A Bannikin Round-Up of Some of the Year’s Biggest Trends in Niche Travel
From far, far away trips to cold water plunges showing up in travel itineraries, Bannikin examines the trends framing our corner of the travel industry.
Ontario, Canada. November 27, 2023. With Travel Tuesday on our doorstep, we are examining the year’s biggest trends in the niche travel industry. It’s been a big year for adaptations in travel, with technology advancing itinerary development and UX, the shift in consumer consciousness changing not how or where we travel, but why we travel, and the ongoing evolution of the wellness travel space.
Total Solar Eclipse Viewing in Northern Spain - Wilderness Travel
1. The Trend: Passion First, Destination Second
“I LOVE turtles. I only care about seeing the turtles, not where I see the turtles.” We heard this statement this very morning! Move over destination-first decision making, because passion-based travel is roaring into focus. As people prioritize experiences over things, it only makes sense that travel decision-making behaviors evolve from where you go and when, to why you go and what you do. For several years, companies like Airbnb have cited a drop in destination-first search, with users instead searching by experience. And in 2023, we saw a jump in travel designed for those with highly specific passions. For example, Wilderness Travel unveiled its latest ‘special event’ itinerary with astrophiles in mind. Set for August 2026, the Total Solar Eclipse in 2026 in Northern Spain, will take curious guests to an exclusive hilltop viewing location on the Iberian Peninsula, directly in the path of totality, where they will enjoy insightful programming on eclipses and cosmic wonders curated by distinguished lecturer, Dr. Alex Filippenko, Professor of Astronomy at UC Berkeley. This year we also saw the launch of Dinosaur Trips, a tour-operator for all things dinosaur-lover.
Food for Thought: This is a very big deal, because travel marketing and program development typically starts from the destination-first, and then builds from there. Taking a passion-based approach fundamentally shifts the way the industry does things. The niche travel industry is best set up for this trend, and tour operators already hyper focused on experience-based travel such as hiking, photography, culinary, etc. have a head start.
Michinoku Coastal Trail - Oku Japan
2. The Trend: More Conversations Around the Benefits (or Not) of Recovery Tourism
Debate about tourism’s role in recovery efforts for communities destroyed by natural disasters came to a head this year. Devastating wildfires in Maui meant the partial closure of the island to tourism to allow for the community to recover, which some felt further exacerbated the economic toll, and others applauded, saying serving visitors was impossible when residents’ basic needs like housing weren’t being met. A similar but different conversation was sparked in Morocco with the deadly Marrakesh-Safi earthquake in September. There the overwhelming government response was to encourage tourism to continue full steam as soon as possible, in so many words.
Destinations further on the road to recovery from natural disasters have used tourism as an intentional tool for long-lasting positive impact. In Japan, so-called “Reconstruction Tourism” is being used as a mode for recovery in the Tōhoku region, which was destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. In addition to museums and facilities honoring the lives lost, there are great efforts such as the Japan’s newest trail, the Michinoku Coastal Trail, a 1,000-km (621-mile) hike designated as a symbol of recovery, in which Japan’s tourism industry is welcoming international visitors to explore. Oku Japan’s newly announced Michinoku Coastal Trail self-guided walking trip states “A major focus of this tour is the revitalisation of communities that were devastated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.”
Food for Thought: The role tourism plays in supporting recovery efforts of destinations impacted by disasters must be taken on a case-by-case basis, in which the community and residents' voices are heard and acted on. We see the conversation around the ethics of tourism continuing in 2024, with more resources and guidance developed, such as the report – A Sustainable Future of Travel: From Crisis to Transformation – to help visitors understand how to travel better, and to help operators, the industry, and destinations manage and deliver travel responsibly.
3. The Trend: Artificial Intelligence Storms Travel … sort of
The use of AI technology has leapt into our industry as fast as an Airbus A380. However, travel companies are using AI much like other industries – to predict customer behaviors (like flight and hotel cancellations) and enhance customer service (like personalized recommendations or suggesting destinations or accommodations). But so far, beyond customized itineraries and ease of booking, the use of AI has not infiltrated the actual travel experience itself -- especially when it comes to multi-day, niche travel. We aren’t seeing robot guides leading our nature tours, or facial recognition software checking us into our boutique hotels… yet.
Food for Thought: The impact of AI on the niche travel industry will likely only really be felt once it’s used for the on-trip experience itself. We will see more of this develop in 2024, with tools such as navigational pings interpreting points on the river as you paddle down it, and data-generated advice on when to access the trail head or museum to avoid the rush.
