Outdoorsy’s Predictions for Travel in 2024

As 2023 rolls out, we took a look at travel trends to see where 2024 might be headed. We’ve gotten into the habit of doing this every year and it’s always fun to see what we discover.?

Our hosts send out tens of thousands of trips each season and that gives us a veritable treasure chest of info to see where the travel winds are pointing.?

What lies below is our breakdown of the data points we tracked this year so you won’t have FOMO on the latest and greatest travel trends coming down the pike in 2024.

Surprise Ventures Are in Vogue?

The younger generation tends to travel by the seat of their pants more than older generations. We see this trend growing in 2024.?

2024 travelers will seek options ranging from surprise travel where the destination is fully unknown to knowing their destination but allowing the itinerary to surprise after.

What this means is travelers will want the flexibility to roll to new destinations discovered along the way with new friends. And they’ll want the reservation flexibility to match.?

That’s another reason why we see RV and outdoor travel popularity growing in 2024 — because it usually has flexibility built in.

Set-Jetting is Here to Stay

The popular Yellowstone series sent scads of travelers to Montana these past years. And we see that trend continuing to flourish more generally in 2024 as folks see beautiful places on TV shows and movies and then jet out to see them IRL.?

And we also hope you’ll get to your favorite set via RV ??

Surprising 2024 Travel Trends

These are the quirky 2024 travel trends that left us surprised and smiling:

–Gastrotourism is in vogue (and it’ll stay that way in 2024) — Travel with a food and drink focus is here to stay. The fun part about doing it in an RV is that you can cook up local cuisine in your rig for a fun family experience (and cost savings).?

–Stranger travel — Couples and solo travelers alike will trend toward traveling with people they meet along the way for at least some portion of their 2024 vacations.?

RV caravanning is an especially fun way to get to know new friends you meet along the route.?

–Robots might plan your trip — People are increasingly using AI to plan their vacation routes. We’ll see this trend continue to grow in 2024.?

–Solo travel is spiking — More and more travelers are venturing out on solo trips. Couples and families are even plotting trips that include some healthy alone time along the way.?

–Glamping is growing —? Travelers seeking to restore their connection with the outdoors, while also enjoying hotel-like amenities, are gravitating to glamping as a vacation style of choice. That’s why we see accommodations like luxury tents, yurts, tiny homes, and more growing in popularity heading into 2024.?

–Flexible travel is the name of the game — More and more travelers are seeking trips where they can flow with the rhythm of the journey. That’s why we see more flexible reservations, fewer change fees, and smoother trip modification methods on the horizon for 2024.???

RVing Benefits Mental Health

RVing is known to combat stress, build resiliency, and fight depression (among many other positive benefits).?

Specifically speaking, reconnecting with nature will reduce any anxiety you might be feeling as you soak in the outdoor air.?

The sun will get you the Vitamin D you’re probably missing out on.

And outdoor adventuring even improves your sleep by getting your body back into its natural rest rhythm. For these reasons and more, an RV trip in 2024 could be just what the doc ordered to de-stressify.?

2024 is straight ahead of us. Travel trends are a fun wave to catch ahead of time so you can get in on all the most popular stuff. Go check out our blog to get the rest of the insights that we dug into as we look ahead to the New Year.