It seems fitting that I write this essay on a plane coming back from New England (a region of the US once settled by English Puritans), sipping a Bombay Sapphire and tonic. I always find that having my head in the clouds gives me a different perspective.
As we fly forth into a new post-Elizabethan era, it’s interesting to contemplate the journeys British travellers have ahead of them. Over the past 100 years or so, we have transitioned from tourists to experientialists and, more broadly, from consumers to connoisseurs.
> Read our recent report exploring high-end tourism in London here
In the face of urgent challenges such as climate change, there is hope that the pioneering spirit of British people can drive new low impact ways to explore our planet, but high impact from a societal point of view. During the pandemic, many people were forced to re-evaluate their life’s priorities, coming to the conclusion that they have not been spending enough time with loved ones, that they had become disconnected from themselves and they were putting too much emphasis on work. For a time, a humble holiday was a freedom not granted to us, and when it was returned we decided that this precious time should be used more wisely.
As our focus shifts from social media to TV and movies as a source of inspiration for our trips, a rising number of innovative travel companies will be crafting limelight itineraries that transport us into living narratives. This new form of escapism is being driven by elite British adventure travel companies such as Black Tomato, which recently unveiled a collection of ‘007’ excursions across Europe that take fans in the footsteps of James Bond, supported by a cast of stunt doubles, actors and special-effects supervisors from films including Octopussy and Spectre. One of its missions is set in London, and begins with a high-speed chase down the River Thames in an original Superhawk 34 boat from The World is Not Enough, with a camera-mounted drone recording the entire pursuit.
Although many responsible travellers will be content with flying less and staying longer, jet-setting is promised to become less polluting. British private charter broker Victor has this year pushed forward with a partnership with Neste to encourage passengers to pay for Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from used cooking oil rather than carbon intensive ‘black gold’. The route to the decarbonisation of aviation is also being navigated by bespoke travel company Pelorus, which has joined forces with forthcoming OceanSky Cruises to take Carolean-era explorers to the North Pole aboard emission- free, helium-filled airships. This will be an exciting reincarnation of a form of transport that first took off all the way back in the early 1900s.
Nostalgia and a yearning for the golden age of travel will be one of the defining trends of the next decade. This will manifest in numerous reimagined ways – from ethical safaris with Abercrombie & Kent to the sumptuous sleeper Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond train. As Generation Z comes of age and Millennials enter their forties, a whole new wave of nomadic luxurians will enter the world stage, using time abroad to build new businesses from remote locations, forge richer relationships and recharge their souls. In the future, travel will become a force for both personal and planetary transformation, powered by a desire to be the best that we can be. Just as we always have.
