Top Travel Trends of 2022 & 2023
Airalo
Airalo is a marketplace for eSIMs (embedded SIM) or digital SIMs for over 190+ countries. It allows for a convenient way to stay connected without the need of physical SIM cards when traveling to other countries.
Pricelabs
PriceLabs is a SaaS platform for vacation rental pricing designed for AirBnB, VRBO, vacation rentals, serviced apartments and others. Its main feature is a dynamic pricing tool to help property owners increase their revenue.
Bounce Storage
Bounce Storage is a short-term storage company offering storage locations from local businesses.
Cruise Door Decorations
Cruise door decorations are a popular way for passengers to personalize their cabins on cruise ships. While the decorations can vary, they often include things like photos, flags, and other memorabilia.
TrovaTrip
TrovaTrip is a trip management platform and marketplace that connects travelers, hosts, and tour operators to design unique travel experiences. The platform also allows travelers to connect with topic experts, creatives, and influencers.
TurnoverBnB
TurnoverBnB is a website and app that connects travelers with people who are willing to open their homes to guests. The site aims to provide an affordable and unique lodging option for travelers, and allows homeowners to earn extra income by hosting guests.
Limehome
Limehome is a hospitality startup launched in 2018 known for its apart-hotels with stylish Scandinavian designs and its fully digital customer journey from booking to invoicing. Its spaces are located throughout Europe and are available for short-term or long-term stays.
SafetyWing
SafetyWing is a travel insurance company that offers coverage for medical expenses, trip cancellations, and lost luggage. The company is designed to be affordable and easy to use, with coverage starting at just $37 for a week-long trip.
Onfly
Onfly is a popular platform launched in Brazil that allows employees of businesses to book airline tickets, hotels, buses, and cars in a fully digital way. The platform is said to have features that save companies time and money for travels.
Yogasleep
Yogasleep is a brand offering a variety of products that promote better sleep from mattresses to sound machines. Its products are said to help to calm the mind and relax the body, leading to a more restful sleep.
Portable Bottle Warmer
A portable bottle warmer is a small device that is designed to heat up baby bottles. The device is battery operated and typically fits in a pocket or a handbag. It is meant to be used when traveling or on the go.
Kyte
Kyte is a car rental startup launched in 2019 and is known for its unique customer experience of delivering cars to its customers' doorsteps. The company offers on-demand access to cars whether it's for a day, a week or for several months
Hidden Gem Restaurants
Hidden gem restaurants are restaurants that are often overlooked or underrated. They may offer a unique cuisine or be located in an unexpected location. These restaurants are a great discovery for food lovers who are looking for an adventure.
Wheel The World
Wheel The World is an online travel marketplace that encourages people to explore the world through travel. The company offers a variety of travel experiences, including city tours, safaris, and culinary tours.
Ayahuasca Retreat
An Ayahuasca Retreat is a type of spiritual retreat that involves the use of the psychedelic brew ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf and is said to offer spiritual insights and healing.
Beis
Beis is a consumer goods brand for travel gear and accessories launched by actress Shay Mitchell in 2018. It is known for its road-tested designs inspired by Shay's travels.
OOONO
OONO is a smart device that is designed to help drivers drive better and increase road safety through real-time alerts and notifications. It alerts drivers of road hazards, speed traps, and accidents.
Sonder
Sonder is an apartment rental company available in over 35 cities in 10 countries. The company is known for its digital experience from checking in to dinner recommendations.
Backpack Cooler
A backpack cooler is a cooler that is designed to be worn as a backpack. The cooler is typically made of insulated materials and has a number of pockets and straps to allow it to be securely attached to the body.
Clothes Storage Bag
A clothes storage bag is a bag that is designed to store clothes and protect them from dust and moth attacks. The bag is typically made of a breathable fabric that allows air to circulate, preventing the growth of mold and mildew.
Elopement Packages
Elopement packages are deals offered by wedding venues to couples who want to get married quickly and without a lot of fanfare. Elopement packages often include a simple ceremony and a small reception with a limited number of guests.
SnapTravel
SnapTravel is a travel booking website that offers discounted rates on hotels and flights. The site is unique in that it allows users to book trips by snapping a picture of the travel itinerary.
Trend Highlight – The Rise of Elopement Packages
Wedding costs have been rising faster than inflation, reaching an average of nearly $30,000, in 2019 in the US.
This has been driven by several factors: people are getting married older, meaning they're often in a better financial position by the time they marry, making it easier to splurge. And the rise of living together before marriage means that marriage is a less significant milestone, so some couples feel the need to make the party a bigger deal to compensate. Meanwhile, rising wedding costs are a somewhat self-fulfilling prophecy; if it only happens once, no one wants theirs to be noticeably cheap.
But this trend is leading to a reaction, accelerated by the pandemic: elopement is getting more popular, and it's creating a mini-industry in elopement packages, which simplify and standardize the process to make it even easier. Elopement has always been an option, but its recent growth is not just because of the lower price.
For one, there are typically far more people in the orbit of a 30-year-old compared to a 20-year-old. This means more seats to pay for and more debate over who does and doesn’t make the invitation list. Plus, travel and destinations are an even more important part of the wedding cost equation after Covid, when many relationships got spread around the country, and people might not even be sure where all their friends are living; a guest list that was within a short travel distance in 2019 can involve international travel for some guests in 2021. Elopement neatly solves both sides of this problem by reducing the guest list to the bare minimum.
As well, the rising average age of marriage not only pushes traditional wedding costs up, but it also has a direct effect on the demand for elopement. Older couples are less likely to conform to their parents’ wedding arrangement wishes over their own. And divorces mean that there are many second weddings, which are often lesser investments than the first.
And with significantly decreased spend on the wedding itself, destination elopements are becoming much more common. This also means more impressive wedding photos, which is a bigger part of elopements’ appeal in the age of social media.
Trend Highlight – The Impact of Photos on Travel
Before the advent of online photos, part of the ritual of a vacation was showing off photos back home. When photo production and consumption turned digital, it had an effect on vacations: it meant that the bragging rights from an impressive vacation accrued live on Instagram rather than after the fact and in person. This meant that a trip to somewhere exotic enough to have poor or nonexistent Internet access was less attractive. In recent years, cellular Internet access and solar-powered chargers have gotten more affordable and ubiquitous, helping to drive rugged and off-road vacations back into vogue.
Overlanding is the practice of traveling long distances off-road, often in specially-outfitted vehicles. But despite being a hobby of outdoor adventure, it’s very much a gear-centric hobby: more than half of the top ten posts on the overlanding subreddit (113,000+ members) are photos of heavily-outfitted vehicles parked in parking lots. Like vertical GPU mounts (another rising product we’ve covered), part of the point of the equipment is to show off fancy setups, not necessarily to perform. Even when comparing the ratio of YouTube and TikTok views to Google searches for “hiking”, “camping”, and “overlanding”, it’s clear that overlanding outranks its peers in social media shareworthiness.
This trend has created a new market of products for people who intend to travel off-road for days at a time: compact solar panel arrays, ultra-long-lasting coolers, and specialized roof racks. Traction boards, which used to get cars out of muddy ruts, are a very early but growing category on Amazon.
Overlanding is especially appealing to people who have aged out of traditional camping, but still enjoy the outdoors. These older enthusiasts may not be able to hike and camp for days at a time, but they have the disposable income for elaborate off-road setups.
