The year of 'slow' travel and 'coolcations'

As another travel year draws to a close, several trends have come to define how people are choosing to explore the world, chief among them a growing embrace of "slow travel" and the rise of the "coolcation" — a holiday chosen for its cooler climate.

The coolcation reflects a direct response to a warming world. As summers grow hotter and heat waves scorch traditional Mediterranean hotspots, more travellers are heading north and to higher altitudes in search of comfortable temperatures, boosting destinations in Scandinavia, the Baltics, the British Isles and the mountains.

Slow travel, meanwhile, continues to gain ground as a reaction against the frantic, box-ticking style of tourism that tries to cram a dozen cities into a week. Its adherents stay longer in fewer places, favour trains over planes, rent apartments rather than hotels, and seek to live briefly like a local rather than rush between sights.

Other currents are shaping the year: a hunger for authentic, less-crowded destinations as travellers seek to avoid overtourism; a growing interest in trips organised around food, wellness or specific passions; and an ongoing shift toward more mindful, lower-impact travel.

Underlying many of these trends is a common desire: for travel that feels more meaningful and less exhausting, that treads more lightly and connects more deeply. As the world continues to grapple with the pressures of mass tourism and a changing climate, the appeal of travelling slowly, thoughtfully and perhaps a little more coolly looks set only to grow.