6 Travel Trends You Must Know in 2017

The overall travel market in 2017 shows a promising outlook, with world outbound travel predicted to grow by between 4% and 5%, driven by Asia, USA and Europe. The Chinese are expected to go on more international trips for many years to come, although there could be a noticeable drop in their sometimes extravagant spending in future, according to one Beijing-based expert.

Here are some worldwide travel trends in 2017:

Local Travel: Millennials seem to value experiences over things, but with limited budget, they often don’t book extravagant vacations at world-class locations. Young people will prefer destinations they could afford in 2017, and some of them will take advantage of a strong dollar to travel abroad. However, no matter where they are travelling, they highly value rich cultural experiences.

Female Solo Travel: With a surge in women-only travel companies, we’re seeing an uptick in solo travel, especially with women. More travelers continue to look for more personal, enriching experiences.

Ecotourism: Travelers are more sensitive than ever to reduce their carbon footprint. Travelers will practice low-impact, sustainable travel options in an effort to provide a more positive experience for both themselves as visitors and for their hosts.

Active & Adventure Trips: According to Virtuoso, 2017 is the year of active and adventure travel. "an African safari, swimming Alps" would be sought after by many people. North and South America are the top adventure destinations for customers. There is a rising interest among clients for a more customized experience and a falling interest in hard adventure. In 2017, travelers’ primary choices will be adventure activities such as safari, hiking and cycling.

Food Tourism: Traveling the world in search of delicious food has always been something that most people can’t resist. There comes Food tourism. According to Skift UK Editor Patrick Whyte at TouRRoir 2016, food experiences are not limited to simply dining out. It includes cooking courses, farm tours and the classic food markets, which make up about 95% of these experiences.

Business and Leisure Travel: Business and leisure travel or "bleisure" is a favorite topic among tourism experts this year. It's predicted to be a very lucrative trend for tour and activity providers in 2017. For several years, leisure travel was regarded as kind of hot travel, yet more data showed in the past five years this trend was not rising.