(13 September): These are the trends that caught our eye this week:

Northern Lights and the Siberian Railway: the ultimate over-55s must-visit list

According to Riviera Travel, 62% of over-55s have a travel bucket list and, contrary to the popular belief that travelling is something to do when we’re young, 72% of respondents think the best time to take off is in fact over the age of 55. The top three experiences that Brits aged over-55 would like to tick off are seeing the Northern Lights, riding the Glacier Express and going wine tasting. As for the most popular locations among this age group, the top three destinations are the Niagara Falls, Petra and Machu Picchu.

https://www.rivieratravel.co.uk/blog/2019/08/28/ultimate-must-see-list-over-55/

International tourism up 4% in first half of 2019

The latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer reveals that destinations worldwide received 671 million international tourist arrivals between January and June 2019, almost 30 million more than during the same period of 2018 — a continuation of the growth recorded last year. So far, the drivers of these results have been a strong economy, affordable air travel, increased air connectivity and enhanced visa facilitation. However, weaker economic indicators, prolonged uncertainty about Brexit, trade and technological tensions and rising geopolitical challenges have also started to take a toll on business and consumer confidence, as reflected in a more cautious UNWTO Confidence Index.

https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/international-tourism-up-4-in-first-half-of-2019-unwto-reports

How travellers book accommodation

Agenda.Video, the first internet video production company for hotels, has looked into how today’s travellers book accommodation. The survey highlights that 75% of respondents now book hotels online — with 40% turning to booking.com, 20% trusting hotels.com, 12% using other aggregator sites and 21% going directly on the hotel website. Interestingly, while for 70% of travellers the location of accommodations is very important, 30% of respondents would consider a different location if they found a hotel that meets their other requirements. The findings also reveal that 20% of people are no longer interested in text descriptions of hotels, preferring instead to get information from visual sources.

https://agenda.video/blog/how-travellers-book-their-accommodation-today/