Adventure travel in 2019: 5 trends

I’ve been diving into all the year-end trend articles and reports, which reveal the themes people expect to see more of in 2019. I love seeing patterns emerge – and sometimes spotting an unexpected angle or something under-the-radar that deserves more attention.

Within the travel industry, trend round-ups often focus on destinations that are expected to be hotspots in the year ahead – but here’s my take on 5 broader trends and opportunities I think we’ll hear more about in 2019.

① Carry on camping

One accommodation trend really caught my eye from JWTI’s Future 100 report, and I don’t mean underwater hotels at an eye-watering $50,000 per night (also tipped in LinkedIn’s Big Ideas for 2019).

The trend that interests me is far more down-to-earth (pun intended). It’s the rise in ‘Xennial’ camping. Facebook’s recent Topics & Trends report also touched on a similar theme, with a footnote that leads to an article on the rising popularity of camping.

Why was this so surprising? Because over the last few years, the received wisdom for adventure tour brands – especially those focused on younger travellers – is that camping tours are declining in popularity.

But outside of touring, camping’s been hot enough to attract lots of start-ups like Hipcamp, Tentrr and Camplify (especially in the US, but elsewhere too) – for both tent camping and glamping; public campsites as well as private land. The data from North America shows that camping has a broad and growing appeal, and it’s increasingly attracting a young audience: 40% are Millennials, another 36% are Gen X.

But why are more people camping? Is it value for money, or the convenient proximity to active adventure spots? The bragging rights (the social status symbol) of Instagramming your tent in an incredible picture-perfect spot? Apparently not! Campers say it’s the calm environment free from ‘must do’ activities – and Euromonitor have also highlighted JOMO as a top travel trend. It’s about escaping the stress of everyday life; having time to build relationships; and the impact on emotional wellbeing.

This is starting to sound like it has a lot in common with our next trend…

② Wellness is not a luxury

Interest in ‘wellness’ has exploded, touching everything from beauty to nutrition, the home to the workplace, mindful tech to travel.

The buzzword pops up a dozen times in Facebook’s trend report and an astonishing 42 times in The Future 100. TrendWatching dedicated a whole section to it in their roundup of the best 2018 innovations. Skift has a wellness-themed newsletter now. It’s EVERYWHERE! And that’s the point.

In travel, wellness has long been associated with ‘luxury’ hotels, pricey spa treatments and indulgent yoga retreats. But as the concept hits the mainstream in multiple areas of life, we’re repeatedly exposed to the idea that it isn’t just for people with comfortably thick wallets, it’s for everyone.

After all: Average Joe can now be prescribed no-frills nature walks by the NHS in Shetland, or mood-lifting visits to an art museum in Montreal.

A couple of adventure travel brands have already dived into the trend with a range of Wellness or Yoga trips. So far, they’re all in ‘upgraded’ or premium accommodation – and 95% of the imagery is female.

In 2019: our definition of ‘wellness’ will continue to widen, with fewer connotations of luxury or femininity. Brands might choose to avoid the over-used ‘W’ word, but will talk about recharging body and mind by spending time in nature and engaging in activities that leave the stresses of everyday life behind. I expect more itineraries will be designed to have less time on the road or rushing from place to place.

Since wellness is ‘holistic’ in nature, companies could also consider the broader customer experience, not just the product. For example a long-haul travel provider could increase wellbeing by offering personalised advice for the jet lag before and after your trip; while sales tactics that amp up the unnecessary pressure with flashing countdown clocks and fake deadlines (‘HURRY, BOOK NOW!’) could disappear.

③ Choose your own adventure

We often prefer the ease and cost of buying ‘off-the-shelf’ rather than tailor-made – but still want the ability to make a few choices, so that products fit our personality and preferences a little more closely.

You’re already familiar with ordering your coffee with an extra shot of caffeine or switching the type of milk to dairy-free. But perhaps this Christmas you also paid a bit more to fill your Quality Street tin with your favourite flavours and leave out the ones you didn’t want. Or you bought a customised map for your next trip, for a closer fit with the area you’ll be hiking. Or you heard about Netflix bringing ‘choose your own adventure’ to TV screens.

According to a Deloitte report, 53% of people are interested in customised holidays – that’s more than any other product category – and it’s even higher in the 25-39 age bracket. But almost half of us prefer to choose from a selection of options instead of fully tailor-made. 

