Words: Stephanie Holmes
Design and Graphics: Paul Slater
As we race head first into a new decade, Stephanie Holmes looks at the latest trends in travel, and the destinations to put on your wish list for 2020.
You probably don’t want to hear this, but it’s almost mid-November. At today’s date, there are only 43 days until Christmas, and 50 days until the clock ticks over to the futuristic-sounding year of 2020.
While we still haven’t found a way to teleport ourselves to exotic destinations on the other side of the world, travel has become far easier for Kiwi travellers in the past decade. In 2010, there were 17 airlines flying to 33 international destinations from Auckland Airport; now there are 31 flying to 45.
As we hurtle into the new decade, here are some of the trends and destinations to put on your radar for travel this summer and beyond into 2020.
It’s not too late to grab a summer bargain
Kiwis with their own baches or favourite campgrounds have no doubt had their summer plans locked and loaded for months now. But for those of us yet to decide, it’s not too late.
Data from travel booking website Expedia shows it’s possible to secure decent airfares up until three weeks before travelling, and up to a week before for accommodation. The latter can often work out cheaper — you might be able to save up to 30 per cent on the average daily rate, compared to the most expensive time in the 90 days before^. Availability will of course be limited, but if you’re not too picky about where you go, you could end up scoring a great deal.
Expedia’s data shows the top five trending international destinations for Kiwis this summer are Melbourne, Bali’s Seminyak, Seoul, the Gold Coast and Tokyo.
So if you don’t want to run into a whole bunch of Kiwis on your summer holiday, those are also the spots to avoid.
Australia is huge
Data from another online search and booking engine, Webjet, shows many Kiwis are choosing to stay close to home for their 2020 holidays. It’s no surprise, seeing as a hop across the Ditch is so simple, but Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast are going to be big next year, with those destinations already top in terms of 2019 bookings for travel in 2020.
Slow means go
While we’re spoilt for choice in terms of places to go, climate change is weighing heavy on travellers’ minds. Jetting around the world now comes with a touch of guilt at the carbon emissions created by that dream long-haul trip. In response to this, slow travel is a growing trend — choosing to take more sustainable modes of transport rather than flying.
Research conducted by Booking.com in its Travel Predictions 2020 New Zealand report** showed 70 per cent of Kiwi travellers would prefer to take a longer route when going on holiday, to experience more of the journey itself. Forty-three per cent of those surveyed said they planned to use slower modes of transport to reduce their environmental impact.
But for New Zealanders that’s easier said than done. Travellers on other continents have many more options than us — Europeans can choose to take a train or coach across borders rather than flying; Americans have such a wealth of diverse landscapes and attractions across their states that they don’t necessarily need to make long-haul trips to feel they’ve seen a destination wholly different to what they can find at home.
Kiwis have to fly, but there are ways to limit your environmental impact. First, choose to offset your carbon emissions when booking flights. Many airlines allow you to do this when booking online; if you’re booking through a travel agent, talk to them about your options when it comes to buying carbon credits.
When you get to your chosen destination, try to travel sustainably wherever possible — choose public transport, get around on foot or by bike, and try to opt for local operators rather than faceless global chains.
The TreadRight Foundation, along with its founding partners Trafalgar, Contiki, Insight Vacations and Uniworld, has come up with a list of questions to ask your travel operator to make sure you have all the answers on their stance on sustainability. Before booking, ask:
Do you have a sustainable tourism policy in place? Do you ensure that you work with local, in-region guides and companies? Do you have a measurable strategy in place to reduce the impact of your offices? Do you have a plan to address your carbon footprint? Do you have an animal welfare policy in place? Do you have plans to reduce the impact that plastics are having on global tourism destinations? And, do you reinvest any of your profits back into the destinations that you operate in?
Consumers hold the power — if you don’t like the answers to any of these questions, you can choose to spend your hard-earned dollars elsewhere.
