Travel trends 2022: Replenish and Reconnect

In a world still reeling under the pandemic, travelling this year is set to be holistic, meaningful and free from tech stress

Travel to rejuvenate

Trends suggest that focus on self-care will gain popularity this year. So travel will be undertaken to improve mental and emotional well-being. This could be a result of almost two years of being stuck indoors due to the pandemic while being surrounded by numerous uncertainties. 2022 is all about recharging your body and relaxing your mind.

A once-in-a-lifetime trip

Whether it is taking that coveted trip to your favourite island or hiking to the Mount Everest base camp or visiting relatives in a different continent, people will be undertaking those meaningful and greatest trips of a lifetime. Having become aware of the fragility of life, travellers are no more willing to put things off.

Eco-tourism

Sustainable travel will continue to be a priority as wanderlusters will try to combine their environmental and social concerns with the passion to travel. People may opt for activities with local grassroots organisations, volunteer opportunities and will prioritise community-based tourism.

Reconnection Travel

After two years spent sitting at home and still battling newer variants of the virus, people are accepting connection as a fundamental human need. So this year, through travel, they are likely to strive to find that connection to others, Nature and themselves more ardently. Travellers will be intentional with their choices and look to reconnect with people and the planet when they travel again.

No tech-stress holiday

When the pandemic struck, companies allowed their employees to work from anywhere, thus giving rise to workations. People could work from any location in the country, thus combining work and leisure. But in 2022, people would want to travel only with the purpose of leisure and turn off all their tech devices. Vacation time will be strictly work-free.

Experts

Nivi Selvaraj

We will be seeing a lot of lesser-known places getting traction this year. This year we will be seeing people wanting to go for slightly offbeat places rather than touristy trails and that too without gadgets.

Bhumika Thakkar

I feel local/domestic travel will be more in focus in 2022 as well, because of mutating viruses and new rules coming into picture every 1-2 months. For India, more of North and North East India and places around India like Dubai, Maldives, Sri Lanka would be in focus.

Shweta Rajpal

The one big travel trend in 2022 would be eco-friendly destinations. People have been cooped up in their homes & cities too long now because of fluctuating lock down scenarios. And big city breaks have become a thing of past! Everyone wants to have as much facetime with nature as possible.

Shivya Nath

I believe a big trend of 2022 will be nature-based tourism, where people prioritise destinations that offer naturally socially-distanced outdoor experiences. With this growing consciousness, people are also likely to choose transport, accommodations and activities with a lower carbon footprint - that are gentler on the planet.

Searats - Rashmee & Anant

With the new mutations of Covid coming up and rising, we’ll see similar trends continuing. Hostels offering long stay options with high-speed internet will become more popular. We will see a rise in weekend getaway trips like nature retreats & luxury resorts around big metro cities. People will most likely choose road trips over other means of travel to be safer.

Barkha Singh, Travel Influencer and Actor

virtual holidays are still a long way away, but in this year, I feel the trend will be of 100% pre booked trips in covid safe zones and also luxury stays in domestic holidays. The disposable income that people would otherwise spend on visas and international flights will now be used in domestic travel, so naturally themed vacations or luxury resorts and bungalows are the way to go.

Avantika Mohan, Digital creator

I think the most significant travel trend would be “Saudi Arabia.” and “South Korea.” Saudi Arabia is changing drastically as a country. They have a great heritage, opening up to the world. As it has been mysterious place all this while..