Why will it matter in 2024? In 2022, the UK marine ecology charity Reef-World Foundation found that 95% of divers want to book sustainable operators but struggle to do so. In response, the Professional Diving Instructors Association (Padi), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and Reef-World itself, launched Eco Centre Certification for World Earth Day 2023 (April 22nd). The steps required to achieve this green status are very rigorous, including sharing evidence of conservation activities and actually reducing your environmental footprint, so Padi is advising operators to take at least 12 months to meet the criteria, leading up to Earth Day 2024. Initially with just 11 locations around the world, it has now grown to 100, and Padi has set a target of reaching 660 locations, one in ten of its members, by 2030. “Southeast Asia now has the highest density (over 20), tied with the Caribbean, so what does that mean for divers and diver travel? “The types of conservation work undertaken and reported on vary by ecocenter,” Andersen explains. “Centers in the Caribbean offer coral replanting programs that are important for shoreline regeneration, while in Baja, Mexico, we’re developing citizen science courses and collecting data on whale conservation.” There are also several new PADI courses being launched that divers anywhere can take, including the Global Shark and Ray Survey, which will be held in August 2024, and the Coral Reef Conservation Specialization course, which will resume by December. Becky Lucas
3. Home swapping
What’s the trend? More discerning travelers are looking to stay abroad for longer periods, while the rise of remote work after the pandemic makes working and living abroad more attractive than ever. The problem? You’ll have to pay high accommodation fees on top of that. That’s where home swapping comes in: it’s the perfect solution to secure a (free) home abroad while offering up your own for a few weeks or months at a time.
Why it matters in 2024? As the cost of vacations continues to rise, home swapping is an affordable alternative to spending big bucks on pricey hotels and Airbnb. While the concepts of couch surfing and house exchange have been around for decades, several sleek new platforms are redefining what home swapping is today. Twin City, which operates in far-flung cities such as Lisbon and Los Angeles, has curated a community of more than 1,100 handpicked users in just eight months. For a yearly subscription fee of £150, members can find Twins to connect with through the platform and are encouraged to exchange local recommendations of their cities and homes, so members feel like they are swapping with trusted friends rather than strangers. Meanwhile, Kindred, a home swapping platform where members earn credits for every night they swap homes, has raised $15 million in funding this year to expand across the US and Europe, and now has more than 10,000 homes in more than 50 cities. Members only pay a cleaning and service fee for each stay, and the stay itself is free.Or, skip the membership fee entirely and head straight to TikTok, where Gen Z appears to be spearheading the home-swapping movement on social media. The trending tags “#houseswap” and “#homeswap,” inspired by the cult film “The Holiday,” have garnered more than 23 million and 20 million views, respectively, with users turning to the platform as a way to advertise their homes, find like-minded peers to swap with, and document their adventures along the way. Gina Jackson
4. Stations are new gourmet hotspots
What’s the trend? Train stations around the world are typically built for the purpose of getting through as quickly as possible, and not designed for commuters to stay and spend time there. Today, with travel delays on the rise and visitors looking for more local experiences, it’s beneficial for train stations to welcome travellers and feature shops, restaurants and bars for them to explore. To create a more dynamic visitor experience, historic train stations are being renovated, with bespoke food and beverage offerings becoming an integral part of the redesign.
