Asian Travelers to Go Slow and Solo in 2020, Online Searches Reveal

A sign that 2019 is drawing to a close is a flurry of reports by online travel companies predicting 2020 consumer trends based on searches. A scan of some of these reports shows a rising demand among Asian travelers for slow travel, as well as for solo trips and “microcations,” or short frequent mini travel escapes. Asian tourists are looking a lot more private and quiet. Fear of missing out (FOMO) seems to have caused enough exhaustion — as if the daily grind in life isn’t enough. Skyscanner’s APAC Travel Trends report shows slow travel as the type of trip that is most desired by travelers in 2020 (22 percent of searches). Like the slow food movement, slow travel prioritizes not just a more leisurely way to travel — think long walks and non-scheduled activities — but also mindfulness of the tastes, colors, and local characteristics a destination offers. The highest percentage of Asian travelers who yearn for slow travel in 2020 are South Koreans (31 percent), Hong Kongers (29 percent), Taiwanese (28 percent), and Japanese (27 per