from Argentina to the world, which destinations will set trends this year

New year, new plans and, as always, with or without economic crisis, very eager to travel.

For very different reasons, every year there are certain destinations that win Protagonism on the traveling horizon.

Some, because they are better connected with new flights. Others, because they have a cultural or sporting agenda super convener.

Some others, because they display a celebration that promises to be unmissable, a long-awaited opening or great developments in tourist infrastructure. A good offer or an attractive promotion also tend to add to the reasons for choosing the destination for our next trip.

Let’s start the list of 2024 destinations with Argentina and an absolute classic: Mar del Plata.

What is so special about a spa city that we know is popular both in summer and all year round? That on February 10 celebrates its 150 years and promises special activities that weekend and the rest of the year.

The starting point of the party will be the night of February 9 in the Plaza del Agua, with the Municipal Band, the Sea Guard, several special guests and a 150 kilo cake.

Throughout the weekend there will be free recitals with strong attendance taking into account that it will be the long Carnival weekend. There will also be a nautical parade, a tribute to Astor Piazzolla and several private parties that are already joining in the festivities.

The Ibiza ice cream parlor launched stick ice creams in the shape of a sea lion, while Havanna – born in Mar del Plata in 1948 – released a special edition of alfajores with allusive packaging and a unique flavor.

Another classic that prevails is Mendoza. Positioned as a great destination for wine tourism and gastronomy, it has received a phenomenal boost in recent months. On the one hand, the Catena Zapata winery, in Luján de Cuyo, was recognized as the best winery in the world in the World’s Best Vineyards 2023.

A few months later, in November, the Michelin Guide awarded 7 stars to Mendoza’s gastronomy. The restaurants and chefs recognized with Michelin stars are Zonda – Cocina de Paisaje (Augusto García), Casa Vigil (Iván Azar), Brindillas (Mariana Gallego) and Azafrán (Sebastián Weigandt). The sustainable restaurants are Casa Vigil, Zonda and Riccitelli Bistró.

Added to these are the 15 restaurants and 8 accommodations chosen by Michelin that will appear among those recommended by the guide.

It is worth clarifying that Mendoza has 4,800 gastronomic spaces, including restaurants in wineries. Also has more than 200 wineries open to tourism in different wine-growing regions. If it was already attracting foreign tourism, with this boost its positioning will be even stronger.

Let’s go with a third proposal in Argentina: La Carolina.

It is little town of San Luis -in the heart of the Central Sierras- captured all eyes a few months ago, when the World Tourism Organization (now called UN Tourism) added it to its annual list of the best towns “Best Tourism Villages”.

Carolina It has 300 inhabitants and 1,300 meters long by two streets wide. Roxana Lucero Zavala, the local Tourism Secretary, points out that the town already received visitors due to its past as the epicenter of the gold rush in Argentina.

But since the nomination to compete with other towns, the movement increased. On average, it has been receiving about 130 cars per day. Such is the influx of visitors that during the summer, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., it becomes a pedestrian town.

People walk through its architecture, its cobbled streets, the Poetry Museum, the regional houses and a natural environment between mountains and rivers. Not to be missed: getting to know the old mines and learning to look for gold in the river with a local guide.

The history of La Carolina may prompt more than one to review the list of Best Tourism Villages to go through some of these “best towns” with very varied locations: from Pisco Elqui in Chile or Chavín de Huántar in Peru, to the Oñati and Cantavieja towns in Spain, Lerici in Italy, Penglipuran in Indonesia or Sentob in Uzbekistan. There are 54 towns to choose from (plus the 20 from the Upgrade program… and all those selected in previous editions).

You don’t need too many excuses to put Paris among the destinations we would like to travel to. It is known, it is one of the most visited cities in the world every year.

But 2024 has a special seasoningbecause the capital of France is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic Games (7/26 to 8/11) and Paralympic Games (8/28 to 9/8).

The opening ceremony It promises to be spectacular: it will not take place in a stadium but along the Seine River, with a fleet of boats carrying the athletes (about 10,000). And many urban spaces will be used for some sports disciplines, from beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower to breakdancing – a new discipline – in the Place de la Concorde or cycling on the Champs-Élysées.

