Get Outside: Travel Trends for 2016

Have passport, will travel. That’s how we roll. Seek and explore. (And hang out with people who make us forget to look at our phones.)

With the price of oil dropping, travelers are hitting the roads and air for longer trips than they have in the past. That means the big travel news for 2016, because more people will be traveling domestically and internationally this year.

(Like we didn’t know that already since SHOLDIT® LifeSTYLERs are always about travel.)

Either way, here’s some insights to keep you on top of travel trends for 2016.

What do we want?

Adventure.

According to a 2015 TBEX North America, the largest annual conference for travel bloggers, online travel journalists and other industry professionals, 69 percent of all travel bloggers seek adventurous travel experience.

Not sure what to do to get your slice of your own James Bond thriller? Get inspired with Outside magazine’s list of “The Most Badass Adventures of 2015.”

From free climbing the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park to running the Appalachian Trail unassisted or swimming the 27 miles of shark-infested waters between San Francisco and the Farallon Islands, there are a lot of great ideas.

The Hot List

Here are some popular travel destinations for 2016 according to Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet and other travel sources.

Or as we like to say, “The tans will fade. But the memories will last forever.”

What you should know: According to a TravelZoo survey, 62 percent of U.S. respondents are planning at least one international vacation in 2016, up 32 percent year over year. 

International

• Bocas del Toro, Panama (Think beachy shores and tropical rainforests with hotels that have underwater bungalows.)
  
  
• Guadalajara, Mexico (Architecture, jazz, murals and arts scene.)
  
  
• Richmond, Virginia (Shopping, art galleries, bike paths, Civil War monuments, culinary scene.)
  
  
• Lille, France (Modern art, craft beer and restaurants)­­
  
  
• Iran (architecture, Great Bazaar of Esfahan, mosques and gardens)
  
  
• Hangzhou, China (A wealthy, modern city.)
  
  
• Douro Valley, Portugal (The world’s first officially designated wine region)
  
  
• Frankfort, Germany (A foodie paradise in the midst of banking city)
  
  
• Auckland, New Zealand. (Visit the land of hobbits via American Airlines new direct flight from Los Angeles that kicks off in June 2016.)
  
  

• Botswana (Visit wildlife on the Mashatu Game Reserve, Okavango Delta and Kalahari Desert.)

• Cuba (New travel rules are opening this previously banned country to American visitors.)

• Brazil (The 2016 Summer Olympics is being hosted in Rio de Janerio in August.)  

United States

What you should know: According to a TripAdvisor spokesperson, domestic travel will increase in 2016, with 96 percent of U.S. travelers are planning to travel within the nation this year.

Places to consider:

• Lanai, Hawaii (Quiet island retreat in a city that doesn’t have traffic lights and only two hotels.)
  
  
• Hawaii (Dec. 7, 2016 marked the 75^th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.)
  
  
• Asbury Park, New Jersey (The Jersey Shore with shops on Fifth Avenue; 90 minutes from New York City.)
  
  
• Also on the lists Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada, as the best places to elope, according to Lonely Planet. And the best place for silence? The Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
  
  
• The music city of Nashville, Tennessee also tops Lonely Planet’s list of Top 10 cities to visit in 2016.

Suitcase Snapshot

We cram a lot into the suitcases we bring, especially with the way airlines are charging up the ying yan for checking a bag. Here’s a look at what we do with our travel luggage, according to a recent survey by Cheapflights.com.

• 30% of Americans roll their clothes
  
  
• 85% of American women plan or lay out their outfits in advance of a trip. (68% of men do the same.)
  
  
• 74% of Americans pack 2-3 pairs of shoes (Of course, right.)
  
  
• 45% of Americans pack a pair of underwear for each day plus a spare.
  
  
• 58 % of Americans never consider weighing their luggage plan to check

Want more ideas?

Checkout TravelZoo’s “5 Destinations for Wow Deals in 2016.”

Now grab your SHOLDIT scarf that’s a purse, and go explore. Here’s to the nights that turn into mornings.

Happy traveling!
#SHOLDITTravels