What do travelers want from their travels these days?

Travel providers are seeing demand for the following:

Many travelers today are looking for authentic travel? What is causing this desire for authenticity? What is authentic travel? Could it actually exist in our increasingly “packaged” world?

A new study coming out of Europe revealed a shift in consumer consciousness that is changing travel! People want their travel to be meaningful, feel good and have some impact in the world — not just for escapism or indulgences. So it’s no surprise that travel philanthropy and voluntourism are booming.

After a year of staycation or traveling close-to-home, travel providers are seeing a resurgence of international travel bookings for 2010. This means that U.S. travelers are feeling more comfortable with their job and economic situations. They are overcoming doubts about the economy as shown by their willingness to invest in travel, leave the office for longer periods, access discretionary funds, etc. At the very least these booking gains indicate their belief that things are stabilizing and that an economic turnaround is in progress.
“Travel is the ultimate barometer of consumer confidence,” …

There has been considerable excitement (and press) about green travel certification initiatives. Everyone agrees that sustainable practices in tourism is important and good. But plenty of questions still need to be answered about global sustainability criteria, application and monitoring standards. Meanwhile, everyday more green travel products are being offered to travelers. Often, travelers buy travel offerings based on “good faith” because they have no way to evaluate providers’ green initiatives.
There has been efforts to develop a Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, but Professor Harold Goodwin of the International Center for …

The explosive growth of social media in the past year has changed the way many of us do things like shop, get our news, get deals or simply engage with an expanding circle of people like never before.

A recent travelhorizons survey of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted by Ypartnership and the U.S. Travel Association revealed the following:

The growing popularity of “slum tours” has prompted media coverage and debates.  We did a post, “Poverty Tours: Good or Bad?” exploring some of the questions last July.
Topics about the poor or disadvantaged in relations to the wealthy and advantaged often trigger heated opinions. Debate is good because it brings issues to the forefront and is productive if the underlying desire is for betterment rather than being right.
Critics of slum tours have long argued that tourists visiting the slums exploit and violate the dignity of slum dwellers. While supporters of …