Looking for inspiration for your 2018 travel plans?
It can get tough planning around school holiday times, catching the right travel deal or holiday package and then you still have to pick a place everyone agrees on.
A little help couldn’t go astray.
Rather than give you a bunch of must-see destinations, we’ve asked the experts at Booking.com for tips on all the biggest travel trends for 2018 which can help you plan an exciting trip to keep everyone in the family happy.
1. New tech frontiers
When it comes to planning your next trip, artificial intelligence and digital technology will come forward in leaps and bounds to help with smart destination intuition, reshaping the way we research, book and experience travel.
Think: Virtual reality previews of your destination and entirely computer planed trips.
2. From dream to reality
2018 is less about recommended destinations and more about what’s best for you and your personal travel destination bucket list.
With dwindling patience, instantaneous appetites and empowered by technology, travellers in 2018 will seize the moment like never before.
3. Retro reboot
Speaking of your personal travel bucket list, booking.com predict a massive rise in travellers revisiting their favourite childhood memories as part of their trips in 2018.
Blending the future with the past, next year’s travellers will be inspired to return to previously loved destinations and explore them in a whole new way. A third of travellers (34%) will consider a holiday they experienced as a child for 2018, and there’s nothing like reliving that same memory with your own family as a parent.
5. Walk your way to wellness
The trend for wellness getaways isn’t slowing down for 2018, with almost double the amount of people planning to take health and wellbeing trips in 2018 compared to 2017 (from one in 10 in 2017 to nearly one in five in 2018).
Trips enjoying particular prominence will be those that involve travelling on two feet.
A brilliant way to take in the local landscape, walking will be the ultimate way to explore next year and there are so many walks and hikes available no matter what your travel passions.
6. The great mate escape
2018 is gearing up to be all about the group get-away.
Grab your besties and their families and get ready for a bonding experience like no other.
7. Live like a local, not with one
In 2018, rental homes are going to be particularly popular – not just for travellers looking to stay in one, but also home owners who are thinking of inviting others to stay in their own abode. One in three travellers (33%) say they’d prefer to stay in a holiday rental (a holiday home or apartment) over a hotel and one in five (21%) would consider listing their home on a travel accommodation site.
