Mahlatini's Travel Trends for 2019
Travel Trends to Watch In 2019: From Culinary Experiences to Travel With a Purpose
As we reflect on another year of adventurous travellers exploring the unique wildlife, landscapes, people and places that Africa has in abundance, there are some clear trends that we predict will grow further through 2019.
Africa delivers perfectly on the special occasion travel brief – with honeymooners, bucket listers and milestoners celebrating their life’s great journeys in twosomes and as nuclear families. However, over the last few years we have seen significant growth in single-parent families, extended families and inter-generational family groups looking for authentic African and safari experiences. Different generations of the one family may be geographically dispersed and they are looking for an exclusive and intimate destination to reconnect and celebrate a number of life milestones including graduation, landmark birthdays or retirement. In South Africa, there are a number of lodges which can only be booked out exclusively; perfect for a large group to enjoy the remote bush setting, excellent game viewing and innovative cuisine. In East Africa, our extended family clients have also found Cottar’s Bush Villain the Masai Mara, Kenya to offer a superb, intimate base for exploring the area’s incredible biodiversity and classic Africa scenery. Ant’s Nest in the malaria-free Waterberg region of South Africa caters brilliantly and cost-effectively for all sizes of family groups with younger children, offering a vast array of activities including horse-riding, guided walks and kid-orientated programmes.
The emerging destinations of Zimbabwe and Rwanda are almost certain to attract even larger numbers of long-haul tourists, building on its 12% growth over the previous year. Best known for its majestic Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe has so much more to offer as an authentic, rugged destination delivering superb game viewing in the care of some of the most respected guides in the business. Wilderness Safari’s brand new Chikwenya camp opens fully for business in 2019 and its remoteness is the perfect spot for a digital detox. The camp is set in a valley overlooking the Zambezi river and the game comes to you – elephants wander by and hippos wallow just metres away. Rwanda is the ultimate ‘off the beaten track’ experience guaranteed to bring out the adventurer in you. In November 2018, the mountain gorillas were reclassified from Critically Endangered to Endangered. That welcome news has not influenced the increasing requests from clients seeking that once-in-a-lifetime experience to personally encounter the gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. As well as the established options such as Bisate, a number of high-end properties, including The One and Only, open in 2019, ensuring luxury need not be compromised for this exclusive experience.
To plan your unique 2019 African adventure, contact our travel experts on +44 (0)28 9073 6050 or visit www.mahlatini.com.
Full article can be found online at - https://www.mahlatini.com/travel-trends/