestral history has given birth to the concept of ‘tracing your roots’. Given a large Indian diaspora population has been living in different continents for years, there is a sudden rise in third generation travellers, travelling to their ancestral properties back in India and experiencing their cultural roots. Tracing one’s family back home while exploring other destinations around is fast catching up with the new age traveller.
• River Cruising
Cruising in the high seas, has its own charm, what with large cruise liners wooing travellers with luxurious offerings. The evolved Indian traveller has now moved on to more intimate experiences such as river and canal cruises in India and Europe. Experiencing unparalleled comfort while exploring the heart of magnificent hinterlands in River cruises will be the flavour of 2018. Exploring magnificent cities in France as you sail in its inland waters like Arles, Avignon, Viviers, Tournon and Lyon to experience France’s beauty intimately or gliding along Russia’s river waters to explore Uglich, Yaroslavl, Kuzino and Kizhi, River Cruising has piqued the interest of travellers.
• Voluntourism
In a quest to balance social good in everything they do, Millennials, the largest generation is blending purpose with leisure. Contributing to change in its true sense is becoming a new norm for this generation of the most frequent travellers. Being environmentally and socially conscious travellers are facilitating Voluntourism across countries like South Africa, India, Cambodia, Nepal, Peru and Mexico to name a few.
• Destinations that are shrinking
Climate Change, the unfortunate phenomenon is leading to thawing of pristine glaciers and significant permafrost, islands to submerge, marine ecology to vanish while displacing locales. While the world is working to reverse the effects, some iconic places on earth stay threatened. An increased number of tourists will visit the Dead Sea in Israel, The Alps in Europe, The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Wineries in America and Archipelagos around the world in 2018 before climate change takes over.
• Extreme Adventure
As travellers are spreading into the last unexplored corners of the globe, the demand for bigger, better, and more adventurous experiences is skyrocketing. Pushing your travel boundaries with extreme adventure is in vogue. Those who wish to test and push their strength are picking up tough expeditions such as Ice cycling in Mongolia, Trekking through ice in search of snow leopards in Spiti, Cruising in Antarctica, Mountain cycling in Bhutan, rafting in remote rivers, taking advanced open water courses in Philippines and frozen river treks in Indus valley among many others.
• Wellness
Wellness will emerge as people focus more on improving their physical and emotional well-being by travelling for meditation, spa, yoga, Ayurveda massages and bathing in mineral rich water bodies for rejuvenation. Travellers will take detox breaks in the foothills of Himalayas, indulge in spa treatments in Thailand or Bali and rejuvenate through ayurvedic treatments in Gods own country, Kerala.