In 2023, OutThere travellers will travel to connect and reconnect with ourselves and the people around us. Education and engagement with communities and among people will be very important to us, a natural desire after the two years that were.
This isn’t something new per se, as it’s the very tenet of transformative travel, but this year it seems that the connection we are looking for will be more human and aligned with positive humanity.
This ties together many of the other trends this year, from the desire to be in populated cities, to the need to engage with culture and the hunger for inclusivity and transparency. It also explains why spiritual wellness beyond physical wellness is also in great demand this year.
This is reflected in our continued appetite for transformative travel. 86% of us are interested in holidays that will help us ‘change our outlook on the world’ and ‘enable us to get a better handle on the challenging structures that still shape our society today’. As well as having fun, 77% want to get truly out there, experience and learn something that is lifechanging on their next adventure.
In 2022, social and community-based engagement – in part linked to sustainable travel – was popular, with OutThere travellers interested in destinations, properties and experiences where suppliers are giving back to the community, or to the greater good of social advancement in the destination. This year, this has developed into wider people empowerment, tied to a desire for deeper connections and reconnections. The pandemic had prevented us from engaging with our own communities on a local level, as well as with people in other countries. It has reminded us of the power of humanity and the importance of mutual understanding in travel.
Demand has shifted from just meeting locals, to community-based cultural experiences. OutThere travellers are looking for special aspects of local life that community members feel proud and comfortable sharing with guests, ideally owned, led and run by local people. Moreover, this is about ensuring that communities will directly benefit from the social-economic impact of our ‘showing up.’
This is not just about experiences that bridge a social-economic gap between travellers and locals. Event-based travel, driven by local communities – and communities that we feel part of – for example, Pride celebrations for LGBTQ+ OutThere travellers, carnivals, music festivals, fashion weeks, restaurant weeks and other live events, are also in demand.
OutThere travellers really understand the power of community. We thrive in the support, belief, collective wisdom, togetherness and success of communities around the world.
‘Luxury group travel’ is also something that OutThere travellers will be seeking this year (66% have said that they are interested in group travel this year) whether privately, as part of a chosen family or friendship group… or as part of an organised group with others. More than before, there is a desire to deepen relationships, share experiences and meet other like-minded people.
“To achieve what we’re looking for and capable of as individuals, we need to seek deeper connections and self-discovery when we travel – more clarity, purpose and joy in the miracle of being and how we interact with ourselves and those around us. At The Luminaire, we believe in the power of travel to nurture personal growth. Our goal is to identify and build upon the interests of our guests while igniting newfound passions along the way. Through visceral learning, our journeys this year endeavour to cultivate a deeper, more profound connection with the world and spark a desire to protect it.”
The Luminaire
Photography by Martin Perry on location at Amangalla, Galle, Sri Lanka for OutThere’s Seductive Sri Lanka Issue