Oakland: The New Brooklyn? Photo by lawrencegerald
The next Costa Rica, the new Brooklyn: Emerging destinations are any that are on the doorstep of greater awareness among travelers. They’re the places to go see, now.
By focusing on emerging destinations, you tap into an active audience of front-line travelers, and can establish yourself as an expert on places on the rise.
How places bubble up to ‘see now’ status varies.
Borders open, exchange rates vary, global events spotlight a gorgeous location. Keep an eye on the news cycle for happenings, and pitch travel story ideas accordingly.
In the early 2000s, three destinations emerged for different reasons:
- Argentina – A currency crisis at the turn of the century made Argentina a huge travel bargain; the strengthening of the Euro vs the dollar several years later led to more Americans heading to South America for more value travel.
- Croatia– With the end of war in the Baltics, Croatia returned to the traveler’s mindset as a jewel of the Adriatic. Miles of shoreline offered to a new audience a cut-rate Mediterranean experience for half the price of western European destinations.
- New Zealand– The land of the long white cloud benefitted greatly from an act of cinema: namely, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which showcased New Zealand’s gorgeous landscapes on screens worldwide.
In recent years, similar patterns have occurred for places like Greece (economics), Colombia (political stability) and Northern Ireland (Game of Thrones).
Another reason why places emerge is when they host a major international event, which can have a huge impact on springing destinations to the top of the “go there now” list.
Cities like London and Vancouver got tons of free global advertising thanks to their hosting of the 2012 Summer and 2010 Winter Olympic Games, respectively.
The 2010 World Cup put South Africa squarely on the international travel map.
Brazil continued its emergence as a go-to destination with the double-whammy PR impact of the 2014 World Cup, and 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
You can’t ignore the value of televised broadcasts spotlighting a destination’s culture and beauty around the world. Similarly, the movie screen can make a huge impact on a destination, by showcasing it through major international hits.
As with the Lord of the Rings showcasing New Zealand in the early 2000s, films like the Twilight series, The Da Vinci Code and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo boosted interest in destinations from the Pacific Northwest to Paris and Sweden.
Nostalgia can play a part, too.
With the frothing hype around Star Wars: The Force Awakens, destinations from Tunisia to Disneyland have a great “why now” reason to resonate with readers.
Districts and neighborhoods can emerge quickly too, and make for great new takes on evergreen destinations like Paris and San Francisco. Take a forward-looking view of your beats, and project how they may grow.
Combining Time Pegs & Emerging Destinations
In many ways, time pegs can bring together the best of travel trends, and emerging destinations. Take a look at some of today’s key stories in the travel news.
- Cuba – The reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US is the biggest change of its sort since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- Climate Change– There’s little denying weird weather patterns are here to stay; savvy travel writers can craft profound articles like “See Glacier National Park, While You Can.”
- Theme Parks and Pop Culture – Two huge new theme park developments are nearing completion in Southern California: Universal Studios Harry Potter, and Disney Star Wars Land. Two massive events – Comic-Con International and South by Southwest – are massive promotional drivers for all things in the entertainment field, and great ways to visit San Diego and Austin, respectively.
- Sharing Economy 2.0– Beyond Uber and Airbnb. travelers can tap into sharable cars, outdoor gear, land for camping and much, much more.
- Falling Price of Oil – Cheaper gas means more road trips, airlines flush with cash and more spending power for all travelers. How long will it last?
- American Urban Renaissance – City life in America is changing at a rapid pace, as young transplants flocking to beacons like San Francisco and Manhattan are pushing the population envelopes to adjacent areas like Oakland and Queens, and urban pioneers are revitalizing (gentrifying?) places like Detroit and New Orleans.
- Turbulence in the Middle East – When one area gets dangerous, others become more attractive. In the 1980s, Central America was a de facto proxy war zone. Today, Nicaragua is one of the biggest success stories in modern travel. On the flip side, and with all due caution, travel to turbulent regions is a niche in and of itself, too.
The best way for travel writers to capitalize on emerging destinations is by focusing on their core areas of topic expertise, and finding ways to attach them to the places firmly atop the contemporary “go there now” list.