Apr 10th, 2012 at 2:30PM: While tiger tourism is still the most popular type of cat viewing, there is another trend that is on the rise: Jaguar spotting. For those who have already watched tigers in their natural habitat – and even for some who have not yet had the pleasure – traveling to see wild jaguars is becoming a must-have experience.
There is a big difference in spotting tigers and jaguars, ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
TravelTrends posts
Travel Trend: Jaguar Spotting In Brazil
Apr 10th, 2012 at 2:30PM: While tiger tourism is still the most popular type of cat viewing, there is another trend that is on the rise: Jaguar spotting. For those who have already watched tigers in their natural habitat – and even for some who have not yet had the pleasure – traveling to see wild jaguars is becoming a must-have experience.
There is a big difference in spotting tigers and jaguars, ...'Guam: The New Maldives' and other Chinese tourism trends
Mar 27th, 2012 at 9:00AM: In 2012, trips originating from China will comprise an estimated 8 percent of total world travel. The China Tourism Academy estimates that 80 million Chinese residents will travel overseas, spending an estimated US$80 billion. That's a significant chunk of the market.
In a recent article, CNNGo's Shanghai editor Tracy You set out to demystify the Chinese traveler and predict the future of ...After the royal wedding: a boost for travel to UK
May 5th, 2011 at 7:00AM:
The big event is over and the attention of the world has moved along to other stories but the verdict is in: the Royal wedding brought a huge spike in travel to the UK.
"Travelers from across the globe arrived in London to watch and be a part of one of the biggest events in history, with visitors from Europe, to Australia and Asia. Londoners and tourists camped outside Westminster Abbey for ...Travel Trends: Theme park attendance down, Disney remains strong
Jun 16th, 2010 at 5:30PM: The outlook for theme parks in 2010 is quite upbeat compared to 2009. Last year, attendance slipped as the rough economy forced millions of people to stay home and snap shut their wallets.
This year, the improving economy, coupled with dozens of new attractions opening at parks around the country, is expected to pump up attendance figures at North American theme parks.
"The industry is well ...Travel Trends: Caribbean is most popular cruise destination, but niche markets growing fast
Jun 11th, 2010 at 1:28PM: For the first nine years of the 21st Century, the Caribbean Islands have been the most popular cruise destination for travelers from around the world, according to figures provided by the Cruise Lines International Association.
Each year since 2000, about one-third of people who cruised chose to do so in the Caribbean. However, from a high of 42% in 2002, the number of travelers dropped to 32% ...Travel Trends: Train travel in the USA
May 27th, 2010 at 8:27AM: Paul Theroux, the great American travel writer, once said, "Almost anything is possible in a train" -- and that still holds true today. While the U.S. has not embraced rail travel as a primary means of transportation for several decades, a resurgence is growing. Passengers frustrated with airline delays and rising costs, the high cost of gasoline and road construction are beginning to give train ...Travel Trends: The effect of Southwest Airlines' cheap fares on competitor fares
May 21st, 2010 at 1:00PM: The last time you wanted to book a trip somewhere in the U.S., what airline did you think of first? If you're like thousands of U.S. air passengers, you checked to see if Southwest Airlines flew in and out of the city you wanted to visit. Since its inception almost forty years ago in 1971, Southwest has been providing passengers all over the country with low-cost travel options.
Southwest uses ...Travel Trends: Pet travel
May 19th, 2010 at 1:05PM: From doggy daycare to feline pampering to gourmet food and beyond, pet owners in the United States shower their furry companions with a healthy dose of attention. Although this affection is shown through lots of play time and generous ear scratching, it's most easily recognizable by the billions of dollars spent every year in the pet industry.
...Travel Trends: The rise of the 'Free Independent Traveler' (FIT)
May 12th, 2010 at 11:30AM: Over the last few years, the world travel landscape has undergone significant changes brought by security concerns, the economic crisis and green considerations. These new conditions have given rise to a new type of tourist: the "Free Independent Traveler," or FIT. The term refers generally to people over 35, of above average income, and who like to travel in small groups or as couples. They avoid ...Travel Trends: Airlines spending less on food in 2010, but are healthier options around the corner?
Apr 29th, 2010 at 5:25PM: Given the harsh economic conditions in the airline industry and the hyper-competitive market, it's not surprising to find that the top US airlines have cut back the average amount of money spent on passenger meals.
