Is it time to plan those big trips abroad?
Reynisfjara is a world-famous black-sand beach located on the south coast of Iceland.
Luis Cagiao Photography | Moment | Getty Images
Iceland has been a focal point of my wanderlust for the better part of two years.
The country is a dreamscape of natural beauty: the black sands of Reynisfjara, towering icebergs of the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and the steep, jagged peaks of Vestrahorn.
I was forced to shelve a meticulously planned trip there in 2020, like so many other globetrotters who set aside excursions during the Covid pandemic. Since then, I’ve wondered: When will an adventure overseas be feasible again?
Perhaps soon.
The 2022 outlook for travel abroad is rosier than ever, especially for Americans booking trips in the summer or later, according to travel experts. But they should expect to do more advance planning and remain flexible.
“Since March 2020, there hasn’t been a time as promising as it is now,” Sebastian Modak, editor-at-large of Lonely Planet and the New York Times 52 Places Traveler in 2019, said of travel overseas.
“It really comes down to the traveler’s own threshold for risk and comfort for things maybe going a little bit awry,” he added.
The year to ‘go big’
Mouhoub Madina / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images
A large share —about 37% — of U.S. travelers are planning both international and domestic trips next year, according to an upcoming Expedia report on 2022 travel trends.
After almost two years of pent-up wanderlust, more than two-thirds of American travelers plan to “go big” on their next getaway — whether that be taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip abroad or upgrading to a luxury hotel, according to the report.
Though domestic-only travel plans remain most popular, appealing to 59% of U.S. travelers, interest in overseas destinations is climbing.
G Adventures, which offers guided group trips around the world, has seen overseas bookings jump nearly 35% so far in November versus the same period in 2019. The company is seeing “big demand” for trips to Peru, Costa Rica and Morocco, according to Benjamin Perlo, the company’s U.S. managing director.
Flight searches to major European cities have also grown significantly in a short time span — by 65% from Los Angeles to London and 110% from New York to Paris, for example, between September and October, according to Expedia data.
Warm-weather hotspots close to the U.S., like the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Cana, all in Mexico, have been most popular overall for American tourists traveling in early 2022, according to Expedia.
“I think 2022 will be the year of going big and having some of those bucket-list moments,” Christie Hudson, a travel expert at Expedia, said.
‘A great tailwind’
Ruins of Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains, Peru.
Go Ga | 500px Prime | Getty Images
There are many reasons for consumer optimism. For one, Covid vaccination rates are climbing, meaning Americans can travel with a relative degree of safety.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which…
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