Marking their 10th anniversary in the luxury travel market, Airbnb, the popular vacation home rental, presented to the world the soon-to-be biggest travel trends and lodgings for 2018. Be prepared for rustic experiential travel, traditional Far East style of bed & breakfasts and Japanese small-town getaways to blow up your social media feeds this year, as the peer-to-peer vacation rental giant revealed that these are some of the most in-demand bookings for the first half of the year. Some of the more surprising revelations of the list included a 2175% increase in booking requests to Korea ahead of the Olympics and a 133% higher demand of RV vans for camping! Here is a complete round up on the travel trends to look out for this year:
Big Cities Are Back In Popular Demand
There is no surprise there! Everyone wants to visit Paris, New York and London. But the new additions to the list reveal that smaller and more popular vacation spots like Rome and Miami have also made their way onto the list of most-booked global cities for Airbnb travelers. Japanese big town Tokyo and Osaka made it to top three.
Non-Traditional Homes Are The Real Winners
Unique accommodations such as nature lodges, ryokans or traditional Japanese inns and Central Asian Yurts saw the largest increases over last year, up to a staggering 700%. The trend is quite revealing of the millennial cultural shift towards unplugging and going off the radar for an experience, rather than a Facebook profile picture. “Travelers are increasingly drawn to homes that are rustic and unique, rather than simply comfortable,” Airbnb says.
Small Towns On The Rise
Thanks to the 2018 Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, cities like Gangneung topped the list of trending destinations, with the city’s bookings are up by an eye-watering 2175% for the coming year! These cities are accompanied by Vietnamese hotspots Da Nang and Hanoi which are up 255% and 212%, respectively. The more surprising addition to the list of trending cities on a global scale are small towns of Edmonton, Canada and Columbus, Ohio, whose sky rocketing popularity this year can be credited to the booming downtown districts humming with new restaurants, nightlife and local arts.
The Year of Foodies
Airbnb predicts that the, “that demand for both under the radar outdoor excursions and live concerts will grow into next year.” Experiences such as local culinary workshops, craft food and cocktail tastings, and home-cooked dinners are the biggest draw for travelers. Overall, being closer to nature and culture was the theme for the trend, as experiences such as Secret Concert in a Treehouse in London and Hollywood Sign Walk to the Top in Los Angeles were the two of the most requested holiday trends.
