How On Trend are your Travel Plans?

Posted on 08/07/2016

The results of a recent study have revealed the luxury fantasy destinations and travel bucket list experiences of 2016. Are your travel dreams on the list?

If you're hoping or planning to go 'Down Under' this year, you've tapped into the latest travel trends. Australia tops the list of destinations for the upscale traveler, followed by another perennial favorite Italy, romantic Fiji, and historic Greece. Australia's next door neighbor New Zealand rounds out the top five.

1. Australia

2. Italy

3. Fiji

4. Greece

5. New Zealand

6. Maldives

7. Ireland

8. South Africa

9. French Polynesia

10. Antarctica

As for styles of travel, affluent travelers still crave a beach vacation, but adventure comes in at second place, confirming increased interest in active travel experiences.

Most popular types of travel:

1. Beach

2. Adventure

3. Cultural/historical

4. Family

5. Food and wine

6. Ocean cruising

7. City

8. Experiential

9. River cruising

10. Romantic

11. Spa/wellness

12. Weekend getaways

13. Eco, sustainable travel

14. Golf

Family travel is in the top 5 styles of luxury travel in 2016, but the bucket list experience survey takes the concept even further. On that list, the multi-generation family trip that rallies grandparents, parents, teens and tots and even the singleton aunts and uncles is number one. Busy schedules and long distances are increasingly making a big group getaway extended families' top choices to see the world and reconnect at the same time.

What are the other Trips of a Lifetime on travelers' bucket lists this year?

1. Vacation with multiple generations of your family – There are more and more options making multi-generational travel easier: bigger suites and more villas to accommodate large groups.
2. Stay in a Polynesian overwater bungalow – It might be the most romantic travel fantasy out there: idyllic lagoons, coral reefs, and overwater bungalows perched above it all.
3. Italy's Amalfi Coast – An exhilarating way to explore Amalfi's iconic cliff-hugging coastline is by car, the ultimate road trip that can be sandwiched between nearby Capri and perhaps an Italian city destination.
4. The Greek Isles – Yachting between them evokes the ultimate luxury holiday, and that way you don't have to choose between the party scene on Mykonos, the romance of Santorini, or the archaeological sites on the mainland.
5. An African safari – Plan your safari for the best destination and time of year to photograph them all: elephants, lions, Cape buffalo, leopards and rhinos.
6. The Northern Lights – Late August through March, the aurora borealis are the big attraction in the northern latitudes near the Arctic Circle and North Pole.

1. The Galápagos Islands – There's nowhere else in the world where you can interact with such fearless - and famous wildlife! The Galapagos giant tortoise, sea turtles, the blue footed boobies...
2. A world cruise – It might be the ultimate luxury - time! - to take to the high seas for a few months, checking exotic global destinations off your lifetime travel list.
3. One Trip, All Continents – An ambitious quest that takes outstanding planning.
4. Highlights of Australia – Travelers can forget what an enormous place Australia is, and may only visit Sydney and the Gold Coast. But we recommend going even further afield to two islands: Tasmania for its stunning scenery and the purest air in the world, and Kangaroo Island for - you guessed it! - the wildlife.

We think they all sound pretty inspiring! And likely at least one of the trips on these lists matches your own travel dreams.

Start your Trip!