We all receive many e-newsletters (like this one!), and as a researcher maybe even more than most! While I quickly browse some, one caught my eye as I love future trends, which engage me and hopefully help our TAG clients better understand the world and what may – could be - in store, or not at all!
The title, The Future 100 – Trends and Changes to Watch in 2024, by VML Intelligence, looked intriguing. The report is 250 pages long, covering eight major sectors, including travel, food, tech, retail, brands, luxury, culture, and beauty (products), which are interrelated and applicable to those working to attract visitors.
For travel, the key trends include transcendent travel, immersive theme parks and experiences, forage tourism, neuroinclusive travel, and analog travel. Additionally, it cites the rising effort to get people off the grid and truly “be there now” to enjoy and benefit from nature.
Experts in each of the eight sectors reflected on two questions. The first question was, "What is one thing you are looking forward to in 2024?” For travel, Tom Merchant of Black Tomato noted the “pursuit of finding silence.” Travel offers the antidote and opportunity to escape the noisy world around us daily, to find the quiet and calm, both natural and environmental.
For the second question, focused on the single biggest change over the past ten years, he offered it has been the “evolution in the recognition that creating sustainable and regenerative travel experiences is crucially important, not only for clients but also for communities around the world.”
Clearly, these two overarching trends are connected, as travel offers the serenity we all need in natural and sustainable environments for both the present and future.
These sentiments are reflected in Peach Fuzz, the soft, dewy, and comforting shade selected as Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year. The hue centers around humanity, growth, and peace during instability. “[It] inspires recalibration and an opportunity for nurturing, conjuring up an air of calm, offering us a space to be, feel, and heal, and to flourish from whether spending time with others or taking the time to enjoy a moment by ourselves,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. There is a feeling of “tenderness” and a message of caring and sharing. People are at the heart of the 2024 color.
This report is impressive in its scope and contains intriguing and informative nuggets useful to spurring our imaginations, being proactive, looking ahead, and better understanding what travelers seek going forward. It’s worth a read and discussing further!
VML is a global creative company offering integrated online and offline advertising, business consulting and software application services. The VML annual study has been conducted for the past ten years, and the trends are based on a survey conducted in fall 2023 among 9,000 respondents from nine countries. VML report aims to inspire brands and individuals by connecting with cultural trends and consumer expectations for an innovative future. Source: https://www.vml.com/insight/the-future-100-2024