The sports festival will spread throughout France with events in cities such as Marseille, Lyon or Bordeaux. Surfing will even have its place in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Yes indeed: the prices for those dates will also be legendary. All services, from accommodation to the subway, have increased their rates in accordance with the enormous expected demand.

The flip side is that there will be many free parties and activities. But if you are on a savings plan, definitely avoid those dates.

In Europe, many other destinations offer strong attractions to visitors this year.

This is the case of Valencia, in Spain, named European Green Capital 2024. And it has what it takes: it has almost five million square meters of green spaces and two very close parks (the Albufera and the Turia Natural Park); solar panels in the Central Market of Cabanyal, and the lighting of the promenade with energy-saving streetlights that are, at the same time, charging points for electric vehicles.

Beyond the year’s sustainability events, the city designed three new routes that highlight nature, sustainable mobility -more promotion of public transport, bicycles (more than 200 km of bike lanes), walking- and recovery of public space.

The list of 2024 destinations could continue with Vienna, which reopened its emblematic Vienna Museum after 4 years of repairs.

O Prague, 100 years after the death of Franz Kafka and with 2024 declared the Year of Czech Music in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. His legacy will be celebrated with events across the country. This is in addition to traditional events such as the 42 km marathon on 5/5, starting in the Old Town Square; or the Prague Spring International Music Festival, from May 12 to June 3.

We must not miss the European Capitals of Culture 2024a title that this time goes to Bad Ischl (Austria), Bodø (Norway), and Tartu (Estonia).

Or that he Venice’s Carnival This year it pays tribute to Marco Polo, 700 years after his death (in addition, the Palazzo Ducale will have an exhibition on this mythical explorer, from April to the end of September). Or that the UEFA Euro finals will take place in Germany, from 6/14 to 7/14, with 10 host cities.

The Dominican Republic is not new for Argentines who are looking for vacations in all-inclusive resorts in this Caribbean destination with good beaches and everything taken care of, in addition to an important share of history and colonial buildings in Santo Domingo.

But this 2024 starts with a best air connection for the Argentine market, since the Aerolíneas Argentinas flights direct to Punta Cana (3 weekly frequencies, 4 in January and February) were added the option Arajeta Dominican airline that defines itself as “low priced.”

It started its operation in Argentina with 3 weekly frequencies from Ezeiza to Santo Domingo. In April it plans to have 4, and for June, 7. “Under a new bus system, Arajet connects its flight from Buenos Aires to Punta Cana (…) without the need to purchase that service separately,” the airline explains. . More flights, greater boost to a destination that was also recognized by Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best.

Panama is also positioned well this year: UN Tourism highlighted its sustainable tourism strategy at the World Summit on the Future of Tourism for measures that seek to protect their ecosystems, while offering sustainable tourism experiences that value local communities.

Beyond this, its beaches are enough to make you want to know: among the 100 best in the world chosen by Lonely Planet it is Red Frog, in Bocas del Toro. From Argentina, Copa Airlines has 4 daily flights from Ezeiza, 7 weekly from Rosario and Mendoza, and 14 weekly from Córdoba.

With a mixture of good beaches and a lot of historyMexico adds this year the new Mayan Train, the Pacific coast highway (from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido) and the solar eclipse on April 8, which will have the best observation point in Mazatlán, according to NASA.

Still under construction, the Maya Trends It will offer a 1,525 km route that will facilitate movements in the Yucatan Peninsula (it stops at the Cancun airport). The first stage was inaugurated in mid-December and kilometers and stops are added every week.

On the other side of the world, Mongolia continues with its promotional campaign that declares these years (until 2025) as a period to boost tourism. The goal is to reach one million foreign visitors.

This country located between Russia and China is a culturally very different, geographically distant and little-known destination. There are new museums and routes that complement its forte: entering the steppe and learning about the way of life of nomadic families.

The list could go on: Miami and the furor over Messi; Croatia and its greater facilities now that it has the euro; Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the anniversary of the reconstruction of the Stari Most Bridge (World Heritage Site); Norway and its Best Cheese in the World 2023 -the Nidelven Blå- according to the International World Cheese Awards; the archaeological site of Choquequirao in Peru, for those who love walking expeditions.

All good excuses to spread out a map and start dreaming.