Our top trend predictions for 2019
1. The Brexit effect – get in early for British breaks
We predict that we will see a 15% rise in bookings for UK breaks as Britain leaves the EU on 29 March 2019. UK bookings for January to March 2019 are already up by 13% for the same period in 2018. UK breaks have been on the rise over recent years, as more and more people are choosing to stay in the country to holiday rather than fly elsewhere.
3. Restorative breaks – wellness holidays for couples and the art of being bored
We started doing wellbeing holidays long before it became a trend, but we have recently seen an increase in people looking for breaks with wellness at the core, whether for nurturing a relationship or as a way to improve mental health. We’ve picked out two aspects of a restorative break that we think will be on the rise.
The art of being bored
Millennials heading for ‘burnout’ are looking for ways to escape constantly being switched on; even Google is telling us that searches for ‘being bored’ have fallen dramatically over the last 10 years. We’ve lost the art of just being. For those tired of cities, smartphones and work, we predict that 2019 will be the year of the boring holiday. Guests are seeking the need to head out into nature, make no plans and contemplate life at a significantly slower pace.
Rewild your relationship
Research has proved how spending time outdoors and away from the stresses of daily life is good for your health, but this year we teamed up with Project Love to show it also has huge positive effects on relationships. We produced a ‘how-to-guide’ to reconnecting in the outdoors and a collection of places to put the theory to the test.
4. The occa-tion – an occasion vacation
The ‘experiences not things’ trend continues to grow and so does the appetite for occasion breaks, with over 50% of all our bookings in 2018 celebrating an occasion. Birthdays, anniversaries and honeymoons topped the reasons for taking a trip. Do you offer anything special for an occasion, could you start to? Adding a welcome hamper, flowers or champagne on arrival could make your space more appealing to those wishing to celebrate an occasion away!
Our Gift Card sales are also predicted to rise in 2019 , particularly club-together gift cards where multiple people can contribute to one present.
5. Zerobnb brings sustainability back onto the travel agenda
The news that tourism causes almost a tenth of global emissions has put sustainability firmly back on the travel agenda. The launch of Zerobnb is putting pressure on the big travel firms to recognise and categorise sustainable homes. By its nature, glamping is already ahead of the game but to further the cause, we have launched a collection of our most sustainable places. A brilliant example of a space taking sustainability to new heights is Puckshipton Treehouse, a rope-hung, off-grid, no-car escape deep in the Wiltshire countryside. Could you be doing anything else to push sustainability in your space?
6. Simple is beautiful – growth in affordable spaces
Although demand continues to rise for the more luxurious, creative and extreme, there is a steady demand for the more affordable, rustic and beautifully simple of spaces. In an effort to embrace this, Canopy & Stars will focus on adding more budget-friendly options in 2019.
7. The year of the dog –Pets love glamping too
In 2018 12% of all our trips included a pet. The number of stays with pets has grown by nearly 60% in the last 2 years and shows no signs of slowing. This photo of two beloved pet pals also made it into our top three most liked posts on Instagram!
