Travel maths and more trends set to change your 2024 holidays

As the cost of living crisis hits, the art of calculating a bargain is shaping up as one of the biggest travel trends sweeping the globe this year.

With a new year comes new and exciting ways to explore, and 2024 will be no exception. If 2023 was the year we returned to the skies, highways and waterways with gusto after the height of the pandemic, 2024 is set to be the year holiday-makers recalibrate – slowing down, avoiding crowds, deploying new technology, and getting even more clever with cash to keep travelling as the cost of living bites.

TRAVEL MATHS

The rising cost of living is inescapable, no matter how far we travel. Despite inflation, more of us plan to travel in the next 12 months. Nearly 60 per cent of Australians are hoping to holiday overseas, while more than 90 per cent of us are eyeing off a domestic trip. That means budget hacks will be increasingly important and we’ll need to dial in the art and science of locking in a good deal.

Kerry Tate, country manager for online travel agent Mix & Match, says there’s been a huge upswing in the number of people choosing BNPL (buy now, pay later) options such as Afterpay when booking trips. “We’re seeing that both domestically and internationally,” he says. “It means if you spot a great fare that’s available now, you can lock it in straight away and pay it off over time.”

That could mean a shift away from loyalty programs as more travellers shop around, consider different airlines, travel during shoulder seasons, and look at second-tier cities such as Manchester instead of London. Tate also suggests looking for stopover deals, which add value by giving you a holiday within a holiday, and signing up for travel agency newsletters so you get first dibs on their holiday packages.

HOW: Compare cheap flights and hotels at Mix & Match and look for stopovers such as a free two-night stay in Abu Dhabi with Etihad or a $14 four-star hotel stay in Doha with Qatar Airways.

– Kirrily Schwarz

Qatar Airways passengers can bag a bargain stopover at Holiday Villa Hotel in Doha.

OFF-PEAK TRAVEL

What’s better than a holiday to the Amalfi Coast? Having the beaches of Positano and Amalfi largely to yourself – that’s possible if you travel outside the peak periods of this popular European destination. We aren’t only talking Italy; across the globe, more travellers are looking to travel to much-loved destinations in shoulder- and low-season months, with the trend driven by a number of factors, explains futurist and MyTravelResearch.com co-founder, Carolyn Childs.

“The cost of living and associated travel pressures is the main one, with travellers looking to get more for less,” Childs says. Changing work patterns, climate change and economic inequality also play their part, she adds. “Older Australians have reaped the benefits of high interest rates – they’re spending big and often have more flexibility to travel out of season.”

While off-peak travel is not for those wanting guaranteed fair weather in Southeast Asia or popular South Pacific spots such as Fiji or Vanuatu, the benefits far outweigh the hassle of having to pack an extra layer, argues Low Season Traveller founder and chairman Ged Brown. “Fewer crowds, less stress and the knowledge you’re contributing to local economies at times when they need a lift are some of the main advantages, but travelling in the low season can also cost as much as 50 per cent less.”

Remember, too, that destinations can be at their most authentic in off-peak periods, Brown adds. “Essentially, it’s a form of travel for those who have a strong desire to connect with the destination and its people on a deeper level.”

HOW: Trafalgar Tours has a 10-day Great Italian Cities tour priced from $3925 a person for a November 8, 2024, departure (for comparison, it’s from $5650 for a June 28, 2024, departure). 

– Dilvin Yasa

Dodge the crowds in Rome when you travel during the off-peak season.

SOLO TRAVEL

Travelling alone isn’t new, but our appetite is growing enormously, and mature women are leading the charge – some divorced, some widowed, some empty-nesters and some simply sick of waiting. Celebrity Cruises saw solo bookings increase 225 per cent in 2023 and the data shows many of those choosing to sail solo are travelling in style, upgrading to premium staterooms and experiences.

“Solo travellers are flocking to the freedom and safety that cruising offers, where they can indulge in their wanderlust with ease and sociability, without waiting around for a travel companion,” says Tim Jones, vice-president and managing director for Celebrity Cruises in Australia and Asia Pacific.

Helloworld travel expert Leah Temple says solo travellers are overwhelmingly booking Europe for 2024. However, there is also interest in Japan, Vietnam, Canada, Africa and bucket-list domestic destinations such as the Kimberley.