Pottery classes abroad as a form of mindfulness
4. Trend: Movement-based Meditation in Travel
Concern for personal wellness, both physical and mental, skyrocketed since the pandemic, but now the way people are achieving it is changing. In niche travel, wellness travelers are seeking mindfulness and meditation through movement of all kinds. Walking-based trips are increasingly being chosen for their mindfulness, following in the footsteps of famous thinkers like Socrates who used habitual walking to come up with big ideas and perspective. Whether it’s walking Offa’s Dyke, the 285-km (177-mile) earthwork straddling the English-Welsh border on a self-guided trip with 10 Adventures, to adopting Terra & Tu’s philosophy of simply making space to be present in a destination and experiencing the rich variety of physical and mental fulfillment a place has to offer, as is the intention, more tour companies are putting the focus on supporting travelers on a path to becoming better versions of themselves.
But movement comes in all shapes and sizes, and travel companies are incorporating arts and crafts as routes to mindfulness too. In Japan, one of Oku Japan’s tours takes to the workshop of Hagi-yaki potters where they also get to try their hand at making this traditional Japanese craft under the guidance of a master potter.
Food for Thought: In today’s digital world, where our connections and interactions are often one-dimensional, travel enables us to break from that, to foster deeper connections with the world and those around us, and through movement-based meditation, we can focus our minds on the things that matter most.
The very remote Knoydart Peninsula - Wilderness Scotland
5. Trend: Bye Hyper-Local, Hello Far, Far Away
Did anyone else notice how many travel stories were about Mongolia in the last half of the year? Way off the beaten path travel is here, and it seems the farther away, the more enticing. Tour operator Wilderness Travel has far, far away places covered, with beautifully designed tours in places like Kyrgyzstan, Raja Ampat, Pakistan, and the Faroe Islands.
Similarly, Wild Women Expeditions also offers adventure-focused itineraries to Mongolia, as well as Bhutan, the Polar regions, and many more, where guests travel with likeminded women as they explore the far reaches of the world. While Adventure Canada’s newly announced Baffin Island and Greenland expedition offers a deep dive into Inuit culture while traveling through the Inuit Nunangat alongside Inuit guides.
And while not so far away, Scotland’s Knoydart Peninsula is cut off from the UK mainland road network, accessible only by a day’s walk in or by boat. Labeled as “Scotland’s last wilderness,” it is rustic and remote and undoubtedly a true hidden gem.
Food for Thought: All the years we spent examining every inch of our neighbourhoods as we heralded hyper-local travel was sure to reverse!
Polar Plunging in the Northwest Passage - Adventure Canada. Photographer: Craig Minielly, 2018.
6. Trend: Cold Water Plunges, Worldwide
The trend of people swimming in cold water or immersing themselves into ice-cube filled tubs of water, for wellness, fun, and community is showing up in niche travel itineraries too in a big way. This is turning spa and wellness travel on its head, with hotels and destination spas incorporating cold water plunges anywhere they can get them. And tour operators are also jumping in.
For example, new for 2024, Wilderness Scotland has incorporated the cold plunge craze into its women’s only Wilderness Retreats – Winter Highlands itinerary, where guests can participate in all sorts of experiences, such as restorative yoga and sound bathing, to wild swimming in a sparkling cold mountain loch (with a mobile sauna parked nearby).
Adventure Canada has long done “the polar dip” in which guests aboard their polar expeditions jump into the Arctic waters and are greeted with a terry cloth robe and vodka shot upon exit, their skin buzzing from the rush.
Food for Thought: This likely won’t get any more popular than it already is, but if so, we are all for it. Being able to bring elements of nature into travel experiences in such an impactful way, without additional infrastructure and using only the elements, is travel at its best.
As the year comes to a close and the New Year approaches, we will continue to track these trends and others. Keep connected to the Bannikin team while we explore how our industry continues to flex and evolve.
About Bannikin: Bannikin is a professional services company operating in the travel and tourism space. We co-create value with a broad range of client-partners, including local, regional, and national tourism organizations and operators of diverse shapes and sizes. Specializing in community-based participatory research and development, evidence-driven and actionable strategy, and outcome-oriented public relations, we are determined to be catalysts of change within tourism and beyond.
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Media Contact:
Kerry Sharpe
Director, Strategic Communications
kerry@bannikin.com