2017: Cruising, primate encounters among top forecasted trends

Every year at this time, PAX likes to take a look ahead to the coming year in travel, including which destinations will be the year’s hotspots, new and growing trip styles and much more. Here’s some of what we’ve seen in store for 2017:

According to Collette’s Amelia Sugerman, the tour operator is seeing ever-increasing bookings for itineraries that feature multi-cultural experiences as well as those catering to multi-generational family groups.

“Families are travelling together in small groups which will create unique opportunities for additional revenue in bookings for the travel agent,” she said. “Canadians know what they want and we’re happy to provide that to them. We know that they prefer to travel to cities, especially ones that are considered safe. They are very traditional and want full service, and they aren’t afraid to spend money.”

Sugerman added that in response to increasing demand for Asia and South America, the tour operator continues to add new itineraries in destinations such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India.

G Adventures is also looking ahead to 2017's top destinations, recently unveiling its top 10 itineraries in 2017, based on G Adventures’ sales trends and world events. Those destinations include Bhutan, Canada, Montenegro, Iran, Egypt, Madagascar, Greenland, Cambodia, the U.S., and South Korea.

Tours featuring primate encounters are among the top trends for the coming year, says Exodus Travels

According to Exodus Travels, travel themes including health & wellness and socially-conscious programs are expected to be big sellers in 2017, the latter emphasized by the United Nations declaration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

While wildlife continues to be an ongoing travel draw, Exodus is predicting primates to be particularly big in 2017, reporting a recent spike in bookings for itineraries featuring encounters with chimpanzees and orangutans.

On the cruise front, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) recently published its [State of the Cruise Industry Outlook 2017, forecasting a number of developments and trends for the sector.

Overall, the cruise industry continues to grow with more passengers and 26 new ships to be debuted in 2017 by various cruise lines around the world. The report also predicts an increase in the number of new cruisers, particularly Millennials, along with more cruise passengers turning to travel agents for bookings.

River cruising and adventure itineraries will also continue to draw travellers, CLIA said, while cruise lines will continue to add private islands for passengers along with increased focus on culinary offerings crafted by celebrity chefs.