As experts in travel and with some 60 pairs of eyes between us, the Original Travel team can clearly see what the big trends for 2020 will be, from the year's emerging destinations to must-do activities and hottest travel trends.

Philantourism

Philanthropic tourism – or Philantourism, if you will - is the act of choosing a holiday or experience in order to support a destination. It's a natural evolution of voluntourism, but less of a commitment; you don't need to do anything after you arrive, other than enjoy the culture, buy local and put your spending money into the tourism economy.

Tom Barber, Co-founder of Original Travel, says: 'We first recognised this as a trend when Sri Lanka – which recently introduced free visas for 48 nations, including the UK - was taken back off the FCO's 'advice against travel' list following the tragic Easter bombings. Our clients were really keen to book again and we have noticed a strong sentiment, particularly among British travellers - who are a fairly hardy bunch - to support countries that are dependent on tourism and whose economies are suffering from the aftermath of terrorism or natural disasters.'

Other destinations that are seeing support from philantourists include the Northeast Coast of Japan - the area worst hit by the 2011 tsunami and where a 620-mile walking route, the Michinoku Coastal Trail, has recently opened and is encouraging visitors back to the area – and St Barts, whose hotels, including Eden Rock, are now back open for business following the devastation of Hurricane Irma and doing a roaring trade. Not exactly a hardship, we know…

Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, originaltravel.co.uk/blog/philantourism

Me-cations

Original Travel reports a growing trend of couples – particularly parents – taking me-cations and holidaying separately so they can travel outside the school holidays and enjoy a kids-free break. The trend started as special interest holidays, such as diving, skiing, fishing or golf, but now all sorts of separate holidays are becoming more commonplace, with Mum or Dad taking turns to holiday apart, either alone or with friends. This is not in lieu of a family holiday, but as well as. A chance to go somewhere that's not family-friendly, or that your other half might not have in interest in, and where one can be utterly selfish.

Tom Barber, Co-founder of Original Travel, says: 'City breaks, where one is free to shop, linger over long lunches and spend hours in museums and galleries are particularly popular for me-cations, as are walking holidays. Little legs aren't cut out for marching up hill and down dale (and teenage legs tend not to be incline inclined), but for parents, the chance to stride out at their own pace, without the need to cajole and bribe a reluctant party along is, well, bliss frankly. The fresh air and headspace are pretty conducive to coming home feeling restored and rejuvenated, too.'

Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, originaltravel.co.uk/blog/planning-a-solo-trip

Pilgrimage Travel

OK, so this is not exactly a new trend, seeing as it is probably the very first form of travel, dating back centuries, but the evolution of pilgrimages is a very hot topic in the Original Travel offices. A recent survey by Caminoways.com revealed that only 9.2 % of walkers complete the Camino de Santiago in Spain for religious reasons, whilst 27.5% do it for spiritual reasons. Couple this with the fact that 27.7% choose to walk it alone suggests that pilgrimages are more about self-reflection and enlightenment than anything else; as Hippocrates himself said 'walking is the best medicine'.

Original Travel can arrange walking trips along some of Europe's most famous pilgrimage routes, such as the classic Camino de Santiago, in the company of an expert guide who will explain the significance of the pilgrims and places, and including everything from 'champing' (sleeping in churches, as the original pilgrims would have done) to more luxurious accommodation en route.

Further afield, we can do both day walks and longer pilgrimages in spiritually fascinating places such as Ladakh in India, accompanied by a guide who will introduce you to the basic tenets of Tibetan Buddhism; or along part or all of the Kumano Kodo, the most iconic pilgrimage route in Japan and once reserved for emperors and aristocrats. There are other well-worn (literally) routes in Japan – notably the henro pilgrimage circumnavigating the island of Shikoku

Original Travel's 14-day 'Japan in Style' itinerary includes time in Kumano and costs from £10,965 per person, based on two sharing and including accommodation and return flights. 

Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, originaltravel.co.uk/itineraries/japan-in-style

DNA Tourism

DNA Tourism, whereby people travel to discover their ancestral roots, is already big business for Original Travel, particularly with our US clients for whom we handle itineraries, primarily to the UK, Ireland and Italy. We expect this to boom in 2020, which marks the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from Plymouth to Massachusetts. More than 30 million American citizens can trace their roots back to the Mayflower pilgrims and the anniversary is being billed as the 'world's biggest family reunion'.

In readiness, we have partnered with AGRA, The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives in England, and ASGRA, the Scottish equivalent, who can give access to archives and records and personally assist DNA tourists in their research to delve deeper into their family history. Once you find out your results, we're on hand to weave together a tailor-made trip of ancestral discovery.

Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, originaltravel.co.uk

Tagskryt (train-bragging)

Tagskyrt (train-bragging) looks set to replace hygge as the Swedish word to become common parlance in the English language. Tagskryt applies to those who are opting to travel by train, rather than plane, in a bid to travel cleanly and greenly. This gives a label to the unstoppable growth of train travel, which has been gathering momentum for the last few years but looks set to truly take off (as it were) in 2020. This follows huge recent investments in rail travel – including a £150 million overhaul of the Caledonian Sleeper, news that The Orient Express is to double the number of its grand suites, Austria's recently-launched and phenomenally-successful Nightjet service and the Swedish government's £4.3m pledge to research new overnight routes into Europe – plus the popularity of the TV series, Race Across the World.

In response to this growing demand, Original Travel has collated a collection of train-only itineraries for the likes of Italy, Canada and Japan, and is developing a new range of trips that are entirely train-based, starting from London St Pancras and travelling deep into Southern Europe and even Scandinavia. The first trip to launch in January 2020 is a six-night round trip from London to Gothenburg, via Amsterdam-Osnabruck-Hamburg-Copenhagen, costing from £1,960pp, based on two sharing. The price includes all transport, four nights' accommodation in Gothenburg and overnight stops each way in Copenhagen and Hamburg respectively. From Gothenburg, you can easily catch ferries to explore the surrounding archipelago, or hire a bike to explore the city, keeping your carbon emissions to an absolute minimum.

Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, originaltravel.co.uk/collections/train-travel

Undertourism

Think of over-tourism as the evil twin, forcing the likes of Dubrovnik and Santorini to cap cruise-ship arrivals, Venice to consider charging tourists an entry fee and – horror! – ruining Instagram shots. Under-tourism meanwhile is its better-looking, considerate twin. Where overtourists elbow for selfie space at honeypot destinations, undertourists break away from the masses and discover beautiful but lesser-visited places (honeynots?) that they can have all to themselves. Why visit The Beach in Thailand (which has had to close so the ecosystem can repair itself from the deluge of daytrippers) when the country is full of equally beautiful – and empty – bays? Or fight the hordes to snap a picture of Japan's cherry blossom when South Korea has equally impressive displays?

Original Travel prides itself on championing alternative destinations that offer a similar (and often, better) experience and paves the way for undertourists. And If someone really REALLY wants to go to one of the world's iconic sites, we have the local contacts and know-how to make it a more pleasurable experience, by enjoying the Taj Mahal across the river from the moonlight gardens, for example, or securing after-hours access of the likes of the Vatican and Louvre.

Original Travel, 020 3582 4990, originaltravel.co.uk/blog/undertourism-breaking-away-from-the-masses

Notes to Editors:

Original Travel specialises in bespoke, tailor-made holidays, crafted by destination experts to 77 countries worldwide from Anguilla to Zimbabwe. Since its launch in 2003, it has created 50,000 itineraries, each unique and adhering to the company ethos that “Life is in the Detail”.

Original Travel also has its own specialist dive division. Original Diving is the world's only luxury dive travel outfit and is staffed by a team that includes 1 dive instructor, 5 dive masters and a marine biologist. Having completed more than 3,000 dives in over 50 countries, equating to over 100 years' collective diving experience, the team pride themselves on their unparalleled expertise and knowledge of the best dive destinations across the globe.

Original Travel clients enjoy a wealth of additional services they wouldn't find with any other UK tour operator, including:

• Access to a network of 70-plus Concierges who live locally, know their destinations inside and out and are extremely well-connected. They lend fantastic ground support, offering insider recommendations, facilitating any last-minute changes and troubleshooting
• A brace of additional services designed to make departure easier than ever. Every Original Travel client, regardless of whether they're off on a long-weekend to Seville, or a multi-destination sabbatical, will enjoy UK airport meet and greet, fast track UK check-in, fast track UK security*, lounge access and pre-booked flight seats. A great way to start the holiday sooner
• The knowledge that not only will Original Travel offset the carbon footprint of their international flights, but also - in an industry-first - car-hire and other flights (even if booked independently)
• The knowledge that they are contributing to a Foundation, which supports nearly 100 humanitarian projects in 30 developing countries. To date, nearly £800,000 has been invested to support five key areas: child protection, vocational training, economic development assistance, preservation of cultural and natural heritage and safeguarding the lifestyles of indigenous peoples