Top 2022 Travel Trends

Could 2022 be bigger than 2019 when it comes to travel? After two years of being plagued by COVID-19 travel restrictions and postponed trips, Americans are ready for a vacation. The pandemic has, however, transformed the way people think about travel, what they expect on vacation and how they choose and arrive in their destination. These factors are reshaping travel trends in the coming year.

About 37 percent of Americans are planning domestic and international vacations for 2022, according to Expedia. Popular international destinations include London, Bali, Paris, Rome and the Mexican Caribbean. Expedia's research also found that people are sick of being cautious so 2022 could see more last-minute trips.

It's been a couple of years since people were allowed to travel freely, and Americans are ready to go big and spend big on their travels. Whether it's booking a trip of a lifetime, flying private or first class, staying in a lavish hotel or resort, 2022 is looking luxe.

Younger travelers are not looking for just a simple trip to the beach to get away. They want an immersive adventure. If they are going to the beach, it's likely exotic such as the Maldives and other off-beat tropical destinations. According to Contiki, their younger travelers are looking to go far and wide to places like Thailand, Ireland, Egypt and South Africa.

As many predicted, now that travel is opening up, people are ready to book their bucket list vacations. COVID-19 illuminated the fact that there might not always be time to take the trip of a lifetime so they are taking them now. In 2022, expect to see many people booking trips of a lifetime, whether that is an extended world cruise, an African safari or a long-awaited bucket-list adventure like a trek to Machu Picchu, a trip to the Galapagos or climbing Kilimanjaro.

Travelers have become more aware of how transportation and overtourism were harming the destinations they love so much. They also recognized how undertourism and the lack of travel similarly harmed popular places. Travelers are beginning to square these two problems and are looking for sustainable ways to travel that allow them to experience the world while helping preserve global destinations.

A recent Amadeus-commissioned survey found that two-thirds of consumers consider sustainable travel a priority, and 37 percent of respondents think opportunities for travelers to be involved in the preservation of tourist destinations will help the industry to become more sustainable in the long term.

Not only have people not been able to travel, but they haven't been able to see their friends the way they used to. Travelers are going to be hitting the road in 2022, and they are not going alone.

Travel during a pandemic is never easy, and research from Google has found that people are spending a lot more time gathering information on places they want to go these days. What are they looking for? Information on what to do, where to go while they are in a destination, where to eat, COVID-protocols and more.

It's never been more complicated to book and plan a vacation than right now. Pandemic-weary Americans may be researching travel and the destinations that they are going to, but they don't want to figure out all the hurdles of getting there. Travel advisors have never been more important and more sought after than they are now.

After more than a year of not being able to travel, people are appreciating that they can once again. Travelers are willing to jump through a number of hoops such as vaccine passports and COVID-19 testing to continue to exercise what they view as almost a right to travel.

Technology has made big leaps during the pandemic. In many ways, companies did take advantage of the pause to refocus their efforts and recognized the opportunity to reset. For the consumer, travel tech has never been more important in the no-contact environment the pandemic has created. New contactless services such as mobile check-in for air travel, hotels and rental cars were here before the pandemic, but now they have been even more widely adopted by travelers. Companies continue to improve and streamline in these areas.

However, there are even bigger moves being made in the industry. Virgin Hyperloop is aiming to streamline how travelers get from one city to the next, reducing travel time. Airlines are working on more sustainable fuels and building supersonic airliners, and people are traveling to space.