According to the US Government's Department of Transportation, from a high of almost $6 per person in 1991, to an average cost of $3.58 per passenger in 2009, the costs per ...Travel Trends: Orlando, Las Vegas top summer destinations for 2010
Apr 28th, 2010 at 1:28PM: Perhaps fueled by a sense that the economy is improving, millions of Americans are gearing up to travel this summer. And when it comes to summer travel, Americans are nothing if not decisive about where we want to go.
This summer's top two destinations – hands down – are Orlando and Las Vegas, according to a recent survey conducted with members of the American Society of Travel ...Travel Trends: Cruising in Alaska is up, so why are people angry?
Apr 23rd, 2010 at 11:55AM: Alaska: The "Last Frontier."
It's a trip of a lifetime for many of us. We imagine towering snow covered peaks with flowing glaciers draping down their sides, eagles soaring overhead while brown bears pluck spawning salmon from wild rivers right in front of our camera lenses. In short, we dream of a pure untouched landscape straight from a lost primordial world. And in truth, this beauty and ...Travel Trends: How do men and women travel differently?
Apr 13th, 2010 at 12:58PM: We all know that men and women are different -- different bodies, different brains, different planets of origin -- but how different are they when it comes to travel?
Both men and women average the same number of domestic trips per year (3), spend about as much money per foreign trip ($2,479 for men, $2,357 for women), and spend about the same on luggage in a year ($111 for men, $107 for ...Travel Trends: Online booking for travel expected to increase through 2014
Apr 6th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Like much of the rest of the travel industry, online travel bookings in 2009 took a hit. Spending by consumers dipped for the first time in recent memory, from $112.9 billion in 2008 to $104.3 billion in 2009 (down 7.6%), according to a report from research firm Forrester.
However, while online bookings for virtually every segment slipped -- including air travel by a punishing 7.7% to $61.8 ...Travel trends: 2010 to be the best year ever for America's parks? [update]
![Travel trends: 2010 to be the best year ever for America's parks? [update]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2010/03/resscreen-shot-2010-03-27-at-9.48.34-am-1269697945_thumbnail.png)
Mar 30th, 2010 at 10:30AM: More than 285.6 million people visited America's national parks in 2009, making it the fifth busiest year in the 94-year history of the national park system. About 10 million fewer people visited the parks in 2008. The all-time visitation record was in 1987 with 287.2 million visitors.
Weak Economy Was Good for Park Visitors
During a phone interview with David Barna, the chief of public ...Travel trends: Are you a "Four-Percenter" when it comes to travel?
Mar 26th, 2010 at 2:32PM: If you spend enough time traveling, you'll start seeing people that qualify as "Four-Percenters" -- individuals who took 3+ foreign trips in the past 3 years AND 3+ domestic trips in the past 12 months; they represent only about four percent of the US population. We call them "Four-Percenters," because they take to the air or the highways more often than the other 96% of their fellow Americans. ...'Tis the season for 2010 travel predictions
Dec 29th, 2009 at 2:30PM: As the year comes to a close, it seems everyone is offering up their predictions for 2010 travel trends. Which destinations will be the new hot spots? Will the cost of airfare rise or fall? Will people travel or won't they? As with every year, some predictions will be spot on. Others will just seem like the same ideas from last year dressed up with new names.
Rick Seany, CEO of FareCompare, ...Record influx of visitors to U.S. in 2008
Mar 26th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Last year, 58 million international visitors came to the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. That's an increase of nearly 4 percent from 2007. To sweeten it up a bit, 13 of the top 25 arrivals markets saw new records set. In the last month of the year, nearly 4 million people came here from abroad – down 7 percent. The fourth quarter was down 6 percent ...Cruise line trends to look out for
Dec 22nd, 2008 at 5:30PM: There are some trends in the cruise industry that might make you pleased or disgruntled, depending on if the trends tip in your favor.
Non-smokers may feel more pleased to find out that one growing trend is to restrict smoking to fewer and fewer places on a ship. Smokers, of course, may not be thrilled.
Another trend is for bigger ships. Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas is the biggest of ...Debauchery tourism: travel for partying, sex and drugs
Dec 5th, 2007 at 2:30PM: "There is no future! Why save money? Why worry about traditional morality!?", the anything goes attitude when on vacation seems to be the latest travel-trend amongst western 25-34 year-olds, according to the 2007 World Travel Market's annual Global Trends report. A wild spin off the nudist, lifestyle and hedonist resorts concept, the travel industry has tagged this as "debaucherism", and as long ...
