What’s Next: Twenty-Twenty Four Travel Trends
Back East
Southeast Asia, with its frenetic cities, awe-inspiring temples, stunning beaches, and vast culinary variety, has topped bucket lists for decades. But Asia as a continent was the last to fully reopen to international travelers after the pandemic, and has been the slowest to rebound, as westerners raced back to familiar favorites in Europe over the last couple of years. That’s all changing in 2024 - Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia are the hottest tickets out there for those seeking adventure and new experiences. You tell people you’re going to Italy? “How nice,” they’ll reply. But say you’re headed to Angkor Wat or on a river cruise down the Mekong? You’re going to start hearing a lot of, “I have ALWAYS wanted to do that.”
New Frontiers: “It’s hard to describe or prepare for a place like this...thank you for helping us create such precious memories we’ll all cherish for our lifetime.” - TLF Client, December 2023
TLF Picks
Amantaka | Aqua Mekong | Four Seasons Tented Camp
Cottagecore
One of the most surprising trends of post-Covid world has been the fascination with a cinematically beautiful daydream of “returning to a simpler way of life.” Everyone on Instagram seems to be churning their own butter and growing armfuls of their own dahlias, and nowhere is that fantasy more fully-fledged than in the spate of fabulous properties in the English countryside. Hotels like The Newt in Somerset and Beaverbrook not only have names straight out of Beatrix Potter, they have wild gardens and butcheries and woodlands for tramping, and easy access from Heathrow. Smashing, if you ask us.
Charmed, I’m Sure: We’ve driven on the wrong side of the road to towns with names including Hay-on-Wye, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Staines-Upon-Thames, Knaresborough, Robin Hood’s Bay, Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter, Upper Swell, Chipping Norton, Chipping Campden, Little Tew, Great Tew, and Hook.
TLF Picks
Heckfield Place | The Newt in Somerset | Beaverbrook
Expert Africa
Most first-time visitors to Africa will hit a combination of South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and maybe Rwanda, and find some of the world’s best hotels, service, and experiences therein. Return travelers, however, really get to start discovering the continent’s treasures - once you’ve checked off the Big Five, it’s time for the moonscapes of Namibia, the floodplains of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the technicolor reefs of Madagascar, and the Robinson Crusoe dunes and drifts of Mozambique. It’s only responsible to bring down the cost per wear on your safari hat, don’t you think?
We’ve Been There: The TLF team has spent a total of more than two and a half years’ worth of days on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa.
TLF Picks
Tswalu Loapi | Kisawa | andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge
Don't Mind if I Peru
The diversity of experience available in Peru is matched by only a few other countries in the world - this is a destination where no two days of your itinerary will be interchangeable. Travel by luxury train or llama, visit the top of Machu Picchu and the bottom of the Sacred Valley, and take your pick between impossibly charming boutique hotels and well-established grand dames. If you’ve loved Patagonia, Mexico, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Morocco, or Cambodia, it’s time for Peru.
Alpaca’n our Bags: 14 members of the team have been to the top of Machu Picchu.
TLF Picks
Sol y Luna | Hiram Bingham, A Belmond Train | Hotel B
Dreaming Big in Dubai
Dubai started the year with a bang, with the January 1 opening of the brand-new One&Only One Za’abeel - but then again, when has the Jewel of the Desert ever done things quietly? There’s no sign of slowing down in this oasis for the 21st century, as Dorchester will open its first hotel in the city, The Lana, in February, and Jumeirah will round out its portfolio in the second half of the year. Whether as a standalone destination or a stopover en route to the Maldives or East Africa, Dubai is only getting more relevant.
Bumpy Ride: 82% of TLF advisors have ridden a camel.
TLF Picks
The Lana | Bulgari Resort Dubai | One&Only The Palm
Paris Plus
The Olympics are taking over the City of Light this summer for the first time in a century, and the Games run officially from July 26 to August 11. But France Fever will be running higher than ever all season, with tough availability in the capital and increased demand across destinations that pair well with Paris - book early for summer stays along the Côte d’Azur and in Provence, Normandy, and Brittany. Neighboring cities like London and Rome should see a boost too, as travelers extend their pre- or post-Olympic adventures.
Always a Good Idea: TLF planned over 100 Paris trips last year (and 3/4 of Local Foreigner advisors also visited the city for themselves in 2023.)
TLF Picks
La Réserve Paris | Hôtel Le Grand Mazarin | Ritz Paris
Finding Zen in Japan
Japan has been a hot-ticket destination for years, but recent trends, including cherry blossom crowds and some of the world’s toughest tables, have travelers looking outside of the peak spring season. The fall foliage is arguably even more stunning than the sakura (and a bit easier to nail schedule-wise), and the Niseko hotel scene is improving with each passing ski season. The Ritz Carlton in Nikko and the upcoming Rosewood Miyakojima and Four Seasons Osaka are also bringing luxury access outside of the already-incredible options in Tokyo and Kyoto. Traveling out of well-trodden cities and out of season makes the Land of the Rising Sun shine.
Out of Towners: Local Foreigner has had team members visit 27 different destinations in Japan.
TLF Picks
Rosewood Miyakojima | The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko | Aman Tokyo
It's Alpine Time
In travel circles, we tend to confide destination wishlists guiltily to each other sotto voce, starting with, “You know where I have actually been wanting to go?” And these days, everyone is “actually wanting to go” to the Alps. Skiers can’t get enough of the chic winter atmosphere, and hikers (and sightseers) want to step into the screensaver scene that summer brings. With Rosewood and Aman raising their flags into the rarefied mountain air - Rosewood Schloss Fuschl is slated for mid-year outside of Salzburg, and Rosa Alpina’s Aman identity will be unveiled for the Dolomites’ winter season - it’s only getting more beautiful at altitude.
High Highs: We’ve planned paragliding, funicularing, fondue-ing, tobogganing (in all seasons), rifugio-to-rifugio ski safaris, cross-border cross country skiing from Switzerland to Italy for a pasta lunch, and a Michelin-starred dinner atop a glacier.
