It was the year that Iran became a surprise best-seller for Tailor-madeadventures.com, with an 80% increase in enquiries; a year that Dragoman pioneered the first ever overland trips to Burma and Bhutan and that Burma continued to be the hottest destination on the planet for Imaginative Traveller, outperforming every one of the 65 destination the company offered. 2014 was also the year that the Ebola outbreak put a stop to West African travel, that Morocco and Jordan 'mopped up the Middle East', with travellers transferring their affections to these safer, more stable neighbouring destinations and that the 'snap gap' officially eclipsed the 'gap year' for the first time in Dragoman's 33 year history. Whilst 2014 has been a year of 'firsts', what does 2015 hold?

OUR PREDICTIONS FOR 2015

The Rainbow Mountains go Mainstream

Despite UNESCO listing them a new World Heritage Site, Chinese tourists have had the Rainbow Mountains to themselves - until now. Located in the Danxia scenic area of Gansu Province, Western China, the Rainbow Mountains have wowed domestic tourists with candy striped rock formations, sandstone that's been eroded and appears blue, yellow, orange and red. The mountains are, however, notoriously hard to get to but, thanks to Dragoman's fleet of bespoke 4WD overland vehicles, the 'Grand Canyon of China' is now accessible to western tourists, too, with all of the 71 Dragoman trips which pass through Kashgar, Western China, stopping there, the shortest being the 22 day Kashgar - Xi'an trip, from £1,340 per person, kitty from US$600 (£378).

New direct flight routes boost travel to Vietnam, Indonesia and more

Vietnam Air's direct flight from Gatwick to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh and Garuda's launch of direct flights from Gatwick to Jakarta has simultaneously cut flight times and increased tour operator bookings. As a consequence, Imaginative Traveller have increased their offerings to both, adding a 15 day Volcanoes and Temples of Indonesia, from £1199 per person to its 6 strong Indonesian adventure portfolio and Cycle Vietnam (£1179 per person for 14 days) and Vietnam Real Food Adventure (£1125 for 12 days) to its 11 strong, exclusively Vietnam adventure portfolio. Vietnam remains one of South East Asia's best-value destinations. From May 2015, British Airways is introducing a direct flight to Split, great news for families booking the 8 day Croatian River Adventure from £895 per person.

Double-dip holidays increase in popularity

Why just visit one destination when you can double - or even triple - dip, i.e. holiday in more than one location?  Savvy travellers wanting to get more bang for their buck are increasingly booking a multi-location holiday - and operators and travel companies are having to respond. Tailor-madeadventures.com have just launched its 'Bali and Borneo' two week trip, mixing a week of R& R on Bali's beaches with a week of active adventure in Borneo. Better still, the two locations are the only ones that don't experience the monsoon, so can accommodate year-round travel. Price from £1,825 per person based on 2 people travelling.  Whilst Imaginative Traveller and Dragoman have always included multi-location destinations, they cite the following as their most popular: Dragoman's 16 day Kathmandu to Delhi trip (price from £922 per person), Imaginative Traveller's Classic Cambodia & Vietnam trip, 20 days from £1890 per person or Best of Guatemala & Mexico, 13 days from £735 per person.

Namibia, Morocco and Oman steal the show in Africa

2015 is the year that Namibia celebrates its 25th anniversary of independence but to be fair, its star has continued to rise dramatically in recent years. An environmental success story (it's the first African country to include protection of the environment in its constitution), but also a tourism success story, with local communities and developers capitalising on the influx of visitors. This year, Imaginative Traveller is including a trip that bridges the gap between camping and high-end luxury with Discover Namibia - Lodges, 13 days from £2,499, comfortable yet affordable lodge-stay accommodation to its portfolio. Morocco's popularity, too, will continue to soar during 2015 due to the introduction of budget flights from Europe and a much wider tourist offering, from budget to comfort and style. With family, trekking, cultural and, new for 2015, culinary, with the inclusion of a  Morocco Real Food Adventure , £725 for 11 days, Imaginative Traveller cater for every kind of tourist with their 10 trip strong portfolio. The newest kid on the African block, though, is Oman a.k.a. 'The Morocco of the Middle East'. Safe yet mysterious, unspoilt and welcoming, Tailor-madeadventures.com have introduced a new trip there which, rather than fly between the north and southern Dhofar region like other trips on the market, takes an overland route visiting remote and little-visited coastlines, towns and villages that have until now received almost no Western vistors.  The 2 week long 'Arabian Explorer' trip costs from £3,280 per person.

Brazil gets Bumped

Brazil was THE must-visit southern hemisphere destination of 2014 when the World Cup put it firmly on the tourist map. The World Cup wasn't such a PR coup domestically, though, with many locals angered that its government wasn't spending the money on improving infrastructure and their day-to-day life, precipitating well-documented social unrest. It's expensive, too, despite a stronger pound and whilst the World Cup might have been worth shelling out for, we think travellers in 2015 will prefer the better value destinations like Bolivia and Ecuador. Colombia will also enjoy a boost thanks to greater accessibility, the destination already enjoying direct flights from Heathrow to Bogota since July (Avianca) and, from March 2015, from KLM, too.  Dragoman's 19 day Cartagena to Quito trip (from £1,324 per person) takes in Colombia and Ecuador, by-passing the capital, Bogota in preference for the San Bernardo islands, a stay in a coffee plantation, hopping on a disco bus in Cali and stopping off at the jaw-dropping, 'Lord of the Rings-esque' Santuario La Lajas on the outskirts of Ipiales.

Ends

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1981, Dragoman is the world's leading overland specialist, offering 320 trips to 55 countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa. Under the Dragoman Overseas Travel Ltd umbrella, it also operates Imaginative Traveller, the 23 year-old small group adventure specialist, which offers 165 trips to over 60 countries, and the bespoke travel arm, Tailor-madeadventures.com