With the New Year fast approaching, travel enthusiasts around the world have already begun drawing up their travel plans to explore the unexplored. To make life simpler for the Indian traveller, leading travel search engine Skyscanner has revealed a list of top nine destinations that it expects will strike a chord with their travel fancies in the coming year. These hot spots range from sun-kissed islands of Taipei to mainstream, well-known destinations such as Mykonos and Colombo to the more intrepid destinations of Siem Reip.
The top nine hot spots for 2015 as predicted by Skyscanner are:
1. Taipei, Taiwan
2. Myanmar
3. Siem Reip, Cambodia
4. Seoul, South Korea
5. Iceland
6. Colombo, Sri Lanka
7. Brazil
8. Bhutan
9. Gold Coast, Australia
Commenting on the findings, Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Senior Marketing Manager at Skyscanner India said, “Over the years, Indians have become more experimental with their travel. While beaches continue to be a favourite holiday destinations for them we know that many travellers like to be more exploratory in their travel options and seek destinations that are not mainstream, yet intriguing at the same time. With Skyscanner’s Best Time to Book feature, travellers will be able to book flights at the best price to these trending destinations.”
Sun-kissed destinations
To ensure their share of the sun, and experience the far away shores, Indians are expected to head to the beaches of Myanmar, Colombo and Taipei in 2015. Rising as a luxury shopping Mecca, Taipei is the top searched destination by Indians with 85% increase in flight searches. It is definite to climb back on the international travel radar next year as a five star destination for a sophisticated luxury crowd, owning to its beaches backed by lagoons. With amazing cuisine, beautiful beaches, luxury hotels and ongoing restoration of its colonial architecture, Colombo has witnessed a growth of 67% in flight searches by Indian travellers.
Along a 2,000 km of sandy coastline, the beaches of Myanmar are unspoiled and undiscovered. A rush of luxury hotel openings, major improvements in air and road, and internet connectivity are transforming Myanmar’s unspoilt culture and heritage into one of the most sought-after destinations on the planet.
Increasing spirit of exploration
A visit to Siem Reap, Seoul, Bhutan and Brazil in 2015 is a must on the bucket list for travellers who have an urge to visit unexplored destinations. A combination of pulse-raising luxury adventure opportunities and exploring the flora and fauna of Bhutan’s jungle-covered central region is making Bhutan one of the world’s hot travel destinations in 2015, which is clearly visible through the 40% jump in searches for Bhutan as a destination to travel. For the eco-travellers, a new set of environmental destinations are opening up in Brazil. Favela hill-side tours in Rio or trekking deep into the Pantanal area of wetlands in the south – a veritable feast of biodiversity to rival the Amazon rain forest – are appearing on traveller radars.
With a string of luxury hotel openings, an exciting airport expansion, and a far-sighted plan to safeguard the world famous 12th century Angkor Wat temple, Siam Reap will emerge as one of the hottest tourist tickets on the planet in 2015 as the year 2014 itself saw a 48% increase in searches from India. Joining the league of hottest destination for 2015, Seoul has recorded an increase of 44% from Indian travellers. Its Lotte Duty Free, the fourth largest duty free in the world, will also make it a bit hit for shopaholics.
For the Paparazzi enthusiasts
All set to host the 2018 Commonwealth games, Gold Coast is also popping up on the travel radar of global travellers and hipsters as a backdrop to a host of major Hollywood and Bollywood movies. It has seen a boost in its hot destination status in 2015 with a rise of 77% in flight searches from India.
Featuring some of the world’s most active volcanoes and geo-thermal springs in Interstellar, the major 2014 Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, and HBO’s hugely successful Game of Thrones series, tourist fascination for ‘Ice and Fire’ landscape of Iceland is expected to rise in 2015. A major increase in solar activity which will make the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights – particularly spectacular and frequent in 2015 has resulted in increase of 31% in flight searches from India.
The predictions are based on the analysis of Skyscanner flight search data from the last three years, combined with qualitative research carried out by futurology companies, The Future Laboratory and Trendhunter providing additional insight on consumer trends and influences.
