2016 Travel Trends
24.02.16 | Nathan CollinsAs featured in Journal magazine, February 2016 issue.
With every new year comes a list of the MUST SEE destinations for the coming year. It’s harder and harder to make these suggestions as the world really is your oyster with so many new flight routes (Qatar Airways from Birmingham for example) and hotels opening around the world. I’ve therefore selected my favourites for you based on what I think would be sensible decisions to make for your travels in 2016, mainly based on beating the crowds before they become flooded with tourists in the next few years…
Cuba is an obvious choice, ‘Go now before they open a McDonalds’ and Starbucks’ seems to be repeated commentary in the travel industry. The problem is the destination cannot cope and hotels are already booked until later in the year. We have access to some special group trips and some local contacts that can help with this so fear not if you are interested in visiting later in 2016.
The Americas really are in the spotlight in 2016 with new direct flights from the UK to Peru (pictured above), Costa Rica and San Jose in California (great to access Route 1 and nearby Monterey and Carmel) – my colleague Oliver visited at the end of last year visiting over 20 hotels in 7 days and taking part in some unique experiences such as a food tour of the Mission district in San Francisco and is definitely our California expert along with Lisa who has also travelled down the Pacific Highway.
South Africa is phenomenally great value for money due to a favourable exchange rate, this of course can change, so I suggest booking in early – who can decline a G&T for £1!
For something more adventurous the FCO has relaxed travel restrictions to Iran and with such a fascinating history it’s easy to see why many tours are already booking up. There are still some places remaining so do get in touch.
There are a plethora of new cruise ships setting sale in 2016, one which we are excited about is Regent Seven Seas Explorer, tipped to be the most luxurious ship on the seas. Bookings have been open for a while now and are proving strong.
Closer to home, Greece is offering great value for money and with the direct flight from Birmingham to Kefalonia you can access some of the smaller uncommercialised islands easier than before.
I also predict a trend for the familiar and have noticed many clients booking one of their annual holidays back to Spain, in search of a more authentic experience. For this we love the triangle of Seville, Cordoba and Granada…but don’t discount Malaga either with its cobbled streets and vibrant nightlife. This part of Spain is one of our favourites and lends itself well to a self-drive holiday or you can travel by train.
So there are my quick tips for 2016, I will add more over the months as we hear about more new flights and destinations opening up, in the mean time may I wish you a Happy New Year, we look toward to creating your next holiday memories.
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