Marketing communications firm JWT has released its Things To Watch in 2013 Travel Report. This is part of its eighth annual forecast of key trends that will drive or significantly impact consumer mindset and behavior in the year to come.
JWT’s top travel trends include:
Fitness on the go
With travelers looking for more ways to work out while on the road, the hospitality industry is providing new options. Hotels are supplementing the basic gym with fitness classes, designing guestrooms to accommodate people doing yoga or cardio, or providing on-demand workout videos. And airports are helping travelers squeeze in some exercise during layovers: San Francisco International Airport has a yoga room, and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport features walking paths in several concourses.
Hotels in Africa
Driven largely by an explosion in business travel to Africa, international hotel brands are racing to expand their portfolios. Marriott International plans to open a property in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, in 2013 and aims to grow its African portfolio six-fold by 2020. Accor is planning to add almost 5,000 rooms in 30 hotels by 2016, and Starwood intends to open 10 African hotels in the next three years.
Shopping hotels
In Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, megamalls with hotels in them are fueling a tourism recovery after the Arab Spring. A Sheraton will open in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates in 2013, and the upcoming Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi will house seven hotels.
Live-streaming life
Memories will be live-streamed in real time. The newest super-compact video camera from GoPro is 30% smaller and 25% lighter than its predecessors—a big selling point for the skiers, divers and other extreme sports enthusiasts who love to document their exploits—and includes built-in Wi-Fi, enabling live-streaming of footage. Users can also control the camera remotely using a smartphone app.
Nature as antidote
With urbanization rising steadily—today more than half the world’s population lives in cities, compared to less than 40% in 1990—more people will retreat to nature to escape the pressures, noise, pollution, traffic and other stressors of the city. We’ll also see this urge manifest in other ways, from an embrace of natural, organic elements in décor to ever more nature-themed entertainment programming.
Political vacations
Affluent travelers are seeking new kinds of status trips, as embodied by Political Tours of the U.K., which offers clients “current affairs at first hand.” This includes a tour of Northern Ireland led by BBC correspondents and trips to hot spots including Georgia, North Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo and Ethiopia, many curated by political experts with insights into the region.
River cruising
In 2012, British cruise brands Voyages of Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises both introduced river cruises. Other companies are adding river cruise itineraries worldwide, as well as new ships.
Set jetting
New Zealand has seen a 50% spike in tourist visits since The Lord of the Rings debuted in 2001; now The Hobbit is expected to bring even more travelers to the Pacific nation. Long popular among film fanatics, “set jetting” will become more mainstream, especially as more sites start to tout their Hollywood connections. As part of the promotion for 50 years of James Bond films, the stars made appearances at set locations around the U.K. in 2012. In 2013, Life of Pi (filmed in India) and The Lone Ranger (the American West) are expected to help draw visitors to filming locales.