In a recent presentation, I shared some examples of innovators in this area, including the new Meraki Travel brand. How will other travel companies adapt in 2019 to meet rising expectations for customisation?

Stripping back to a bare-bones product where everything’s an ‘optional extra’ isn’t the only way to give travellers some coveted flexibility. Even brands that like to pack in lots of high-value inclusions could still give customers some degree of choice, for example between two different included activities in the same location.

In some cases, operators of group tours might let travellers choose whether to upgrade their room or to swap an included train journey for a flight. Operators of self-guided tours could give customers the ability to change their tour’s pace, by adding extra nights along the route for an additional rest day. One size won’t fit all in 2019.

④ A local’s-eye view

Recently there’s been some pushback against the clichéd idea of travellers ‘living like a local’ – although I like the subtle twist in Sawday’s 2019 trend predictions. They say more travellers will opt to ‘live WITH a local’ in locally-run accommodation, so they can access a local perspective.

The broader trend is to celebrate the things that make a place unique, by looking through the eyes of locals. In 2018, products and campaigns (across multiple industries) got up-close and showcased the diversity that locals see in their own hometown, never relying on typical icons or tired stereotypes to represent a whole city or country.

A prominent example was Nike’s award-winning ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’ campaign: a very different London from how it’s often portrayed (no Big Ben in sight!). In Sydney, a chocolatier created a box of flavours that reflected the city’s truly multicultural heritage. And in Copenhagen, CitizenM used their windows as a portrait gallery to celebrate local people.

Instead of imposing a simplistic outsider’s perspective: these reflected a growing recognition that local people know and represent their own place best.

In travel, it’s been a few years since the trend began for marketplaces that ‘cut out the middleman’ and connect travellers directly with local providers. Their appeal is still growing: most recently Evaneos gained attention with one of the biggest ever fundraising rounds in the Tours & Activities sector. The appeal of their direct local connection (aside from the potential for efficiency or lower prices) is ‘getting under the skin’ of a destination.

Of course so many other travel companies use local partners on the ground too – which means local voices do play a part in their product design and customer experience too – but that isn’t always as visible to customers as it could be. In 2019: when travellers browse any travel website, they’re going to expect a much more diverse mix of local places, faces and voices to be represented – going far beyond the clichés to reflect more authentic local life.

⑤ Everyone’s invited

Trend firms have been talking about ‘post-demographic consumerism’ for a few years. But in Fjord’s 2019 Trends, they reminded us that consumer choices aren’t as closely linked to traditional demographic segments as they used to be. That’s why brands increasingly target consumers based on interests and mindset rather than traditional factors like age, gender, income, relationship status, or where we live.

Despite that, a lot of tour operators still restrict access to some or all of their product range based on age. Often these age-restricted brands are ‘youth’ focused, exclusively for 18-39 year-olds (there are others for 18-29, 25-39, 30-49, etc).

Anecdotally, you hear that a lot of travellers still prefer to stay in the comfort zone of travelling solely with others of a similar age. Though of course they might also be picking that ‘youth tour’ because it’s been designed with inexperienced travellers (of any age!) in mind, which means the location choice, speed, level of support and budget appeal to them.

Tours for 18 to 30-somethings have already changed significantly since the Club 18-30 heyday – because the typical young traveller is also continually changing. At WTM, several presenters spoke about today’s younger travellers becoming (on average) more ethical, more active, more interested in culture and less in partying (27% of UK 16-24s are now teetotal).

As stereotypes shift – and age groups no longer display such sharp differences in interests as they once did – will we become more open to travelling in mixed-age groups instead?

Many age-restricted brands are really successful (or growing rapidly), so I have no doubt they will continue to be extremely popular with their chosen ‘tribes’, in 2019 and beyond. But: I firmly believe there’s also an audience now for companies that demonstrate diversity and inclusivity – and age is as relevant as other factors like race, sexuality or body type.

There are plenty of tour operators already offering ‘open-age’ tours, but I’m not aware of any highlighting it, to appeal to travellers who value inclusivity. I think it’s only a matter of time before travel brands emerge that make a virtue of the fact that ‘everyone’s welcome’. After all, the theme of inclusivity was pretty much the soundtrack of 2018!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

What trends have caught your eye? What do you expect (or hope) to see more of in 2019? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Thank you to everyone in my network who kept in touch, read my articles, generously shared their ideas, or inspired me in 2018. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2019.