What’s the top influence when making travel plans? For nearly three-quarters (74%) of global travelers, it’s “going somewhere I’ve never been before,” according to the 34,000 traveler respondents of TripBarometer, a December 2015 study conducted on behalf of TripAdvisor.
Along those same lines, other answers in the top 10 included “being able to learn something new on a trip,” at 67%, and “trying something new,” at 63%.
That desire to experience something new—coupled with an ongoing interest in immersive, experiential travel—means that today’s travelers are always on the lookout for the newest and most interesting destinations. To that end, it’s no surprise that a trio of destinations have moved into the spotlight as emerging destinations close to home: Cuba, Costa Rica and Panama.
With the easing of travel restrictions to Cuba, the island nation has jumped to the top of most lists of up-and-coming destinations: Members of USTOA (the United States Tour Operators Association) named Cuba the #1 emerging destination in late 2015, as did luxury travel advisor members of both Virtuoso and Travel Leaders Group in 2015 year-end surveys, to name just a few.
In that same December 2015 Virtuoso survey, Costa Rica took the honors as the top adventure destination as well as the #4 family travel destination. And in a mid-2015 survey about millennial travelers conducted by Ensemble Travel Group, member agents named Costa Rica as one of the top three emerging destinations for millennials.
When it comes to sheer growth, Panama tops the list. The isthmus nation was #1 in The Virtuoso Hot 10, with an amazing 107% growth in first-quarter bookings for 2016 compared to 2015.
Guiding the Experience
While there are many similarities among the three destinations—most notably safety, proximity and the appeal of the unknown—there are also differences in the experiences, amenities and cultures that travelers will encounter. And while sometimes travelers come in asking for one of these destinations specifically, other times travel advisors need to point them out as a possibility.
“Sometimes when you start talking to people, it turns out that what they think they want and what they really want are two different things,” says Neelie Kruse, CTC, owner of Cary Travel Express, in Cary, IL. “Yesterday a guy came in asking about a particular Caribbean destination for a honeymoon. But he also said they wanted something ‘different.’ After really talking with him, I didn’t think that island would be best for their desires, so I recommended Costa Rica—and that’s what he booked. But if he had said they just wanted to lie on the beach, Costa Rica wouldn’t have been the right fit for them.”
Advisors familiar with these destinations can also advise clients on their unexpected offerings. For example, the Panama Canal is certainly a major attraction in its own right, but a travel agent might want to discuss how easy it is to combine the canal with a Panama beach or adventure experience—possibly expanding, say, a four-day trip into an eight-day trip.
On the flip side, sometimes travel advisors have to steer people away from a new destination if client expectations can’t meet reality. “Cuba is in the news so much and people hear that it’s opening up, so they’re interested. But we do get people who think they can go and lie on the beach for a week or just do their own thing, so we really have to explain what kind of vacation experience it is,” says Melissa Garrison, co-manager of the vacation and cruise department for St. Louis, MO-based Altair Travel.
Diane Macedo, owner of The Travel Experience in Raynham, MA, is planning to host a Cuba event in her office to educate clients who have expressed interest in Cuba. “It’s a very different kind of travel from what most people are accustomed to,” says Macedo, who recently went on a people-to-people tour to Havana with Apple Vacations. “Cuba is very much a specialty market and people need to really understand what the experience is going to be like. I loved Cuba! But it’s not going to be for everyone.”
Here’s a look at traveler profiles and other key differentiators for Panama, Costa Rica and Cuba.
PANAMA
TRAVELER PROFILES: History Buffs, Active Vacationers, Eco-Tourists, Adventure Travelers
OVERVIEW: A narrow isthmus in Central America, Panama might be best known for the Panama Canal, but the country is also chock-full of unique adventures and activities that appeal to eco-tourists, adventure travelers and those seeking a vacation off the beaten path. “For people who have already traveled around the Caribbean and Mexico, Panama has so many interesting things to do,” says Kruse. “There’s the Panama Canal, of course, but also the rainforest, volcanoes, cultural tours in downtown Panama City and the beaches. We’ve sent active honeymoon couples, savvy travelers and people who are looking for a good value because the price is right there.”
Garrison also notes that Panama is appealing to families and ince