Unmissable travel trends of the decade

The last decade set quite some trends for the industry with terms that included Flight Shaming, Dark Tourism, Overtourism and more. Here is a lowdown on all that happened in the travel world over the past decade, the good, the tragic and the bad.

While Facebook was around for quite some time, October 2010 ushered in the age of visuals with Instagram. Travel, unwaveringly, turned out to be the most popular content genre with the coming of Instagram. So much so that the last five years saw the rise of Instagram travel influencers. Nonetheless, it also led to some popular sights becoming insanely famous. Also, there were those fake photos ops that seemed too good to be true.

Anthony Bourdain was loving referred to as Travel Chef; his demise in 2018 left the travel industry bleaker for he was a man who loved his work. A chef, author, and traveller, Anthony Bourdain mobilised masses towards enriching travels way before social media existed.

One of the better travel trends of the decade, sustainable travel became quite a trend for the decade, and aptly so. In fact, social media influencers took the lead on sustainable travel, making the masses aware of such practices. In fact, things such as flight shaming came to the fore, and efforts were made to curb CO2 emissions while travelling.

Apart from the fire at the Notre Dame, these fires also left the world and the travel industry fuming was the burning of the Amazon rainforests. 2019 saw fires all over the Amazon basin, the worst fire outbreak of the decade. Hailed as the world’s most biodiverse rainforests, they burned at an unprecedented rate.

Dark Tourism became a legit term in this decade, with tourists flocking to sites that included cemeteries, Chernobyl, Auschwitz concentration camps, Cambodia’s killing fields, Hiroshima and more. We hope that cues were taken from all of these places, with the resolve to not have history repeat itself.

The pressure of overtourism became evident all across the world as famous destinations cowered under the heavy footfall of tourists. From the Faroe Islands to Venice to Machu Pichu to Barcelona and the Vatican, pleas were made and bans were imposed to curb the number of travellers and the unethical practices of mass tourism.

Read more: Places threatened by overtourism

The world, along with travel aficionados, woke to a dreary on the morning of April 15 this year, as Notre Dame burned. The visuals of its massive spire biting dust left many teary-eyed even as firemen fought the devastating fire for hours. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to restore the historic cathedral by 2024 as support poured in from around the world.