2024 holiday trends: making travel moments more memorable

There's no doubt the way we approach holidays has changed a bit over the past few years. But so has what's on offer. So, as we go into 2024, let's have a look at what to expect in the world of travel.

One of the biggest shifts we've seen is that people are travelling for longer, and that's sure to continue next year. Higher airfares mean it's becoming more common to take fewer - but lengthier - trips overseas. Flexible working arrangements for many employees also lets some travellers log on while they're away, reducing the amount of leave needed or letting you still manage that big project even if you're not in the office.

Longer holidays don't necessarily mean more sights ticked off the bucket list, though. Travellers are becoming much more interested in both exploring a single destination in more depth and avoiding the most popular cities or touristy destinations. Expect to see more photos next year from Umbria and fewer from Tuscany, or more from Mexico City and fewer from New York. Whether it's renting a house in a country town, walking a pilgrimage trail, doing a cooking course for a few days, it's likely you'll have more friends talking about their experiential holidays than telling you which landmarks they visited.

A flow-on effect is that the traditional northern summer holiday period will be extended. Shoulder seasons are starting to disappear, with lots of people shunning July and August, which are typically the most expensive months anyway. If you're not restrained by school holidays, then May/June or September/October are less crowded, with cheaper rates - although the differences may not be as obvious in 2024 as more people jump on the shoulder bandwagon.

Flights are still expensive for school holiday periods but, after a few years of extortionate prices ($4000 return to London on Qantas, anyone?), things will get better in the next year. Capacity has been one of the big drivers of the prices but there will be a lot more seats in 2024. Big players like Singapore Airlines and United are adding more planes, there's the recent approval of more flights for Turkish Airlines (and possibly also for Qatar Airways when that decision is reviewed), and the Chinese carriers that have always offered cheaper tickets are coming back into the market. There are already flights to Europe on quality airlines available for the northern summer for $1000 less than Qantas, for instance.

Cruising, always one of the most popular types of holidays for Aussies, will see passengers head even further to the extremes - to bigger ships or smaller ships. The big ones are hard to avoid, both physically and figuratively, and 2024 will see the largest cruise ship ever hit the waters. Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas has capacity for about 10,000 guests and crew, with 20 dining areas, three theatres, and even a water park. If the thought of it scares you, you're not alone, which is why smaller and more boutique crews are becoming more popular, whether it's cruising along the north coast of Australia or visiting ports in the Mediterranean that aren't accessible by the large ones.

On land, you'll also notice that hotels are following the boutique trend, with lots of new accommodation launching in Australia in 2024 embracing the character of the local neighbourhood, whether it's the 25Hours in Sydney's Paddington or Levantine Hill Estate in Victoria's Yarra Valley. Good accommodation is now not just about the aesthetics of the design, it's about creating a sense of home, which can include something as simple as logging into your own streaming services on the TV, perhaps a kitchenette to cook some local market food, or an app to personalise all the room's features. If guests are staying longer, they want more than just a bed.

Speaking of apps, technology will continue to change the way we travel, and the pace of development is accelerating. Already, our phones can easily translate menus that are written in different alphabets, but as voice-to-voice translation improves, it's going to give people more confidence to visit countries that may currently seem a bit intimidating. As maps and transport apps get better, more tourists will opt for independent travel rather than tours. Artificial intelligence will not just be planning our itineraries, it will be able to help along the way when we run into a problem or need a recommendation for where to eat or sleep. And it's also going to give small tourism operators in developing countries more ability to find you and offer experiences beyond the banal most-recommended options at the top of websites like Tripadvisor.

And through all of this, we find perhaps the most important trend of all - sustainability. Sure, most of us don't ask for our towels to be washed every day or try to limit the number of plastic bottles we buy, but now travellers are also looking at the bigger picture. Everything I've mentioned in this article has an environmental cost, and together they can make a huge difference. Fewer flights, dispersing crowds amongst regions, smaller cruise ships, local products in hotels - these are the things that will make travel more sustainable. Taking them into consideration with the environment as the priority is going to be a major influence for traveller behaviour in 2024.

You can see more on Michael's Time Travel Turtle website.