HOW: Leah suggests starting with a grassroots tour operator such as G Adventures or Intrepid Travel, which will take care of all the logistics for you, or providers such as Cosmos, which waives single supplements on select tours. “Solo travel isn’t just for adventurous types any more,” she says.

– Kirrily Schwarz

Celebrity Cruises has experienced a huge increase in solo traveller bookings.

ACCESS FOR EVERYONE

With one in five Australian adults having a disability or long-term health condition, incredibly, accessibility has only recently come to the fore in travel, and hotels, cruise companies and public spaces are realising they need to accommodate all types of travellers. We’ve seen airports introduce audio guides and calm spaces, resorts incorporate sensory touch, aroma and sound experiences, and Mobi-Mats being rolled out at beaches across the world.

In 2023, Queensland even declared it the Year of Accessible Tourism – a move that’s been extended for another 12 months, helping operators fast-track new infrastructure, technology and training to better cater to visitors of all abilities.

“Even the smallest changes can make a huge difference to holiday-makers with a disability, and their travel plans,” says Queensland tourism minister Michael Healy.

HOW: Aquascene, an eco-vessel operating from Magnetic Island, off Townsville in North Queensland, makes the Great Barrier Reef accessible to manual wheelchair users while a floating pontoon enables an up-close reef experience for those not comfortable swimming. Floating aids, braille maps, and quieter spaces provide extra support, but it’s the inclusive attitude of the owners that really makes this experience sing. “We recently welcomed a young woman on board who was blind from birth… she snorkelled some 20m on her own and had the time of her life,” says co-owner Stephanie Hinks. 

– Celeste Mitchell

Snorkelling on a guided Aquascene tour from Magnetic Island. Picture: Tourism & Events Queensland

SLEEP TRAVEL

Sleep concierges, bedtime rituals and science-backed retreats – sweet dreams are made of these. Holidays designed to improve shut-eye are on the rise as sleep tourism wakens the overtired to the benefits of rest and repair. A mere pillow menu may have cut it five years ago, but the new order of sleep enhancement involves input from experts for packages involving everything from binaural baths and chamomile tea to melatonin-rich snacks, sleep-skewed spa treatments and ergonomic mattresses.

“There has been an increase in interest in sleep across the globe, as evidenced by the explosion in sleep hygiene,” says Rebecca Robbins, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and sleep expert at The Benjamin Royal Sonesta New York. The hotel’s Rest & Renew program includes “work-down” calls, a lullaby music library and white noise machines.

City stays are not the only ones obsessed with sleep. Adrenal fatigue and sleep disturbances are one among the most common complaints among women attending Bali wellness retreat Escape Haven. Guests can add on a Dreamtime package, which includes a soothing sound healing and a 60-minute acupressure treatment to aid sleep. Back in their suite, a warm flower bath is waiting alongside a speaker playing binaural sound, a frequency that moves your brain into “theta”, the deepest state of relaxation.

HOW: The Reef House in Palm Cove, Far North Queensland, is hosting a sleep retreat from February 2-13, with daily sleep masterclasses and two private classes with sleep science graduate Sabine Christelli. 

– Jenny Hewett

The Reef House in Palm Cove is hosting a sleep retreat.

TECH AND AI

It’s no surprise artificial intelligence is taking over the travel industry, where it’s used in everything from chatbots on hotel websites to facial recognition in airport security.

“There are some big changes coming through and they’re going to really impact travel,” says global AI consultant Laurel Papworth. “One that is fascinating is the implementation of travel sites such as Expedia into ChatGPT. You can say, ‘I like this kind of travel’ or ‘I have children’ and the AI will determine the perfect holiday for you, book the flight and hotel, museum and art gallery tickets and things the kids might like to do.”

Papworth says it won’t be long before we see predictive behaviour analysis used in travel. “Could it be in the future that you pick up your phone one day and your fitness app is telling you you need to have a stress-free weekend? ChatGPT just needs to hook into your Fitbit or your fitness app, see that you’re stressed – and book you a holiday.”

HOW: In Tokyo, Kubota Sake Bar in Shibuya uses the AI-powered Yummy Sake service for sake tastings. Blind-taste 10 types of sake, rate each sample out of five on your phone, and you’ll be told which type is most suited to your palate. 

