Happy New Year! 2017 is ramping up to be an exciting year of travel. So we thought we'd share stories about the hottest travel trends that are going to impact where - and how - you travel in the coming months and even years. What do we see in our crystal ball/ champagne glass?

Whether you're planning family, 'bleisure' (business/leisure), solo, romantic or couple travels, gal or pal getaways, from the uber luxurious to the economical, 2017 travel will be all about:

• Wellness and Adventure: Getting outdoors and being active, returning more healthy than when you left, doing something other than pounding pavement or cobblestones every day... visitors have more and more new, healthy and adventurous (not necessarily dangerous!) ways to experience destinations.
• Cuba: Travel to Cuba has changed forever now that relations with the US are normalizing. If you haven't already been, there are even more ways to explore one of the world's last restricted travel areas.
• New Cruise Ships: Ocean or river, luxury or expedition, new cruise ships, with itineraries, designs, amenities, activities and celebrity entertainment or culinary partnerships that battle to outdo each other just keep on coming! What WILL they do next on a ship? We'll keep you abreast of all the latest developments. If you're one of the last few people who still thinks cruising is about 'blue hair and buffets', you should take a look at the latest generation of cruise ships... and passengers. There really is a cruise out there for every traveler.
• Celebrations: Canada commemorates its 150th birthday in 2017, and it's also riding a wave at the top of nearly every 'best place to travel' list. Did you know as many Americans travel to Canada every year as go to all of Europe? And with the dollar and other considerations, it's never been a better year for vacationing close to home. So throughout 2017, we're going to share some of our favorite stories about Canada to inspire your travels.
• Local and authentic: Local food, local artisans... everyone is looking for authentic, local production, creation, and consumption. There's a global awareness that we're all looking to be more connected with each other and the items we consume. Products with provenance and people with passion and rejuvenated cities and neighbourhoods. There's more and more of it out there to discover.
• Connecting: Staying connected with those at home, and connecting with the people, Nature, and wildlife where you're traveling.
• Customization: It's never been easier to work with a travel expert to craft a trip of your dreams. In the past, it may have been harder to tweak a trip to get exactly what you want, but a new age of crafting travel itineraries is upon us, at every price point. If you're just saying 'yes' and dropping down your credit card, you're missing out.

We want to inspire your travel imagination in 2017... and then make those dreams come true!

So we're also introducing BestTrip.TV - an 'online travel TV station' with inspiring videos you can watch right here on our web site (click on BestTrip.TV on our home page). We'll be sharing BestTrip.TV videos throughout the year.

Safe and memorable travels in 2017!