18 February 2008 Holiday trends for 2008
Named as a "great year to travel" by the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), it can be understood that big things are to be expected from the travel industry in 2008.
However, with buzz words such as eco-travel, carbon footprints and globalisation in the forefront of many travelers minds, the question remains what will the travel trends for 2008 be?
According to Abta, key themes for travel in 2008 will be sporting events and film set locations.
Noting that after the English football team failed to qualify for Euro 2008, it is likely that summer holidays to Austria and Switzerland will not be as popular as if they had got through to the final rounds.
However, with the FIS Ski World Cup currently taking place in the Alps, many winters sports fans may be heading in that direction earlier on in the year.
Meanwhile, heavy early snow has meant that the 2008 ski season is being lauded as one of the best for several years, especially after last year's snow conditions were disappointing in Europe.
In terms of film sets, it is anticipated that the onscreen popularity of such South American films as Love in the Time of Cholera will "put Colombia back on the map of must see destinations" while Australia and The Cup will encourage holidaymakers to visit the land down under.
Other countries to attract tourism through films include Botswana, thanks to Alex McCall Smith's novels about the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
"Travelling is always an inspiring way of spending our free time and with so many exciting events and enticing destinations, our enthusiasm for overseas holidays in 2008 remains high," said Justin Fleming, ABTA president observed.
Gapyear.com's founder Tom Griffiths concurs with this theory of film inspired travel.
He coins the phrase of set-jetting, as opposed to jet-setting, where holidaymakers travel around the world in search of destinations they have seen in films.
"The first one we saw was The Beach and we still have lots of backpackers going off to Koh Tao to see where The Beach was set," he noted.
He also noted that New Zealand received a number of holidaymakers because of the Lord of the Rings movies while Madagascar received visitors after the release of the eponymous film starring the voices of Chris Rock and Friends star David Schwimmer.
"New Zealand is just a good solid destination where we are seeing more growth, especially in the older gappers, you can also go whale watching, there's literally everything and anything to do in a place like New Zealand," Mr Griffiths continued.
Adventure and experiential travel is also popular in New Zealand which boasts the extremes in environment of glaciers and wine valleys.
Other regions he tipped for travel in 2008 included South Korea and Japan.
Holiday Which? claimed that cruises are likely to be a "key trend" for travel in 2008.
Claire Lilley, head of research at Holiday Which? noted that cruises are growing in popularity all the time, in particular the over-55 market.
She reported that the number of new cruise ships being launched in 2008 is "phenomenal" and that holidaymakers are cottoning on to the fact that there is a lot to see on a 14 day cruise.
Meanwhile, the facilities onboard cruise shops are "fabulous" and encouraging honeymooning couples to move into the market as well.
Ms Lilley noted that Eastern Europe is "booming" with places like Bulgaria and Turkey on the agenda for 2008.
While Britons become more aware of green issues in terms of holidays, it is unlikely that the traditional beach holiday will suffer as a result, she concluded.
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