Some notes on 2020 Travel Trends

Taking a little break from my typical culinary theme here, I thought it would be fun to explore what’s going on in travel trends for the New Year and decade ahead. 

Conde Nast Traveler is one of my favorite sources for classy, reliable travel intelligence. Here are a few of the trends they see coming our way – and staying for a while, actually.  

Space Travel.  

• Virgin Galactic intends to take guests on 90-minutes sub-orbital hops into space. 
• Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company is testing flights of its craft this year, with intention to host first space tourists soon after. 
• Space X has already engaged a Japanese billionaire to circle the moon in 2023; by 2025 up to 100 earthlings could visit the first-ever space hotel. (It has something like a giant Ferris wheel with bars, restaurants, and private residences for sale.)

Vegan Hotels.

Veganism is a world-wide phenomena that will only be increasing in the future, so hotels are very much needing to honor this lifestyle. England appears to be leading the way, with a boutique hotel in Perthshire with absolutely no animal products in rooms, and a purely plant-based restaurant.

Ancestry Travel.

Airbnb has partnered with the DNA lab of 23andMe (home ancestry test) to help encourage travelers to seek their roots. Millions have taken home DNA tests.  The increasing desire to become better acquainted and educated about genetic and cultural connections is inevitably going to forge new travel opportunities. 

Next Level Surfing.

Surfing is an Olympic sport for the first time in history, in the upcoming 2020 games in Japan. Specialist retreats – especially for lady beginning surfers – are enjoying great success. There are even artificial waves catching on, with the world’s largest Surf Park opening in South Korea this year.

Flight alternatives.

Forbes has also concurred that traveling by means other than planes is trending and will continue. Train travel is increasing in popularity, and Euro operator TGV Lyria is already expecting higher demand for their routes from Paris especially. KLM Air is asking passengers to fly less.