– Hannah Tattersall

Yummy Sake uses AI and blind tasting to determine your best match.

(DE)LAYBY

Who knows what you’ll be doing two years from now? Travel companies do. Right now cruise lines, for example, are releasing their 2025-26 sailings for booking. Let’s call it buy now (at least in part), go to your bucket-list destination later. Scenic even released details of its Scenic Eclipse 2025-2026 Antarctica program early. General manager of sales and marketing Anthony Laver says it’s in response to the high demand for once-in-a-lifetime Antarctica expeditions.

The benefits are many – travellers get early-bird discounts, the exact suite and itinerary they desire, and don’t have to pay immediately. On Scenic, for departures after October 31, 2024, full payment is required 10 months beforehand. A deposit of 20 per cent is required within seven days of booking.

Similarly, Aurora Expeditions has released details of its Arctic & Beyond 2025 voyages, which includes Ultimate Adventure voyages on new purpose-built small expedition ships, the Greg Mortimer and the Sylvia Earle.

“Along with including new charter flights to simplify our passengers’ journeys, we have introduced longer, ‘Ultimate Adventure’ voyages which are more frequently desired by Australian, New Zealand and European passengers,” Aurora Expeditions global head of product Justin Ewin says.

HOW: Scenic’s 25-day Mawson’s Antarctica: Along the East Coast sails December 13, 2025, from Queenstown to Hobart. Aurora Expeditions’ Greenland in Depth sails August 4-29, 2025. 

– Andrea Black

Travellers are booking years in advance to score the best berths on Scenic Eclipse's Antarctic journeys.

CROWD CONTROL

The term “overtourism” found a place in the Oxford Dictionary in 2018. For travellers, it means finding hordes of other people doing the same thing at all the main spots on your itinerary. The World Tourism Organization expects travellers to exceed two billion by the end of this decade.

“This puts a focus on travel companies to explore a better dispersal of travellers by looking at the ways we promote destinations other than just the main spots, but also spreading out visitor itineraries across the year,” says Michael Johnson, CEO of Accommodation Australia.

HOW: Opening travellers’ eyes to less well-known parts of popular destinations is high on the agenda, Harry Sargant of the Inside Travel Group says. “We’re creating trips that show off areas of regional Japan that aren’t as well-known, like beautiful Shikoku,” he says. The company’s Majestic Japan tour focuses on Tokyo’s sidelined areas, well away from touristy Shibuya. “The yokocho dining alleyways in Nakano are where you want to go for a drink, where there is hardly a tourist in sight,” Sargant says.

In Greece, travel concierge Francesca Muir recommends taking a slow boat to Crete instead of hotspots like Santorini. “It’s about visitors still seeing the beauty of the Greek Islands, but with half the crowds in their way.”

– John Burfitt

Crete's beaches offer a quieter alternative to the crowds on popular Santorini.

SWIFT TRAVEL

Sometimes a spontaneous short break is all you need to shake it off in life, and while the economic downturn may be slowing European vacations, mini breaks for maxi joy are on the rise. Apologies to Taylor, but call it travel’s “swift” era.

Wotif managing director Daniel Finch says more Aussies are opting for shorter escapes throughout the year rather than one big holiday. “Our research found that three-day stays are a sweet spot for domestic holidays, with 38 per cent of Aussies booking short breaks to escape the bustle of the city and one in three wanting to recharge and feel refreshed.”

And, Finch says, with cost top of mind, we’re choosing accessible, experience-rich getaways to suit our budgets.

Our impulsive ways are on display in South Australia where hotel bookings are increasingly being made much closer to the stay. “Visitors are choosing a more spontaneous travel style than what we have seen pre-Covid.” South Australian Tourism Commission chief executive Emma Terry says, “It’s clear that while the lead time for trips may be shorter, the desire is still there with SA experiencing record visitor expenditure across the state.”

HOW: Look for short breaks around your home city or town. In South Australia you could be swimming with sea lions in Port Lincoln or sipping local gins on Kangaroo Island within hours of walking out the door.

– Amanda Woods

Originally published as Travel maths and more trends set to change your 2024 holidays