When the ball drops in Times Square, the new year will begin a new
decade. But some travel trends from 2009 will be sticking around. So
what travel trends should a savvy traveler be aware of in 2010?
1. More creative travel. Whenever gas prices soar and consumer
budgets tighten, travelers get creative. Home exchanges are one of many
creative vacation options that are here to stay. A home exchange program
is where two members who are interested in visiting each others’ areas
get to know one another enough to literally exchange homes. A family in
Germany may live in the home of a family from New York while that family
is visiting their exchange partner’s home in Germany.
Other travelers prefer to spend their vacation serving others.
Whether they are involved in teaching English or working disaster
relief, more people are looking for purpose in their vacation. In fact
trends in creative vacations all offer more than just cost savings. They
offer new friendships and good feelings with less tourist trappings.
2. More competition for travel dollars. As vacationers get creative,
competition in the travel industry heats up. Many luxury hotels in
popular tourist destinations will continue to offer incentives of all
kinds in an attempt to lure vacationers. Some small business have found
paying cruise liner prices for business conferences to be more
economical than renting hotel space. And the deals aren’t likely to go
away soon.
3. Increasing demand by foreign governments for documentation of
travel health insurance. In 2009, many countries, especially those with a
government health care plan, began tightening their health insurance
requirements for visitors to their country. And such pressure for proof
of international health insurance is only like to increase in the new
year.
Incidents in which a foreign citizen becomes unexpectedly stuck in
their country without proper treatment or a way to return home creates
an uncomfortable international situation for many first world countries
especially. Business people who need semi-permanent visas are especially
encouraged to research any new regulations for the country they plan to
do business in. This should be done in plenty of time to procure needed
documents.
4. International travel and health insurance not affected by possible
healthcare bill passage. Although it seems any official passage of a
healthcare bill will wait for the new year, the results are not likely
to change the need of travelers for international health insurance.
Medicare currently doesn’t currently cover overseas services, and many
private insurance plans gave similar restrictions. Even plans that do
cover medical services rendered outside of the country, do not cover
medical evacuation back to the US. In a true overseas emergency, these
are always big concerns for travelers.
5. Terrorism travel concerns. Unfortunately, terrorism is not taking a
vacation. The effects of terrorism will be felt in everything from
heightened air travel security to hotel bombings to interrupted flights.
International flights to and from the US are the most likely to be
affected. The use of full body scanners are likely to raise the privacy
concerns of disabled persons and certain religious groups. Longer lines
and travel delays are inevitable along with quickly changing
regulations. Make sure to keep up on the latest travel regulations just
before your flight and know what your travel insurance will cover in
case of a serious incident. Do not assume terrorism can’t happen to you.
On a lighter note, one travel news-maker should become less of a
concern as 2010 moves on. Not only are there vaccines available to fight
the Swine Flu pandemic, but developments have been less severe than
feared. Although the Swine Flu is still killing at risk people under the
age of fifty, the older population seems to have some immunity.
Unforeseen events could still occur, but the current 15 percent
infection rate in the US is much lower than the 50 percent infection
rate originally predicted.
So here’s wishing you a safe new year of travel.
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