STA Travel has named destinations ranging from Botswana to Turkmenistan as tourism ‘hotspots’ to watch out for in 2020.
The agency chain has based its forecasts on booking and search data from its customers, and has divided the destinations into four categories: rising in popularity; popular hotspots still getting a lot of love; ‘under the radar’ destinations worth checking out; and destinations to show some love.
Destinations to watch for 2020 are Botswana, Cambodia, Colombia, India, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa and Tanzania.
Popular hotspots still getting ‘a lot of love’ are Australia, the US, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and Japan.
‘Under the radar’ destinations that are worth visiting include Turkmenistan and the Silk Route, Georgia, South Korea and Jordan.
Destinations that it urges tourists ‘to show some love’ include Sri Lanka, Lombok and Myanmar.
Tim Fryer, UK country manager, said: “It’s great to see that our customers are not only booking ever-popular destinations such as Australia, New Zealand and Thailand but are choosing other less obvious choices such as Botswana, Colombia, Nepal and Turkmenistan.
“We have witnessed a growth of interest in experiential and wellness travel and voluntourism and animal welfare projects, and these are all continuing to rise in popularity.
“The days of fly-and-flop holidays aren’t over, but most of our customers are looking for something far more adventurous.”
The STA sale starts online on Boxing Day and in stores and by phone from December 27.
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