Coolcations, solo travel and other hot tourism trends

Today’s travel trends are showing where people are going, who they are going with and what they want to do while on a trip.

“People are taking more trips and they are talking about them with their friends,” said Randy Yaroch, CEO and owner of The Travel Society in Greenwood Village. “Then you add social media and that really accentuates how people make choices on where to travel next.”

Knowing what the trends are can be reassuring and inspiring — such as women traveling solo — or possibly lead to making a different choice — like opting to avoid traditional Western European favorites due to crowds.

Yaroch’s Travel Society is a member of Virtuoso, a global network of agencies that specialize in luxury and experiential travel with thousands of travel advisers. A travel adviser is similar to the travel agents of the past, but they offer more advice and insights.

“Travel agents were order taking, but in today’s world they have become professional advisers, more like a consultant that is absolutely curating itineraries,” Yaroch explained. While travel advisers tend to work with premium- to ultra-luxury clientele, Yaroch said, they can also assist with more basic trips such as booking an all-inclusive package and transportation to and from a resort.

When working with clients, Yaroch and his team are looking at the trends and factoring in how this information might be used to get their clients the best trip possible.

Virtuoso released a travel trends report recently and had some interesting insights:

• Domestic travel is dominating in fall 2024, but international travel continues to break records with Canada seeing a 168% increase year over year and Japan seeing a 160% increase.
• Some hot spots are cooling a little just like the weather, so this fall could be the ideal time to head to Napa, Calif.; Amsterdam or Taormina, Sicily.
• The holiday or “festive” season is seeing continued interest in Mexico, Hawaii, Anguilla and Costa Rica, with double- to triple-percentage increases in places such as Saint Lucia, the Dominican Republic and Grenada. Although Maui, Hawaii, did see a dip in travelers after the devastating fires in 2023, there is a 23% increase in fall bookings and a 32% increase for the holiday season.
• Those ultra-luxury travelers are seeking expedition cruises, exotic destinations like Fiji or Thailand, and African safaris. This group is motivated to travel for celebrations and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
• Have you heard about “Coolcations?” According to Virtuoso, this is a trend to visit colder climates in summer (think Canada or Northern Europe) where they saw a 44% increase. Traditionally warmer places like Greece saw a very slight decrease in visitors.
• While women traveling solo is not a new trend, both Virtuoso and Yaroch identified this and noted how it has expanded from baby boomers to all generations. “What they’re looking for are like-minded people to travel with,” Yaroch said. “They are going to all continents and seeking adventure travel or soft adventures like expedition cruising.”
• It’s not just that people want to travel off-the-beaten path, but they are trying to avoid places suffering from overtourism. This means they are seeking out travel during the “shoulder seasons” or off-peak times and heading to South America, for example, instead of Europe. “The service is going to be better in offseason and prices will come down,” said Yaroch.
• Although Instagram and other social media platforms might be influencing travelers, Virtuoso’s report found “a notable shift from focusing on a trip to-do list to an emphasis on how one feels during travel.” They noted that 77% of travelers prioritize curiosity and exploration.

Closer to home, the Colorado Tourism Office commissions a report each year and learned that in 2023 there was increased visitation to Colorado with 93.3 million visitors — a 4% increase over 2022. Other highlights included:

• 38% of visitors to Colorado in 2023 were coming to see family and/or friends, with just 12% citing the outdoors as the main purpose of their trip.
• However, 60% of visitors said outdoor activities were the top activity (if not purpose), 58% entertainment, 40% cultural and 30% sporting. Surprisingly, shopping at 23% was a top activity over hiking/backpacking at 16%.
• A large majority of the people visiting were returning — 85% of overnight travelers were repeat visitors in 2023 and 62% had visited in the last 12 months.

Their report does not show which cities or towns specifically are seeing more visitors, but the annual Dean Runyan Associates, “The Economic Impact of Travel in Colorado,” provides some insight: Denver is seeing the highest amount of spending with a 4.8% increase.

“Travelers choose Denver because of its ‘best of both worlds’ qualities,” said Justin Bresler, vice president and chief marketing officer at Visit Denver. “The city is an urban destination in its own right, and the appeal of everything you can do in the nearby Rocky Mountains makes us an even more compelling choice.”

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