Best for: Personalised training plans, hyperlocal menusAddress: Colline Saint Michel, Boulevard Abel Faivre, Quartier de Gigaro, 83420 La Croix-Valmer, France Set in the rural town of La Croix-Valmer in Provence amid umbrella pines and fragrant shrubs, 38-room hotel Lily of the Valley is the epitome of French Riviera chic – picture rooms finished with abstract rugs,…
Cutting-edge fitness facilities, nutritionist-approved menus and specialist spas: we spotlight the best fitness retreats that prioritise health and offer personalised experiences Fitness retreats have evolved from bootcamp workouts to immersive experiences in state-of-the-art spaces, resulting in a boom in travellers seeking escapes where they can nurture their physical and mental health. Research carried out by Expedia in…
In 2023 Amsterdam launched a high-profile ‘stay away’ campaign – hard-hitting digital ads targeted at anyone searching for its brothels, cannabis cafes or strip clubs, aimed at putting off hedonistic weekenders. This year it turned its sights on cruise passengers – who typically arrive in their thousands on polluting mega-boats and stay for only a few hours…
Demanding that tourists book seven years in advance is eye-catching, if perhaps impractical – a radical solution to a growing issue. You could define the problem as ‘too many tourists’, or ‘the wrong type of tourists’, and the effects are evident. Last year, 960 million people took a holiday. The UN estimates tourism will produce 5.3…
From tourist taxes, stay-away campaigns and hotel-building bans to holistic notions of regenerative travel, we investigate a range of overtourism solutions aiming to redress the relationship between visitor and visited As the fifth most visited country in the world, Italy has its fair share of attractions. From the rolling Tuscan hills to the white beaches of Sardinia,…
Michael Parker, co-founder of ROADBOOK Forecasting from recent growth, accessible tourism will be worth more than 100 billion USD by 2027. Depending on definition, different authorities corroborate that people with physical, mental or sensory accessibility needs are between 15 and 30 per cent of all people. Ageing populations are a multiplying factor on demand for…
Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA at Intrepid Travel The extreme weather in Europe this summer is a stark reminder that climate change is here, it’s happening, and it’s changing the way we travel. With temperatures getting more extreme in the high summer, Intrepid Travel is expecting shoulder season travel to grow in popularity in 2024….
Avi Brosh, founder of Palisociety Following several years of contactless hospitality and the related trends – front desk substitutes at hotels, QR code menus – we are seeing an ever-growing appreciation for the opposite: tactile moments made to surprise and delight have taken centre stage in our design and amenities, and we predict that this…
Stuart McDonald, Travelfish The myth that sustainable tourism must carry a premium price tag should be dismissed. Budget travel should receive the acknowledgement it deserves from both the industry and from destinations as a whole that it is the most sustainable and lowest impact form of inbound tourism, and the least prone to economic leakages…
Lily Girma, travel journalist Few of us could have predicted a war in the Middle East less than two years after the restart of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Coupled with the soaring cost of travel and inflation, it’s likely more travellers will choose to prioritise trips that are closer to home. That doesn’t mean they’re sacrificing…