Where to go for slow travel, transformative trips, and JOMO

Yap is not alone in her desire to seek out enriching, and even life-changing, holiday experiences.

“Transformative travel is a tricky concept,” Oschetti says. “As a traveller, I know it’s quite impossible to book an epiphany … but some trips come pretty close.”

Slow travel was also a growing priority for travellers in 2019, a trend that looks set to continue in 2020.

The survey also found many airlines are reducing first-class seating to increase the availability of premium economy and business class seats, which promotes “affordable luxury” travel.

For destinations to fit the growing trend of transformative travel, Oschetti suggests those from the Rascal Voyages Exploration Series – luxury cruises that encourage guests to take part in scientific expeditions.

“You travel to remote reaches of the Indonesian archipelago and get involved in important research work. By remote, I mean uncharted; and by important research, I mean the opportunity to discover previously unknown species.”

As for slow travel, he recommends Transylvania in Romania as the ideal place to experience time at a completely different pace.

“After spending days riding horses in forests, spotting bears in the mountains and eating with the locals in all-night feasts, I realised the word ‘tour’ is meaningless in Transylvania: you simply plunge yourself into a way of life that has not changed in centuries.”

Oschetti’s top destination for 2020 is Miavana, an island off the shore of Northern Madagascar. “It fosters slow travel and can be the perfect setting for deep personal transformation,” he says.

Chance Xie, the founder of Journeys by Chance, which also creates tailor-made trips, says Schloss Elmau – a five-star spa resort in the Bavarian Alps – is a must for 2020, as it’s a great place to get away from it all.

“In this family retreat and cultural centre, focus lies on transformative experiences that can be enjoyed together,” Xie says. “In the summer, think mountain bike rides with kid’s buggies, to crystal clear lakes and football training with Bundesliga [Germany’s top football league] professional coaches. Jump into the glacial stream that runs through the property, and warm up in the spacious family sauna afterwards.”

Hiking to skydiving, Chinese tourists go outdoors and extreme

For many travellers, especially within Asia, the ability to escape the city noise is an important factor. Destinations that lean towards the untouched, and remote parts of the world, always make for the most memorable and powerful travel experiences.

“It’s an incredibly spiritual place, one of the last enclaves of Mahayana Buddhism, which has been the principal [tradition of Buddhism] for almost 1,000 years,” she says. “Monasteries and whitewashed [religious structures] cling to craggy cliffs and colourful prayer flags flutter in the breeze, making for some of the most breathtaking photography sites.”

Yap says she is already lining up more wellness retreats for herself for next year.

“I’m planning to return to Kandaya on the northern tip of Cebu in the Philippines, where I go when I need to clear my mind and rejuvenate with horse-riding, boxing and the spa every day,” she says.

“Also, [wellness travel agent] Ayurva Traveller is arranging an immersive/digital detox holiday to Bhutan, where I will be hiking, spending time in a monastery and interacting with locals to learn more about their culture.”