After a long period of travel restrictions and various degrees of lockdowns and limitations, 2022 is shaping up to be a year of hope and opportunity.
While 2020-2021 saw a rise in hiking, climbing, and RVing, 2022 is showing us a bit of a different picture, albeit heavily influenced by the previous two years’ trends.
In this article, we will explore some of the emerging trends of 2022.
Walking holidays
With the international travel restrictions in the last couple of years, lots of people took up walking and running as part of their daily exercise regime. To “get away from it all”, and take care of their mental health, many took to the mountains and (re)discovered their love for the great outdoors.
Hiking, camping, RVing, climbing, running, mountain biking were clear trends in 2020 and 2021 and they are continuing to grow in popularity going into 2022. Adventure travel agencies see an uptake in bookings of hiking to Mount Everest’s base camp, the Inka Trail, and the Swiss Alps, and more.
Venturing into the outdoors is a great way to avoid crowds and enjoy the serenity of mother nature.
But you do not need to go abroad to enjoy majestic mountains and breathe the fresh air. We have lots of amazing national parks all over America, and the best way to reach them and immerse yourself in nature is to set up camp and take it all in.
Low travel
Despite international traveling picking up momentum in 2022, people still have a lot of uncertainty and nervousness around flying and spending time with 100s of people inside a giant tin box up in the air.
“Low travel” is a term to describe transportation low to the ground.
Car holidays with or without campers in toll, trains, and ferry travels will all be popular. These modes of travel are a way to avoid the crowds in airports and in big cities, not unlike the previous trend of walking holidays.
It is worth noting that car rental is going to get more expensive in 2022 due to the global microchip shortages, making the supply of new cars tight.
The microchip issue will affect the campervan market, so maybe this is the perfect time to get yourself a teardrop trailer and join the community instead?
Slow travel
Travel can have both a negative or positive impact on the local culture, society and its sights.
Over-tourism was a hot topic in the years before the pandemic. Newspapers and magazines in all corners of the world painted a pretty bleak picture of the state of tourism and how the hoards of tourists were to blame for anything from rising real estate prices to endangering the local heritage.
Slow traveling is a trend that blends the increased focus on sustainability in travel and immersing yourself deeper in the destination you visit.
Instead of rushing through an itinerary with as many sights to cross of the list in a short amount of time, you want to travel slow and feel and understand the destination on a deeper level. Travelers want meaningful experiences instead of fast consumables.
Sustainable tourism is about spending time and money with the small local suppliers and supporting the local community, instead of giving your cash to the global players which is more about volume and sales, versus supporting the community.
We love this trend!
Community first
The community first trend is another aspect of the sustainable travel megatrend, closely related to the previous point on slow travel.
Not only is the trend suggesting that people want to spend time and money on authentic local experiences, but people want to immerse themselves more into the local communities.
Community-based tourism enables the tourist to discover local habitats and wildlife and celebrates and respects traditional cultures, rituals, and wisdom.
This is a great way to make a difference while experiencing, and not only consuming.
Sustainable focussed travel companies will see an uptick in business, in line with the aforementioned tours like hiking the Inca Trail. But the opportunities are vast, and companies like Lokal Travel have a wide range of exceptional community-based experiences.
3G Travel
3G stands for three-generation travel.
With so many families having been separated for a long time during the pandemic, some up to two years, they now want to have quality time together in multi-generational travel experiences.
Reunion holidays will become popular, where extended family can come together and make up for lost time. This trend shows up in the increase of villa and cottage rentals with pools. Families create their own self-contained resort-style travels away from the crowds and offer peace of mind and reduce the risk of getting in touch with the virus.
Wellness
This article would not be complete without us addressing the elephant in the room. We have all been suffering to some extent under the restrictions, lockdowns, death, and misery over the last 2 years.
It makes perfect sense that wellness tourism is expected to boom in 2022.
While self-care and wellness have already been a priority and a necessity for many, this trend transfers over to travel in 2022.
People will seek out destinations, resorts, spa hotels, etc where they can focus on themselves, their wellness, mental health, relax and recharge.
The pandemic saw a boom in yoga, meditation, and mindfulness apps downloads. Now people want to go from digital to the real-world experience.
2022 will be a great year for any kind of businesses doing yoga retreats, fitness camps, and any sort of travel that will increase the sense of wellbeing.
As you may have picked up by now, there is a fairly clear connection between the above-mentioned trends and the need to care for self. The previous two years have been hard for so many people in so many ways.
2022 will be all about making up for lost time, lost connections, recharging, rejuvenation, and bouncing back to the new normal.
Obviously, we are biased, but we believe taking a camper out in nature will give you both walking experiences, allow you to travel both slow and low, travel with family, visit unique communities, and last, but not least, it is good for the soul and your own wellbeing.
Happy trails!