Maldives tops the list of favourite honeymoon destinations as new trends such as two-centre holidays and increased sales of villas with pool emerge, leading tour operator Kuoni has reported.
In its Honeymoon Trends 2017 report, which will be distributed to its own stores, partner travel agencies and within Brides magazine in September, Kuoni said the top destination for 2018 forward bookings remains Maldives, followed by Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Thailand and Indonesia (predominantly Bali), with New Zealand and Australia entering the top 20 list next year, nudging out Greece and Canada.
Kuoni identified six key trends in the honeymoon sector, including increased sales of villas with pools, adventure trips and two-centre holidays.
According to Kuoni, couples looking for “One honeymoon, Two adventures” experience are increasingly combining the Maldives and Sri Lanka, while a 20 percent rise has been observed year-on-year in the sale of luxury private villas with pools in the Indian Ocean. Demand for overwater villas, suites with beach access, bathrooms with open air showers and bathtubs with a view — all championed by the Maldives — are also high on the wish list, it said.
Kuoni also asked its 300 travel experts what they thought were the world’s top 10 most romantic experiences, and taking a bath with a view in the Maldives made it to the list.
Kuoni’s typical honeymooner is aged between 25-34 years old, “career focused” and earning on average £30,000 (USD 38,419) a year, with their spend on the honeymoon being £6,000 (USD 7,684). Kuoni added that now honeymooning couples are a little older, the “stakes are higher than ever before”.
The sector also drives business in-store, said Kuoni, with 87 percent of honeymooners booking in this way, spending in the region of two or three hours on the process.
Maldives has won several global and regional accolades for being amongst the most romantic destinations in the world, with the latest being included in an annual list compiled by Brides magazine of the 20 most honeymoon worthy destinations in the world. Surveys and studies analysing travel trends have also shown that a healthy majority of travellers that choose the Maldives are honeymooners.