Travel Trends for 2022 — Byway Travel (2024)

Since founding Byway as lockdown descended, we’ve been building our business at the forefront of the changing face of travel. We’ve been lucky enough to have been very close to our customers via our in-trip WhatsApp groups, and to have learnt a huge amount from them, the trendsetters and early adopters of slow travel.

Here are our predictions for what’s to come, based on everything we’ve learnt from our customers and everything we’ve seen in the wider world. At the core of our expectations are a slower pace of travel, with dynamic journeys and stop-offs along the way: cue lesser known, up-and-coming locations, along with a revival of old favourites making a comeback. Enjoy!

Cat, Founder of Byway

Slowing it down

With the return of travel after years of restrictions, holidaymakers want to make the most of every second they’re away. This, coupled with the fact that the pandemic has made 61% of travellers want to travel more sustainably, signals a shift in the ways people will travel in the future.

“We’ve seen a 600% increase in the number of people taking our slow travel holidays since April. Our customers are citing the desire for travel experiences that allow them to savour each moment, pausing in a variety of places to connect with local cultures and ecosystems for high quality, authentic and sustainable experiences. There are noticeable parallels with the slow food movement. Slow travel is already taking off, and we expect the acceleration of the slow travel movement to be one of the defining trends of 2022.”

- Cat Jones, Founder of Byway

Loving the journey as part of the holiday

Flustered, stressful travel is a thing of the past. Post-lockdown, holidaymakers are looking for the most relaxing experience possible - which includes making the journey itself a highlight. While we offer Byway holidays with varying numbers of stops en route, from one or two up to tens for long trips, 85% of Byway holidays sold comprise three or more stops.

We can expect to see a strong acceleration of multi-stop trips, unique transport experiences, and routes that prioritise beauty over speed. Along with multi-stop, enriching the travel experience with upgrades like a first class Interrail pass; a seat in the Pullman Dining Carriage for fine dining; or a journey in recently-launched vintage carriage designed by iconic film director, Wes Anderson, will become the norm.

Contactless transit is taps in

The advancement of contactless technology will see significantly more seamless transit for holidaymakers, particularly those opting to travel by rail. 65% of people prefer to use contactless, and people will gravitate towards modes of transport that enable them to tap in and out as and when they please.

With Visa rolling out widespread contactless payment for public transport across over 500 cities, and the UK government investing £360 million to launch contactless ticketing in the North and the Midlands, we can look forward to increasingly efficient and accessible transport across the UK and Europe.

The sleeper train renaissance

The nostalgic allure of the sleeper train is making a monumental comeback. 2022 will propel this revival, and see more travellers than ever rediscovering the night-time glamour of the sleeper train.

30% of Byway adventurers have already chosen to incorporate sleeper trains into their holidays, and with the reopening of European borders this is set only to increase. Between 2021 and 2022, at least six new sleeper train routes will launch with an ever-expanding number of city destinations, allowing travellers to venture further afield than ever, in style, and without setting foot on a plane. In the not-too-distant future, promising start-up Midnight Trains are on track to launch an impressive network of ‘hotel on rails’ sleeper trains between over 10 destinations, from Copenhagen to Madrid.

Embracing uncertainty

After a year of holiday cancellations and set-backs, the need to embrace uncertainty is undeniable. Rather than resisting, holiday makers are looking to embrace uncertainty and enjoy the spontaneity of their travels.

Be it Covid restrictions, the weather, or a serendipitous discovery of the perfect wild swimming spot, flexibility is going to be a high priority throughout 2022. Similarly, more people will ‘wait and see’, and book holidays at the last minute, and all of a sudden. 50% of Byway customers book less than two months before travelling, and 25% less than one month ahead. Travel experiences that can accommodate last-minute bookings and changes up to the very last minute are going to gain market share in 2022.

Off-grid stays

With the rise of working from home, zoom fatigue has heightened the interest ‘going off-grid’ next year. 2022 will see more people taking to rural locations for a total break from work and connectivity, opting for small yet perfectly formed unique stays like yurts, bothies, eco-pods and huts. Perhaps one of the most frequently associated areas with the ‘off-grid’ movement is the Scottish Highlands, and the remote Isle of Iona will be a top choice in 2022. With total submersion in the surrounding landscape, minimal amenities have never felt more enticing.

