Cheapflights.ca Says Farewell to 2012 and Hello to 2013

TORONTO--(Marketwire - Dec 31, 2012) - As Canadians and the world prepare to say good bye to 2012 and ring in 2013, the travel experts at Cheapflights.ca, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, are releasing their annual Top 6 Travel Trend Predictions for 2013. While uncertainty was the buzzword entering 2012, this upcoming year is about creativity and thinking outside the box when it comes to travel. And given that 2012 was an eventful year, and a difficult one at times, the team decided you deserve a bonus and, instead of the regular five travel trends, released six predictions about how Canadians plan to travel in the new year.

Below is a brief glimpse into each of Cheapflights.ca's Top 6 Travel Trend Predictions for 2013:

1. The 'Parental Piggyback' holiday -- join forces and save - With cash tight and no end in sight, most people are still going to be watching their pennies. Our experts are predicting that 2013 will see the 'bank of mom and dad' move into the vacation market in a big way, with the rise of the 'parental piggy back holiday' -- extended family groups getting away together to save cash. "Be very afraid" some will say -- and, ok, this may not exactly be everyone's idea of a 'getaway' but for overworked new parents, and grandparents complaining that they never see their grandchildren, this could be the only means to get an affordable break.

2. "Friend, Share, Like!" the Facebook "place-book" holiday inspiration trend; your virtual holiday album for 2013 - Increasingly, vacation planning starts with browsing through seductive images of blue skies, palm trees and white sandy beaches, followed by pictures of the local hotels and their amenities, right down to the dishes at the breakfast buffet. You can switch to Twitter to get a running commentary (and deals) on local sightseeing options and then take a look at dinner options on Pinterest. Before you book, check out friends' recommendations and advice or see how fellow travellers got on checking-in to the resort you are eyeing. 300 million images are posted to Facebook every day; and holiday photos are a major generator of 'likes' -- and envy. Little wonder that surfing social networks can be a handy way to get holiday inspiration, get a genuine opinion on that hotel -- and perhaps find that out-of-the-way boutique hideaway in the sun that (almost) no-one else knows about. In many ways it's like having your own personalized guide; the ultimate 'try before you buy'. For these reasons the travel gurus at Cheapflights think "place-book" holidays will be all the rage in 2013.

3. And on the flipside...Digital Detox - Ok, so you may have found your holiday on Facebook and you may be a social network junkie, but there's only so much liking, friending, trending, tweeting, sharing and pinning anyone can handle before they're deluged. In 2013, digital detox is increasingly on the travel to-do list. As technology and social media becomes increasingly pervasive, so too does our need to make a conscious decision to turn them off from time to time. With Wi-Fi access on planes and mobile data networks growing and covering more and more of the world, tuning out and taking a break from the steady stream of information is harder to do but more important than ever. Many resorts and cruise ships are turning off their wireless signals and satellite dishes and attracting waves of visitors whose thumbs twitch for a day to two but who, in the end, recharge themselves like never before.

4. The bag-a-bargain abroad ('BABA') holiday. Combine cheap holidays with bargains from abroad to save - With cash-strapped travellers looking for maximum bang for their buck in everything they do, we predict an increasing focus on BABA holidays -- for the uninitiated, that's "bag a bargain abroad". With the internet offering greater transparency on pricing of goods and services in different markets on an almost daily basis -- and cash-strapped consumers looking to tighten their belts -- international shopping holidays can offer significant savings.

5. Sports and events tourism - The 2012 Olympics in London opened a lot of eyes to 'event' tourism -- the once in a lifetime chance to experience a huge sporting spectacle, take in your favourite band in a unique location or watch your team playing a critical road game. And, if anyone has friends on Facebook who visited the London 2012 Games knows, photos from big events are well 'liked'. Sport is a major driver of travel; just witness the 4,500% increase in searches for tickets to Rio on Cheapflights when the host city of the next Olympics was mentioned during the London 2012 closing ceremony. We may not have the same smorgasbord of activity in one place this year, but the bad news for sports widows and widowers is that there's no shortage of international events worth travelling for. We predict that sports, concerts, cultural events and festivals will again be a major driver of travel destinations in 2013.

6. "Economy be damned, I am going on a proper trip" splurge surge - So we've all been watching the pennies but there's only so many staycations we can take. After four years, it seems a lot of us have had enough of not having enough. We've identified four groups who may be opting for a bit more of a 'holiday splurge' than the rest of us this year.

• The 'let's not wait until it's too late-ers'
• The 'pent up demand demanders'
• The 'lump sum-ers'
• The 'let's go do before they're two' crowd

To read in complete detail Cheapflights.ca's noteworthy trends that we predict will define next year's travel landscape visit www.cheapflights.ca/travel/top-6-travel-trends-for-2013.

About momondo group
momondo group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 13 million visitors a month -- plus 6 million travel newsletter subscribers -- via its Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.ca) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands.

Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006. 

The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen, Boston and Toronto, with a consumer base across 16 core international markets but users all over the world.