Create content now so you’ll be a top answer for people searching trending travel topics in upcoming months.

Here is our advice on travel trends to blog about right now, the sort of information that many of you want from us because it keeps you ahead of the pace of change in tourism marketing.

Let’s get started.

Just kidding . . . hold up!

Do not worry about trend-related content until you’ve taken care of creating the evergreen, Top 10 FAQs blog posts we talk about in this post about how to kick-start a destination marketing blog.

All set?

NOW let’s get to it.

Y’all know that we are not big fans of chasing shiny objects and trying to do too much, especially you “Mighty Teams of One or Two” people who must stay very focused to be effective with limited resources.

Still, in the fast-moving world of social media and digital marketing, you do have to keep an eye on travel trends to see if any of those trends are a good fit for your destination, attraction, hotel, or tourism partner business.

Related post – The current state of tourism marketing 2023

Once you see a trend gaining some traction – and IF it is a fit for you – the sooner you get some relevant content up tying your destination to the trend, the sooner you can start showing up toward the top of search engine results for those keywords.

This applies even more to social search.

Yes, your younger visitors are using TikTok and Instagram as search engines, instead of Google, so trend-related content, keywords, and hashtags there matter a lot.

Based on our “ear to the ground” research, here are some travel trends to blog about:

1) Wellness Travel

After a brutal global COVID pandemic (which isn’t over yet, and also includes the threat of long COVID) people are more aware than ever of the maxim, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.”

Meet this trend with blog posts and social media posts that highlight where people can go to relax, detox, relieve stress, get a massage and spa treatments, eat healthy food, be more mindful, get some exercise, etc.

Example: A healthy vacation in Savannah, Georgia on the Visit Savannah blog.

Niche we’re seeing: the menopause vacation, where you can get help managing symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and insomnia.

2) Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Travel

Travelers are eager to travel sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint, particularly in light of events exacerbated by climate change like stronger hurricanes, extended drought conditions, extraordinary floods, and warming oceans. A focus on “going local” is gaining even more attention after the pandemic snarled supply chains, and shutdowns helped people see the value of their local business ecosystem.

Example: Sustainable cuisine in Slovenia on the Slovenian Tourist Board site.

Niche we’re seeing: lots of HARO (Help a Reporter Out) media queries for information/quotes for stories like:

•  Greener, more local getaways
•  Environmentally-friendly travel ideas
•  Eco-friendly, eco-conscious vacations

3) Multigenerational and Family Travel

Part of the burst in leisure travel last year was a reaction to families staying apart for COVID safety reasons. Demand for the joys of experiencing a destination across multiple generations of a family has not shown many signs of fading.

Example: Family-Friendly Resorts in Puerto Rico.

Niches we’re seeing: HARO media queries about father-son and father-daughter trip ideas, trip ideas for adult kids with their parents, luxury family resorts, and where to plan a family reunion.

4) An Appreciation for Nature & The Outdoors

In the U.S. in particular, many of our state and national parks were almost “loved to death” during and just after the main years of the pandemic, as travelers sought ways to be outdoors and avoid the airborne COVID virus. Leslie sees that even today where she lives in Montana, and she wrote about dealing with overtourism in places like Whitefish MT and nearby Glacier National Park.

Related post – 7 marketing moves to make now [INFOGRAPHIC]

Smaller towns, rural areas, scenic byways – they all have an advantage right now, in that travelers still very much want the natural beauty they can offer.

Examples: (some smart combinations here)  10 Iowa craft breweries located on or near bike trails from Travel Iowa, and wellness plus outdoors in Soulful Travel: Sonoma Botanical Garden from Visit Sonoma County, California.

Niches we’re seeing: HARO inquiries about scenic riverwalks, and lots of searches for infinity pools in the last 90 days on Google Trends in U.S. travel (if you have a local property or properties with such pools, get some focused content up about it.)

5) Unique, Local Experiences

This encompasses a lot of recent trends:

•  Spend money on experiences, not “stuff”
•  Travel to interesting places that you’ve seen in the movies, TV, or streaming that seem worthy of exploration (lots of recent Google Trends searches for North Carolina’s Outer Banks region, tied to the Outer Banks show on Netflix)
•  Visit places that accept you as you are (HARO queries like “autism-friendly resorts” and LGBTQ or BIPOC experiences.)
•  Learn about and support local culture. Do something hands-on, like a cooking or craft class, that teaches you about that local culture. See Pinterest Predicts – Good on Paper about the rising popularity of paper crafts like origami or quilling.

The idea of experiential travel is not new, but it’s become even more important to today’s visitors.

Example: Blog posts related to autism travel from Visit Mesa, Arizona, the first-ever Autism Certified City in the U.S. designated by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, making travel planning easier for families on the spectrum.

Niches we’re seeing: Very specific searches, like

•  “Historic motels in rural America”
•  “Best towns for antique shopping”
•  Queries related to cruises: ocean, lake, river
•  “Indian food in ______”
•  “Which towns are great for remote workers”
•  Hotel offerings, like over-the-top pet amenities, sustainable hotels, hip hotels or Airbnbs, amazing things you can borrow to use/enjoy while staying at X hotel.

To keep up with trends, we recommend our resources above: HARO, Google Trends (you can toggle by country or worldwide,) the annual Pinterest Predicts report, and attending some forward-leaning conferences.

Our co-founder Sheila is on the Advisory Board for SXSW – South by Southwest – and attends each year to stay plugged into the future.

Did we miss a key travel trend to blog about right now? Let us know down in the comments.

PS. Don’t forget the brand-new offering in the Tourism Currents online store – our expert social media audit.

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