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It’s hard to believe that another year is over and 2024 is almost here.
A new year means new trends for travelers, and Condé Nast Traveller recently released a report containing some of the biggest travel trends for 2024.
Some of the trends are a bit out there (silent travel, for example, which accounts for an increase in the popularity of silent meditation retreats) but many of them have widespread appeal for travelers.
Here are the top trends expected to take the travel world by storm in the new year:
Coolcationing
“Coolcationing” is expected to be one of the biggest travel trends of 2024.
Rather than heading to warm-weather and beachy destinations in the summer, travelers will go to cooler destinations.
This past summer in Europe, many travelers experienced record-breaking heat waves. For example, the world-famous Acropolis in Athens, Greece was temporarily closed one day this summer because the sweltering heat made conditions unsafe.
Other Mediterranean hotspots such as southern Spain and southern Italy are losing popularity during the summer due to increasing temperatures.
Instead, travelers prefer to visit cool-weather destinations during the summer, such as Iceland, Norway, or Southern Hemisphere destinations like Argentina or New Zealand.
Gig Tripping
Another huge travel trend for the new year is gig tripping, or traveling for concerts and music festivals.
This became hugely popular in 2023 as fans of Taylor Swift traveled to see the artist perform during her Eras Tour.
A similar phenomenon occurred with Beyoncé fans and the Renaissance Tour.
Many cities reported a massive boost in tourism revenue when one of these artists came to town. A lot of fans who traveled from further away made a whole trip out of it, spending several nights in the city where the concert was occurring.
This type of travel is expected to grow in popularity even more in 2024. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour continues into 2024 with many international tour dates, and some American travelers have already planned to go abroad to see their favorite artist perform.
Similarly, many music fans travel to popular music festivals like Coachella in California or Tomorrowland in Belgium.
Peak Season Gets The Cold Shoulder
Along with record-breaking heat waves, many European hotspots also experienced record-breaking crowds and sky-high prices this past summer.
The combination of these factors is making many travelers eschew peak season travel, preferring to travel in the off-season or the “shoulder season” instead.
For example, the peak season in many European destinations has historically been summer, especially July and August.
However, travelers are now opting to travel in the shoulder season (think April, May, and October) or even the total off-season (like January and February) to avoid crowds and enjoy milder weather and lower prices.
In 2024, it’s likely that more travelers will visit European destinations in the fall or the spring instead of the summer, increasing the amount of shoulder season and off-season travel.
Rail Travel
Finally, one of the biggest travel trends for the new year is rail travel.
This form of travel has been increasing in popularity with American travelers, both at home and while abroad.
In the United States, traveling by train is becoming more popular, with a record number of passengers taking Amtrak trains this year as opposed to flying or driving.
In Mexico, the long-awaited Maya Train will launch in February 2024. This will connect travelers who are visiting Cancun (the number one international destination for American travelers) with many other destinations around the Yucatan Peninsula.
And, of course, traveling by train remains popular in places like Europe and Japan. More and more travelers are choosing rail travel over flying or driving because it’s a relaxing, scenic way to travel with less hassle than the alternatives.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com