Gabija is passionate about traveling and writing. In her free time, she likes to read, try out different cuisines, or embark on outdoor adventures.
With the borders across the world opening, people are beginning to travel again. Except the travel trends are not the same as before the pandemic.
According to UNWTO, right now people are travelling more consciously, with prolonged duration, and with much more appreciation. Being deprived from travelling for such a long time, people are trying to enjoy every minute of it.
Here we will discuss both the old and new travel trends, which will determine our travel next year.
1. Outdoors Activities
The long period of social distancing had its toll on how we prefer to spend our time. Spending time outdoors in nature will remain a trending pastime activity. This tendency also extends to holidays. As stated by cntraveller.com, “travellers craving wide open spaces and inspiring views are longing for the great outdoors, and camping and glamping holidays are attracting new devotees looking to truly immerse themselves in the wilderness.”
After spending most of our time at home during a quarantine, it comes as no surprise that we want to enjoy our holidays for longer. Forbes.com identifies such a term as “quarantine fatigue”, which describes “exhaustion associated with the restrictive lifestyle.” The symptoms can include stress, anxiety, irritability, eating more or less than usual, and can vary from person to person.
The other valid reason for extending the duration of our holidays is because the pandemic changed the way we work. Lots of us are still working remotely with no rush to go back to offices. This allows the flexibility and freedom to extend their travels.
Check out our multi-day tours to make your adventure in Iceland last longer.
3. Small Groups and Private Tours
Even with more and more people getting vaccinated around the globe, some health safety issues remain. Even if traveling in big groups sounds appealing to you, it might not be the best choice for a post-pandemic holiday. Traveling in small groups will become more and more popular throughout the tourism industry.
For those who have more money to spend, privately held tours will be a good traveling option. That way you can enjoy Icelandic beauty without worrying about your health.
Check out our day tours with small groups and private tours only for you and your loved ones to enjoy.
4. Smaller Hotels over Big Legacy Chains
The rising popularity of small boutique hotels is a travel trend that hasn’t seemed to go away. Even big legacy chains, such as Hilton and Marriott, are opening new smaller hotels to attract customers. For example, boutique hotel chain Moxy, introduced by Marriott, right now has 44 hotels across Europe, Asia, and the United States. If that doesn’t say anything about this trend, nothing would. Hilton is not far behind its competitor. Hilton will introduce 6 Motto micro-hotels by 2023, and they already have a lifestyle hotel, Canopy, which can also be found in Reykjavik’s City Centre.
Iceland is ahead of this trend when it comes to the array of small hotels. It has a wide range of boutique hotels, lodge-style stays, hostels, apartment hotels, and much more. Here you can enjoy comfort by staying as close to nature as possible.
This one comes as no surprise—COVID set new rules on how we perceive our health safety. PwC research shows that more than 50% of Americans have health-related anxiety when it comes to traveling for the first time after the pandemic. This goes even without talking about various protocols and regulations put upon tourists.
Primarily, there’s a government protocol to respect, and then there are practical safety rules. A lot to think about, right? Iceland is one of the countries with a very high vaccination rate.
6. Sustainable Travel
Sustainability is another growing travel trend, which got even more essential after COVID-19 hit. One of the few known benefits of this pandemic was a record-level decrease in nitrogen dioxide at the global level. Around 8 in 10 flights didn’t take off in the spring of 2020, and the beaches and the streets were emptied out all across the globe, which was a major benefit to our wildlife.
The conscious travel trend is not even a new trend—it’s a “new normal.” Due to raising awareness about global warming and bigger concerns about the future of our planet (especially after the global pandemic), more and more tourism venueshave to make adjustments. Airlines are obligated to cut down their carbon emissions, restaurants have to get rid of plastic packaging, and hotels have to use more eco-friendly detergents for their laundry.
We are also trying to be better every day. All of Arctic Adventures’ marketing efforts are done completely online—that way we eliminate paper use for brochures. Also, we are gradually changing our vehicle fleet to 100% electric—this is a way to reduce our carbon footprint.
With the world going more and more online, the travel sector is not an exception. Travel tech allows us to book flights, tours, and accommodations in advance. And the use of technologies in the tourism industry doesn’t seem to go away—instead, it evolves every year.
Nature adventures, longer stays, smaller group tours, and a more modest choice of accommodation—these are Iceland's top travel trends—without forgetting, of course, the impact on our health and the environment that surrounds us. Nevertheless, the future of travel looks brighter than it did before. By being tech-savvy, progressive, and empathetic, we can step into this new era of traveling with calm minds and adventure-thirsty souls.
We are always looking to bring the latest exciting adventures to our customers. If you are looking for something different than following the trends, discover our new tours.
