Want a quick snapshot of the current travel trend landscape? Well, I didn’t figure you’d be much into stodgy facts, figures, and industry profits. Don’t you really just want to know what new things people are doing related to travel? I thought so. Well, the travel train ain’t slowing down; on the contrary, though the economy has slumped the travel industry has barely skipped a beat. Go figure. Anyway, check out these little tidbits I found. Let them give you the idea for your next vast dream odyssey to go where few have gone before…! Sorry, I got a little carried away for a moment.

Vintage Train Journeys

People are warming up again to the coziness of long train treks through marvelous scenery. The Rhinegold Express and the Mahajaras Express are two of the most popular trains. The sleek classics include deluxe dining cars, glass-domed observation cars, and even sleeping quarters as they wind their way through both quaint villages and cosmopolitan areas. Though not a bed and board train, the U.S. recently earmarked $8 billion toward a high speed train in Florida.

River Cruising

River cruising is growing in popularity as more people learn of its availability. One can board a more modern boat and cruise the Rhine or the Volga. Or one can go tropical and float down the Mekong River where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. Many prefer river cruising to oceanic.

Red hot Destinations

Popular newer destinations include the Estancia Vik, Playa Vic, and Arbol Casaloft in Uruguay. Hotel Le Cordiere or StarHotel’s Savoia Excelsior Palace in the northern Italian port city, Trieste, are both wonderful. The city of Hangzhou, southwest of Shanghai, is an ancient city boasting quiet pagodas and Buddhist temples. The area is drawing some excited visitors. The Banyan Tree recently opened 72 waterfront sites there. Some are also opting for more serene waterfront hotels and B & Bs, avoiding the crazies or “party hearty” crowd.

Finding the Superior or the Unusual

Instead of cheap trinkets or commercialized junk, more people are purchasing the unusual, the exotic, the sentimental, or things the nationals value and use. Perhaps this interest has been sparked partly by the growing popularity of “Online Trunk Shows.” These shows promote quaint or rare products that may inspire wanderlust in viewers.

Social Network Travelers

Travel websites are growing. People are flocking to the internet to book travel or gain advice from travelers of forums and blogs. They can even find directions to locations when they arrive at locations in another country. Speaking of learning stuff, maybe, in spite of TV/movies, reading is coming back into vogue. Book shows and festivals are becoming increasingly popular. Two huge ones in widely disparate locations are in California this year and in South Asia.

SkyNannies

Gulf Air airline now offers on board baby sitting. So if you dread entertaining your kids for seven hours, just pay a skynanny to do it for you.

Bigger Showers/Smaller tubs

Many hotels have decided that most patrons don’t take baths in their sometimes-cramped tubs. So they’re beginning to build deluxe, spacious double showers and dispensing with the whole tub idea.

Underground Supper Clubs

More than ever, there are exclusive supper clubs worldwide in which members can indulge in dinners by the very top chefs. Another interesting tidbit: younger French chefs are finding new freedom in culinary self-expression which could revamp aspects of French cuisine. Check it out.

Virtual Travel

Crytpo-Historical video games such as Assassin’s Creed are astoundingly realistic. The creators spent millions reproducing extremely detailed and authentic simulations of Florence and Venice, Italy in the 15th Century. Travelers who have played the game and later visited the locales are caught by surprise at the similarities between the cities and the game backgrounds and landscapes.

So what’s holding you back from experiencing one of the fabulous, hip trends above. There’s got to be at least one that caught your fancy. After all, you are one of the trend-setters, aren’t you? Yep, I thought so.