Have you ever thought about camping in the great outdoors? Or sitting behind the wheel of a motorhome the size of your house? Or learning another language in the country of that language? Or finally taking that trip that’s always topped your bucket list?
Well, with what’s been happening the last 18 months, more and more Canadians are contemplating those questions as we begin to emerge from the pandemic and start planning our summer and fall vacations.
Attitudes toward long-haul trips have changed dramatically since the COVID-19 outbreak and domestic travel will become the norm, at least for the foreseeable future, according to experts TraveLife has surveyed.
However, those same experts say that the more adventurous among us, fearing there might be even more future disruptions in travel, will now be inspired to complete that bespoke vacation they’ve always dreamed about.
With that in mind, here’s what TraveLife’s experts predict will be the Top 5 Travel Trends for 2021:

1- RV getaways

Recreational vehicles have never been so popular and sales and rentals went through the roof last summer thanks to limits on international travel and lockdowns.
Don’t expect that trend to change any time soon.
Industry leaders like GoRVing Canada and CanaDream tell TraveLife they’re seeing a huge increase in bookings for the upcoming season and if you haven’t secured an RV for your summer holiday in 2021, you’re probably already out of luck.
RVs are the perfect travel bubble and a great way for the whole family to safely travel together without encountering too many other people.
With such a high demand, though, rental fees have increased dramatically and expect some sticker shock if you’re hoping to buy one.
Interestingly, RV demand is especially high among millennials, according to industry sources. Yikes! They’re becoming their parents.
According to research conducted by RVshare, 73 per cent of millennial respondents indicate they’re likely to rent an RV in 2021, followed by generation X at 59 per cent and baby boomers at 47 per cent.
For more details on RV vacations and the dos-and-don’ts you must know before getting behind the wheel, go to https://gorving.ca

2- Outdoor hideaways

Visits to Canada’s great national parks increased by 2 per cent last year — to 16.2 million — and that number is expected to rise substantially in 2021.
With a heightened awareness among Canadians about environmental issues, and a belief that being outdoors is a much safer place to be with pandemic fever still hanging in the air, national parks will be the most popular destinations this summer, according to our experts.
However, they caution that securing an overnight stay in the most popular national parks may be much harder than you think.
Weary about admitting too many vacationers and thus endangering the delicate eco balance in the sacred parks, Parks Canada officials will limit entry to the most popular ones, like Alberta’s Banff and British Columbia’s Yoho, if demand gets too high.
Like RV vacations, the national parks provide a natural bubble for vacations — social distancing havens — and introduces school-aged family members to lots of recreational activities after being cooped up for the last 18 months.
There are 46 national parks and national park reserves in Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, so you have plenty to choose from. For more information, go to https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/index

3- Wellness escapes

Wellness tourism has been steadily increasing over the past decade and by 2022 it’s expected to surpass $900 billion (U.S.) in annual revenue. With people clamouring to find safe havens post pandemic, expect wellness tourism to surpass all previous expectations in the coming years.
Being cocooned in a safe, controlled environment where you can escape the stress of modern life sounds pretty good to most travellers right now.
Wellness centres in Canada and the United States are also catering to an expanded clientele, from those looking to shed a lockdown load to those coping with pandemic break-ups — divorces were up 300 per cent in British Columbia alone last year, according to advocacy groups.
Many travellers, though, are just looking for simple massage treatments in a holiday setting, or hoping to engage in niche activities like beach yoga and body sculpting.
Again, because demand will be so high this year, expect spaces to be limited and prices to increase substantially as wellness resorts try to recoup revenues lost in 2020.
Canada has many world-renowned wellness retreats offering many unique activities, like:
• A four-day yoga wilderness retreat in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley,
• A three-day initiation into Babaji’s kriya yoga seminar in Estrie, QC,
• A four-day luxury energy retreat in Bragg Creek, AB,
• A three-day horseback trail riding retreat in Ontario’s lush Algonquin Park.
Linking health with a pleasure escape is the only way to go!

4-  Learning opportunities

The fact that learning vacations usually involve small, intimate groups is why our experts think instructional holidays will be among the Top 5 travel trends in 2021.
So what do you want to learn?
A new language? Well, wouldn’t it be great to be immersed in that language while exploring a country.
If you are looking for something more structured, many universities offer short-term language courses in the summer months and that will still leave you plenty of time for sightseeing. Also, the universities also offer accommodation at some very ressonable prices.
If it’s gourmet cooking lessons you’re craving, well, there’s lots of top-notch culinary schools to choose from — the world renowned Auguste Escoffier schools in Boulder, CO, and Austin, TX, and the Culinary Arts Academy in Switzerland top the list — to small, one-on-one rural instructions by renowned chefs in places like Ireland, France, Thailand and Italy's fabulous Tuscany region.
Our experts say these are the other learning holidays that are sure to be in big demand in 2021:
• Painting classes in Mexico,
• Learning to scuba dive in the Caribbean and Thailand,
• Sailing instructions off the coast of Australia,
• Taking Jiu Jitsu classes in Brazil,
• Photography lessons in the U.S. southwest,
• And studying ayurveda in India.
You can find lessons anywhere in the world to match your passions and they all offer a safe environment.

5- Filling the bucket list

Because the life-altering pandemic stole one complete year of travel from us and reinforced the fact that life is unpredictable, many travellers will be in a rush to complete those “once-in-a-lifetime” trips they’ve been putting off.
Forbes magazine and search engine giant Google both report a dramatic rise in searches for “bucket list” holidays this year.  And vacationers appear to be taking a “damn the expense” attitude when booking them, with their preference being for high-end resorts in remote locations.
So islands in the South Pacific like American Samoa and Pitcairn (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame), where there were very few COVID cases, if any at all, apparently are in high demand. So, too, is Hawaii, where the pandemic was strictly controlled and cases limited.
Peru’s Machu Picchu tops PlanetWare’s “2021 Bucket List” vacations, followed by visits to the pyramids of Giza in Egypt, an African safari, India’s Taj Mahal, Bora Bora and journeys into the Amazon rainforest.  
The new mantra for travellers appears to be "the further away from civilization, the better." That’s a fact borne out in search data that shows a 90 per cent rise for trips to rural areas.
Surprisingly, solo travel is apparently out, replaced by a pack mentality, according to HomeToGo.com, which reports a 44 per cent drop in single accommodation bookings this year and a preference for mainly beach lodgings that accommodate six — the perfect bubble of friends.
Now that we all realize that access to travel cannot be taken for granted, book now! •