8 travel trends for transformation in 2022

Let’s be realistic, traveling won’t be back to pre-2019 levels and that is a good thing. Now is our opportunity to find new approaches, to adapt and to discover new ways of exploring, of changing our mindset, evolving and learning something new.

1. Local travels

Yes, they are here to stay. So let’s dive in, convert them into our plan A and explore our home country deeper. Everyone visiting Paris MUST see the Louvre and Notre Dame, but when was the last time you set foot into your local art museum or cathedral, when did you visit a city close by in exploration mode?
Pop in at the local tourist board, get the info and play tourist for a weekend. Change perspective and discover your local hidden gems, try out new activities and go for a local adventure. Not only will you fall in love with what’s around you, you will also keep your travel muscle trained for when you’ll be able to take that exotic trip again. To add a further twist go at full moon, by public transport or by bike.

2. Unique DIY travels

Gone are group tours and organised trips on a tour bus with the crowds. Big resorts and organised holidays are a thing of the past. Now is our opportunity to design and create our very own individual trip away.

Based on our values, passions and needs in this very moment of our life. On foot, by bike, in our camper van. In a cosy mountain cabin, a unique airbnb by the coast, a romantic tree house in the woods or a boutique hotel in your favourite city. Get creative, make your trip uniquely yours and fully own it. So when things need to be adapted you are in full control.

And by taking matters into your own hands you’ll ultimately gain from the satisfaction of having independently mastered what initially seemed impossible to do yourself.

3. Workcation

While it is important to switch off entirely from work for at least one week why not extending your stay and turning it into a workcation. Productivity goes up when the view from your desk is inspiring and a swim awaits you during lunch break and after work, followed by a gorgeous meal alfresco and falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves.

Airbnb has registered a steep increase in workcation stays over the past 6 months and this trend is here to stay as most of us continue working from home.
And if you start loving this new digital nomad lifestyle why not take it to the next level. There are now a number of countries giving away working visas for digital nomads, such as Mexico, Costa Rica or Bali.

Check out the list and conditions collated by https://expertvagabond.com/digital-nomad-work-visas/

4. The real wellness

Wellness goes well beyond an artificially recreated cave and waterfall in an indoor spa followed by a massage. Wellness is about recharging the body and nourishing the mind, it is about listening to your needs rather than succumbing to the ‘must do’ when going away. Wellness is about doing what feels good to you.

As the pandemic lingers into its third calendar year, it’s probably not surprising that travellers are increasingly looking to their holidays to work on their mental and physical wellness. In a recent American Express survey, 76 percent of respondents said they wanted to spend more on travel that improves their well-being.

But why spend money and time in a crowded indoor studio when you can meditate or run by a nearby lake or beach? Why follow a spa itinerary with strangers when you can recreate a wellness moment anywhere. Nature is one big spa so get creative and recognise the opportunities you have within your radius. Think wild swimming in rivers and mountain lakes, soaking in natural hot water pools, jumping into fresh water cenotes, relaxing on meadows while taking in the smell of freshly cut hay, covering your body in wet sand for a real peel, or tree hugging on a mindful forest walk. Nature has got it all.

On our recent cabin stay up in the South Tyrolian mountains we had a small wooden bathroom. It’s here were I had my best wellness moments with just a few candles, the smell of wood and some majestic views out onto the alpine peaks.

5. Outdoors is king

Having space has become the new luxury and the outdoors offer just that. For the past two years we all rediscovered the pleasure of walks in nature so now it’s time to take it to the next level. Think hiking holiday, camping or glamping, backpacking, forest adventures. An opportunity to learn a new activity or sport, to get your confidence back, to fill your lungs with oxygen, to get high on adrenaline, to acquire new travel skills and to appreciate the endless abilities of your own body.

Get started with signing up for some one-off experiences and adventures through the likes of airbnb.com or groupon.com for a taster of things you have never done before. A chance to discover a new passion in the great outdoors.

6. Meaningful travels

Going traveling with amazing pictures to share as your first priority is the best way to fail. What’s the point of hanging onto those perfect images if you are not making the most of your actual trip?
Go traveling for the right reasons – to expand your soul, to learn something new, to connect and further bond with your partner, family or friends, to overcome your fears and to live a life of meaning… the possibilities are endless. 

Focus on how you want to feel rather than how it looks to others. Great pictures are simply a bonus.

7. Home swapping

While we won’t be able to go to exotic locations just yet why not consider home swapping for a real change in scenery? If you live in a city why not consider spending a few weeks by the sea or in the mountains. If you live rurally, wouldn’t it be fun to spend a few weeks or months in a city you have always wanted to explore more deeply? If you are working from home why not take your work with you and extend for longer as it won’t cost you a dime. There are plenty of people out there who would love to experience life where you are. A real opportunity to immerse into a different culture, lifestyle, routine and environment. Living at someone else’s real home also helps getting perspective and clarity on your own life, it helps understanding that there are many different ways of life, and it’s a true transformation booster.

For more info about all the different home exchange sites check out https://cycloscope.net/home-swap-house-exchange most updated review, and read the article by https://www.poppinsmoke.com/house-exchange/ for everything you need to know about house swapping.

8. Self-awareness and transformation through travel

Travel is no longer about the tan. Or about ticking off countries and sights on our bucket list. It’s about identifying what truly matters to us and adjusting our travels accordingly. It is about allowing ourselves to change, to evolve, to get wings and to reinvent ourselves. About exposing ourselves in blank-page-mode to a new environment, new people, new cultures, new smells, food, sounds. To new experiences, new feelings and a mindset shift. In daily adventures, on your door step.

Be a navigator, a traveller. Each day discovering a new region within your soul.

Which one will you go for this 2022?
Need help with brainstorming for your unique journey? Gift yourself an online travel coaching session with the expert and let the journey begin.

All photos Credit Doris Dario

About the author

I am Doris, a travel coach and mum of three, originally from South Tyrol in Northern Italy. As a digital nomad I have travelled to close to 80 countries in the past 25 years both for leisure and on business as a translator, project manager and then global talent director, first solo, then with my Spanish partner and now with our children.

This passion for DIY travelling also sees us moving countries every few years to slow-travel at a deeper level, currently we are exploring the beautiful Swiss canton of Ticino.

As a multilingual travel coach it is my mission to inspire and guide others to find their own authentic way of travelling. To help them overcome their fears and limiting beliefs to discover beauty in nature, in people and in all the wonderful places on this globe by mindfully exploring the unknown through all senses.