Instagram started out as a place to keep track of friends and family, and share moments of life, but has quickly become a marketing tool.
Celebrity posts are often sponsored to promote products, travel destinations and share experiences. Destinations are edited to look more appealing. This inadvertently encourages more tourists to visit, despite damaging the landscape and breaking the law to take photos for Instagram.
Instagram helps connect travel lovers around the world
Instagram also helps connect travel lovers around the world through hashtags. When following accounts, they can share their experiences with each other. Typical accounts include @wearetravelgirls (girls who travel), @travelnoire (travelers of color), or hashtag #solotravel (solo travelers)...
Plan your trip
In the past, to start a trip, you had to plan in detail. The preparation stage was often more fun than the journey itself. However, with the current trend, more than 60% of tourists said they were willing to travel if they could find a discount ticket on the application.
Unplanned travel will continue to be a trend in the coming years.
Search terms like "places to visit near me" and "places to eat near me" on Google Map increased by 150% in 2018, showing that unplanned travel will continue to be a trend in the coming years.
Apps like Pack + Go, Whisked Away help travelers solve problems with tickets, accommodation and can enjoy a truly unplanned trip.
New ideal destination
In the 2010s, Asia emerged as the world's ideal tourist destination. Japan is expected to welcome 40 million visitors by 2020 (six times more than in 2003). Bangkok has been the world's most visited city for many years.
But unrest in Hong Kong, concerns about environmental pollution... could affect the region's steady growth in the coming years. From there, new tourist destinations will emerge.
Africa poised for tourism boom in the next decade
The Middle East and Africa have recently been mentioned as the new tourism trend, especially Dubai, Abu Dhabi in UAE witnessed more growth in foreign visitors than any other city in the region.
Africa is also poised for a tourism boom in 2020. Tourists are returning to Egypt. New flights like Kenya Airlines' Nairobi-New York and RwandAir's New York-Kigali make the continent more accessible.
20 African countries now offer visa-free travel or visa-on-arrival to Americans, and South Africa is piloting an e-visa. This opens up opportunities for many to explore and experience Africa.
From overtourism to sustainable tourism
According to the World Tourism Organization, there were 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals in 2018. Overtourism has affected many destinations over the past decade, leading to imbalances and damaged sites.
Some destinations have taken action to mitigate overcrowding. Venice, Italy, has started charging visitors a day-trip fee, while the Louvre in France now operates a reservation system to limit crowds who flock to take photos. The Philippines temporarily closed Boracay Island after the island suffered from ecological imbalances caused by mass tourism.
Tourists are increasingly moving towards sustainable tourism instead of flocking to overcrowded destinations.
Travelers are also changing how they plan their trips. Data from Booking.com shows that 51% of travelers would choose a lesser-known destination if it would help reduce the impact of overcrowding.
The idea of exploring places that are not yet popular with tourists is also welcome. Partly because the cost of airfare and accommodation in these places will be cheaper, but also because you can explore new places.
