The Trends That Are Driving 2014's 'Top Travel Destinations' Lists
Skift Take
Are anniversaries and events over-stressed on these lists? It’s refreshing not to see Brazil, in its World Cup, an automatic inclusion of all lists – even if it’s an understandable entry. But would anyone plan a trip to Cape Town just because it’s the World Design Capital?
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Travel content creators hope you have no idea where to go next. At least they do in December when dozens of new travel lists for the upcoming year vie for your attention -- offering advice on what places will be “hot” next year, what places offer the best value, and where you can go if you have $4,000 to toss around to stay one night on Marlon Brando’s old island.
Are they doing it right? And how do they do it?
To help the hunt, here’s a summary of trends spotted in the latest round of "where to go" travel lists from 10 travel publishers: AFAR, CNN Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Huffington Post, Lonely Planet (it has top cities, countries, regions, and U.S. destinations), National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Travel Zoo.
What Warrants a Mention?
Lists, which vary from 100-word blips to 700-word “how to” guides, rarely share how destinations are chosen. The sampled lists included 178 entries, which can be broken down into three categories.
The most popular pick for editors is a place linked to a specific event, anniversary or news-related topic, like
