Highlighting how travel was back with a bang and looking set to continue into next year, CN Traveller marked out 20 travel trends likely to guide how we see the world in 2024.

Astro tourism

The act of traveling to catch sight of astronomical phenomena – is set to increase in demand. While watching the Northern Lights was always popular, a slew of new resorts and hotels are facilitating views of eclipses, meteor showers, and the Milky Way.

Increasingly, wellness-centric hotels and spas are creating the space for guests to gaze upwards, watching for comets, spying constellations, and identifying patterns in the glittering expanse. In the UK, Port Lympne has opened the Lookout Bubble, a glass dome allowing guests to sprawl out on king-sized beds and study the stars.

Further east on the Arabian Gulf, Zulal Wellness Resort is surrounded by the expanse of the Qatari desert – the ultimate destination for pollution-free astromancy, with dedicated workshops and stargazing sessions for families and children looking to learn more about the cosmos.

Safari company Desert & Delta organizes trips for travelers looking to soak up the stars across Botswana and Namibia, where guests can sleep in tents at remote locations such as the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the world’s largest salt flats, and spend nights with uninterrupted star vistas. Similarly, Tswalu is a South African safari camp with star beds set on a sleep-out deck in the Korannaberg mountains.

Train stations as food destinations

As travel delays increase and visitors want more experiences, historic train stations are being revamped with curated food and drink offerings as part of the redesign. Toronto’s Union Station launched Union Market in May 2023, while New York’s new Moynihan Train Hall too welcomed new eateries. The city’s famed Grand Central Station has long-boasted Cipriani and Hermes, while also hosting Christmas markets seasonally.

As travel delays increase and visitors want more experiences, historic train stations are being revamped with curated food and drink offerings as part of the redesign. Photo: Food & Wine

As train stations are renovated to accommodate more travelers and update old infrastructure, local restaurants and bars are being added to attract more customers. In 2023, the new Moynihan Train Hall in New York City became home to The Irish Exit, a bar from the team behind the acclaimed Dead Rabbit, and Yono Sushi by trendy BondST, plus outposts of beloved NYC restaurants Pastrami Queen and Jacob’s Pickles, with Mexican hotspot La Esquina coming soon.

Platform 1 is a new bar and restaurant that opened in November underneath Glasgow Central Station. The cave-like space, with its historic brick arches, serves street-food-style dishes and craft brews made in the on-site microbrewery, plus there’s an outdoor beer garden. As part of its renovation, Toronto’s Union Station launched Union Market in May 2023 with favorite local food retailers Manotas Organics, Chocolate Brigadeiro’s, Patties Express, and Kibo.

Sports tourism

Taking a cue from the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, visitors are increasingly following a host of different sports in destinations across the world, planning holidays that center around watching games, races, and other activities in exotic locales. The upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics will soon be a testament to that, as the city puts its final touches on monuments and infrastructure. More than a million tourists are expected to check in across the French capital, added CN Traveller.

A little event known as the Olympic and Paralympic Games anchors the 2024 sports calendar. It kicks off in Paris in late July and runs until early September, during which time more than a million tourists are expected to check in across the French capital.

The games have inspired city-wide projects such as the €1.4-billion clean-up of the Seine, which, all going well, will allow public swimming in the river for the first time in a century. Elsewhere, the Tour de France starts in Italy for the first time in 2024, with competitors speeding off in Florence before heading to Rimini on the Adriatic coast and then north to the Apennines through Emilia-Romagna.

Luxury train travel

The trend is also on the rise as growing demand for sustainability in the travel industry has given rise to sleeper trains, especially in Europe. Along with the revamped Orient Express, specialist platform Railbookers plans to launch a luxury train itinerary.

A view of the refurbished interiors of the luxurious Orient Express. Photo: ORIENT EXPRESS, ACCOR

With prices per person starting at $113,599, the 80-day ‘Around the World’, luxury train voyage will cross four continents and 13 countries.

AI-enabled travel

This is also set to define traveler experiences as a slew of new AI-powered features and products that aim to support travelers on the ground. Live translation, which Samsung plans to launch on its 2024 Galaxy devices, as well as personalized AI algorithms suggesting activities will all increase in 2024.

Earlier this month, the magazine also published the Holy Grail of travel rankings – The Gold List 2024, identifying exemplary hotels, resorts, and cruises.

Among those that cut across Asia include the Bab al Shams resort, Dubai, Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel Maheshwar – India, Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, and Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand.

Badrutt’s Palace, Switzerland, Claridges, London, and Hotel du Cap Eden Roc – Antibes, France were among those that made the European selection.

Earlier this month, Euromonitor International identified the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023, which was topped by Paris and Dubai.

The market research platform analyzed cities based on more than 55 metrics across six key pillars, including economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and attractiveness, health and safety, and sustainability.

Paris was named the world’s best city for the second year in a row. The ‘City of Light’ came out on top thanks to its “exceptional performance across the tourism policy and attractiveness”. Dubai came in second due to its growth of international arrivals in 2023, with 16.8 million, up by 18%.

Asian cities also had a strong presence, with five cities, including Singapore, Seoul, Osaka, and Hong Kong in the top 20.

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