Sustainable shopping neighbourhoods

With growing awareness of the adverse impacts of fast fashion, second hand shopping is on the up. Shopping-savvy holiday makers will skip Milan and head to the arty, second-hand scene of Bilbao. With an average of five vintage shops per square mile within Bilbao’s urban centre, the indie economy is set to boom thanks to holidaymakers looking for the perfect vintage wardrobe staple.

Regenerative tourism in Hauts-de-France

As Covid saw increased public support for local businesses, travel in 2022 will see an extension of this, with more holiday-goers keen to support areas in need of tourism. With a legacy of industrial decline and unemployment, many areas within the Hauts-de-France region are investing in tourism infrastructure, to create a tourism revival in some of France’s most underrated cities. Lille in particular, with its trendy neighbourhoods, Flemish architecture and vibrant nightlife, is set to be a rising star for regenerative tourism in 2022.

Alassio’s comeback

Once an overly touristy resort, Alassio has made a more understated comeback as a significantly lesser-visited part of the Mediterranean. 2022 will see holidaymakers looking to rediscover the vast sandy beaches and glistening waters, keen to experience the renewed tranquility of this laid-back coastal town. Byway traveller Alex cited Alassio as one of his favourite stops on his Mediterranean adventure in the Autumn of 2021, and with more people looking to escape to the Med’s lesser known spots, Alassio will rise again.

Wild swimming spots

Commencing over lockdown, the surge in popularity of open-water swimming shows no signs of ceasing. Between 2019 and 2021, Google saw a 118% rise in search popularity for ‘wild swimming’, and with increasing awareness of its health benefits, people are still itching to take the plunge. 2022 will see more people routing their holidays around the wildest swimming spots, with some favourites including the Llynnau Mymbyr lakes in Snowdonia, Fairy Pools in the Isle of Skye and the Cascades de Purcaraccia in Corsica.

Overland over sky

Low-carbon, efficient and increasingly glamorous, 2022 is set to be the year of the train. With trends such as #trainwindow taking on #planewindow on social media with over 32,000 posts on Instagram, the appeal of rail travel will become increasingly felt by holidaymakers looking to avoid both the stress and carbon footprint of flying.

Growing awareness of the environmental impact of flights can be seen to be a significant driver of this public shift, and given the urgency of the climate crisis and that taking the train from London to Paris emits 93% less CO2 than flying, this is a much welcomed transition for our planet.

Personalised concierge

In tandem with holidaymakers’ desire for increased flexibility and spontaneity, the value of personalised concierge and on-going support for when plans change is going to be highly valued by travellers throughout 2022.

Recent developments in AI within this space raise important implications, yet in light of a year of limited human interaction, customers are craving more personal, human experiences of concierge. While AI-enhanced machines might be faster and more efficient, they cannot take into account the interplay of logical decision making with human emotion. When a weary traveller misses their train, what they want most is a genuine, understanding presence at the end of the phone, to gently reassure them that the next train is, indeed, on its way.

Carbon labelleling

With growing concern over the ensuing climate crisis, customers are looking to better understand the cost of their journey to the environment. With big brands including Unilever and Klarna set to introduce carbon cost labels across their products and services, as we will also do at Byway in 2022, the precedent will be established for travel to follow suit. However, with the substantially higher digits destined for aviation-based tourism, we might just see carbon-labelling as the cue for even greater uptake of flight-free, sustainable travel.

At Byway, we are excited to not only pioneer sustainable travel, but to provide customers with greater transparency on the carbon impact of their trip.

Subsidised rail (not flights)

Currently, the aviation industry receives £7 billion per year in subsidies in the UK, while train prices remain a significant barrier for many in opting for flight-free alternatives. In order to make the required impact on emissions, we need to see these subsidies being divested into train travel. With greater unity and mobilisation of the tourism industry as seen in the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unveiled at COP26, it is our hope that climate action in travel comes into its own in 2022, including - but by no means limited to - the subsidisation of flight-free travel. With more affordable train prices, we hope that 2022 will be the year to make sustainable travel viable for more people.

More accessible travel

From accessible digital booking systems to improved infrastructure, the push for greater accessibility is changing the transport industry for the better. TfL have increased the number of tube stations with step free access by 28% since 2019, with targets to increase this to 40% by 2022. In addition, the need for centring disabled voices to shape the future of transport is being recognised by initiatives such as TfL’s public consultation programme, to help identify the most impactful design alterations to improve transport accessibility. All Byway itineraries come with a ‘make it accessible’ option, and we are hoping 2022 is the year accessible design takes centre stage, driving the much-needed change to create truly inclusive travel.