Patrick Whyte

Despite facing plenty of challenges, Spain saw a healthy growth in international tourists in 2017. But this year is likely to be tougher because of Barcelona's troubles and with places like Turkey regaining some of their popularity.

Common wisdom among tour operators has always been that to have a good year, you needed to have a good January, and it is still no different. While the reasons for booking holidays early might hark back to the pre-Internet era, the consumer pattern hasn't changed very much.

NH Hotels may have turned down this approach, but it has not closed the door on others. And with minority shareholder HNA Group looking to raise cash, it wouldn't be a surprise to see another offer sooner rather than later.

The smartest people in luxury travel are realizing that they can't just keep doing things the old way. Keeping a high-touch, personal approach while adapting to the needs and wishes of today's travelers will be key to survival.

Rail travel still remains a stubbornly offline mode of transport when it comes to booking a ticket. Companies like Trainline are trying to change this by making it easier to search and buy tickets across Europe.

It's difficult to pin down exactly what's going to dominate the headlines in the luxury travel sector in 2018, but expect a handful of destinations to grow in popularity and for hoteliers to talk up the benefits of enhanced personalization.

Ctrip – with the help of some useful allies – continues to dominate China's fast-expanding travel industry. It will be interesting to see whether 2018 brings further expansion into Europe and North America.

With the situation still far from clear, the biggest Brexit-related problem is the uncertainty it has unleashed on the UK. Consumers are worried and businesses can't plan for the future. Both of which point to a pretty bleak 2018.

Lastminute.com Group's attempt to wean itself off low margin flight-ticket sales gets accelerated with this deal. The relatively low purchase price makes it a relatively risk-free acquisition.

Luxury travelers are increasingly looking to vacation rentals for a different type of experience. This presents opportunities for both established players and newcomers.