For 2018, the main buzzwords among tour operators will be "giving back." Several tour operators have already amped up their efforts to give back to the communities they travel to and through, and as the consciousness of travelers continues to rise, we can only expect to see more such efforts in the coming year.
Intrepid Travel has firmly established its strategy to embrace purpose beyond profit, and G Adventures, too, is taking on an ambitious effort to inject dozens of social enterprise initiatives into its tour itineraries all over the world. Collette recently announced that it has developed a set of tours that combine involvement in social impact projects with traditional sightseeing. It kicks off with programs in South Africa and Costa Rica next year.
"We've definitely shifted our business mindset from short-term financial results to a much more longer-term perspective focused on people and the planet," Intrepid Group CEO James Thornton said earlier this year. "We do strongly believe that our style of travel helps make a difference."
Thornton pointed to the company's shift toward a more sustainable tourism model, which, for example, expands the reach of tourism dollars to communities in need through itineraries that take travelers beyond the world's crowded hot spots. The shift, he said, has actually proven to be not only sustainable but successful.
It has "shown us that having a purpose beyond profit can actually be pretty profitable," Thornton said.
That notion is increasingly resonating with operators that are beginning to recognize that doing good is also good business from which everyone stands to benefit.
Along those lines, we will likely see more efforts like those of Visit.org, which enables travelers to find and book socially conscious experiences while they're on the road. Visit.org has partnered with hundreds of small nonprofit organizations that have not traditionally catered to travelers and has made those experiences accessible to travelers while they're on vacation.
In an interview earlier this year, Michal Alter, co-founder and CEO of Visit.org, said it's going to take a sea change in the mindset of the travel industry to undo some of the damage that has already been done to the environment and local communities around the world by the overdevelopment of tourism.
But she said she believes that if companies take a more sustainable approach to tourism development, there is a chance that tourism will increasingly become a force for good.
"I do believe this industry has a huge potential as a whole to distribute its benefit in a more equal way to communities around the world," Alter said.
Tour operators are a big part of realizing that potential.
Similarly, operators and packagers will likely continue to be more conscientious about the types of animal encounters they offer. Over the past year, operators increasingly have been eliminating certain controversial animal encounters, such as elephant rides and animal shows, a trend that doesn't show signs of reversing in 2018 as consumers become increasingly attuned to animal rights issues.
Villas and vacation rentals
With the growing popularity of vacation rentals and peer-to-peer services such as Airbnb, we're going to see more tour operators and packagers finding creative ways to incorporate villas and vacation rentals into their products. That is especially true of suppliers looking to court groups and families.
Some, including Abercrombie & Kent and Travel Impressions, are already firmly invested in this growing segment of the market, while others are just starting to dip their toes and explore the options. The question will be how tour operators and packagers can marry the vacation-home experience with the added services and amenities their hotel partners typically provide.
One way they are doing that is by linking with resort residences or vacation homes situated within resort communities that have additional features such as on-site dining venues, pools, gyms, spas and other amenities hotel properties often provide.
Down Under is up, France is back
Australia is one of those destinations it seems travelers have on their wish lists but then put off because of how much time, effort and expense it takes to get there. But according to tour operators, Australia is the top-trending international destination for 2018.
In its annual member survey, the USTOA reported that the top international destinations for 2018 are Australia, Spain, Iceland, Italy, France and Japan.
Operators said some of the reasons that Down Under tops the list are the perceived safety of the destination and how proactive the country's destination marketing organization has been in promoting the continent.
Perhaps another reason Australia is on the rise is because of some of the media coverage surrounding the condition of its Great Barrier Reef.
The massive reef was among the places tour operators cited when asked to name destinations most at risk of "disappearing." They also named Antarctica and Cuba, the latter of which operators are watching closely, not because of the impact climate change might have on Americans' ability to easily visit, but because of the impact the current administration's policies might have on travel to the island.
France slipped off the list last year due to a drop in interest following terrorist attacks in November 2015 and in early 2016, so tour operators were pleased to see the traditionally popular destination gain favor with their clients once again.