Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2019, and its trends come from the Pinterest 100 report for 2019; search interest in hot springs, castles, islands and cycling may have changed since.
There’s no better market research for working out what the trends will be than looking directly at where users’ and consumers’ interest lies. To do that, we’ll use the Pinterest indicator, which shows the rising trends for 2019. In other words, let’s see what is attracting people right now, what they are searching for and what catches their eye, and combine that with what we know when it comes to business ideas, adding a touch of innovation and creativity within the leisure, tourism and travel sector. You can also take a look at the business trends in health and wellness.
Users’ interests are changing, as we’re about to see. In fact, the type of tourism itself is changing. Some people think this may be because, when it comes to posting photos on Instagram, the usual destinations have been seen too many times and people need something more original. Of course, these changes can help us get ahead when it comes to spotting business opportunities. We’ll start with the 2019 trends and then look at some business ideas we can take advantage of.
Business trends in leisure and tourism
1. Hot springs are a tourism trend
And it doesn’t have to be a holiday. People are now looking for their moment of relaxation in hot springs, from high-end resorts to thermal springs out in the middle of nature. Searches for this kind of getaway have gone up. Searches for spas have also shot up, putting them back in the spotlight as a business on the rise.
2. The search for castles
It’s not clear whether it’s because of series like Game of Thrones, but one tourism and travel trend for 2019 is the search for abandoned and run-down castles. So much so that some agencies have already specialised in castle tourism.
See also: 22 creative and profitable business ideas
3. In search of desert islands
Gone are the days of going wherever everyone else goes. People now look for islands that hardly anyone knows about, for a quiet or romantic experience.
4. The bike is the tourist’s favourite vehicle
Bike tours have become fashionable, and some guides are taking advantage of it to earn extra money from these tours. Cycling is also part of a healthy lifestyle. We’ve already looked at the many business ideas built around bicycles.
5. Alternative tourism
Fewer and fewer people want a tour guide and set routes. Younger tourists in particular prefer to “do their own thing”, as they put it, and even to spend as little as possible on accommodation. We’re talking about tourism that is sustainable for the wallet.
Rural business ideas in leisure and tourism
That said, younger people tend to love adventure tourism or visiting remote, more exclusive places. So it’s a matter of finding a way to meet this demand for budget-conscious tourism.
See also: 6 business ideas for young entrepreneurs with no investment
Rural tourism also offers an excellent business opportunity for entrepreneurs who live in villages. As we mentioned in our article on businesses you can set up in small villages, if you have an old house, a farm or a plot of land, you can make quite a lot of money from tourism and leisure.
That could be hiking routes, paintball or other kinds of games. And of course, if the area where you live lends itself to organising nature trails or other attractions such as canoe or kayak trips, all the better.
If you have an old house in the countryside, you have a business
We’ve already shared some business ideas for anyone who owns an old house in a rural area.
First, you can renovate the house to a reasonable standard and rent it out as rural rooms on Airbnb or on classified ad sites.
Second, more and more people are seeking isolation as a way to detox from technology. Some do it as a spiritual retreat, others to meditate, and others simply to relax and get away from it all.
But there’s another line of business
People who want to quit smoking, or who know they shouldn’t drink so much (insert other addictions here), may find the idea of isolating themselves in a rural house appealing.
In the United States, farms of this kind have sprung up for detoxing from bad habits, where around 10 or 15 people, all of them wanting to give up an addiction, get together for a couple of weeks.
This idea hasn’t been exploited much in Spain, and it could be a profitable business. We could also create variations with coaching services or… simply let your imagination run wild.
Need to lose weight?
Have you heard of weight-loss camps? Like the idea of detoxing from bad habits, some entrepreneurs are already creating their own version of military service to help people lose weight. To do so, they instil disciplined habits during the stay at the house. On the whole, it’s a business idea that has been well received.
In general, when we look for business ideas related to leisure and tourism, within our means we should try to offer the customer:
- Escape, relaxation and fun, on the one hand.
- As much exoticism as possible, whether in the decor or the atmosphere.
- Contact with nature, which really is a trend these days.
- And of course, anything that improves their physical and mental health.
If you can bring all these ideas together and offer them to customers, you’ll be providing excellent value within the new trends in this sector.
For more related business ideas, see: 17 businesses you can start in a village.
Featured image: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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