Second city travellers
Forty-nine per cent of New Zealand travellers want to play a part in reducing over-tourism, says Booking.com’s research, and 44 per cent say they would swap their original destination for a lesser-known but similar alternative if they knew it would leave less of an environmental impact.
So, think Girona instead of Barcelona, Zadar instead of Dubrovnik, and Treviso instead of Venice. There are wonderful alternatives to every popular tourist destination; you just need to be prepared to do a bit of research to find the hidden gems that are off the beaten track.
Six for your list
Our picks for the top destinations for 2020 are:
Analysis of the top 1000 destinations booked on Booking.com between August 2018 and June 2019, shows Seogwipo is one of the fastest growing for leisure travellers around the world. Never heard of it? Well, it’s the second-largest city on Jeju Island and is surrounded by volcanic coastline. Go there for scuba-diving, hiking, and street-food. Air New Zealand’s direct flight from Auckland to Seoul launches at the end of this month.
Named the number one country to visit by Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2020 book, Bhutan is also top of the list when it comes to sustainability. It’s the world’s first carbon negative country and its robust tourism policy means visitors have to pay a daily fee to be there. This added cost deters many travellers so you won’t have to battle the crowds. Bhutan is also set to become the world’s first fully-organic nation in 2020. Get there with connections via Bangkok and Singapore.
Another destination with serious sustainability credentials, the Philippines is an easy option for Kiwi travellers — Philippine Airlines flies direct from Auckland to Manila, with regular connections available to the country’s beautiful islands, including Boracay and El Nido. Although there's still a long road ahead, the former is a sustainable tourism success story — in April 2018 Boracay was closed to tourists and visitors for six months, in order to reverse the terrible environmental damage caused by over-crowding, illegally built hotels and sub-standard sewerage systems. The island reopened to visitors in October the same year, but there are now strict rules in place — no eating, smoking, littering, pets, alcohol, loud music, or even sand castles on the beach, and tourists must have a confirmed booking with a Department of Tourism-accredited hotel before being allowed to enter the island. The clean-up scheme has inspired similar efforts in other parts of the Philippines, and there are high hopes that the nation will become one of the leading players in the sustainable tourism sphere.
If Boracay still sounds a little too touristy for you, there are more than 7600 other islands in the Philippines, 2000 of which are inhabited, so you’re guaranteed to find your own piece of paradise away from the crowds.
New York is a city that needs no introduction, but Air New Zealand’s recent announcement that it will be flying there direct from Auckland from October 2020 is a great one for Kiwi travellers. No longer will we have to make that extra domestic flight from LA or San Francisco, and although a lengthy flying time of around 17 hours, the direct flight will save about an hour of total travel time. Tickets go on sale from the end of this month.
Another new route to put on your radar is Auckland to Dallas, with American Airlines beginning the new service from October 2020. Operating three times a week between October and March, the direct flight gives even greater access to Texas, and easier connections to America’s southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. But don’t just breeze through — Dallas has a lot to offer in its own right, including museums, parks, lakes, barbecue, and classic American sports.
This US territory situated in the Caribbean sea is a decent alternative to Cuba, which is becoming increasingly difficult to get to since President Trump decided to ban all cruise ships sailing there from US ports. Puerto Rico has had its own challenges after the devastation seen in September 2017 by Hurricane Maria. But the island has made a remarkable recovery and its vibrant culture and architecture, 300 miles of coastline and lush greenery make it an appealing destination. Sustainable tourism growth will aid the island’s continued recovery. If that’s still not enough to attract you, it’s also where the pina colada was invented.
The journey to get there is lengthy — currently two connections through mainland USA — but that just means it’s an off-the-beaten-track destination that most Kiwis haven’t discovered yet. Put it on your plans for 2020 to stay ahead of the travel pack.
^Data source: Based on hotel demand from Expedia for the travel period of December 15, 2019 — January 14, 2020
**Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of adults who have taken a trip in the last 12 months/plan to take a trip in the next 12 months. In total 22,000 respondents were polled, with 500 from New Zealand.
Photos / Getty Images, 123RF, NYC & Company, Visit Dallas
