Remember Catalonia, the land of yellow ribbons? The long-coveted Republic has turned into a “State of Catatonia” and continues to be ruled by an avatar in Madrid. The politicians who sacrificed the Community’s autonomy at the altar of independence are touring Europe and no new government is on the horizon.

Yet things work out, so to speak. The economy is back on track and tourism grows more than in the rest of Spain while pro-independence fervor fades. So you know what, dear Catalans? Pass the wine, fuck the government, I love you…

More than 40 million people go camping in the United States each year, making it one of the most popular outdoor activities alongside running, fishing, biking, and hiking. RVing, in particular, is on the rise since the financial crisis in 2009.

Equipped with all the comforts of a tiny home on wheels, recreational vehicles (RVs) allow you to move freely in the vast American landscape and embrace life on the road, even just for a vacation. Ok, cool, but how to choose where to stop?

Camping and RVing in the Vast American Landscape – Photo Courtesy: Lawton Cook @ Unsplash

You can use RoverPass to easily find and reserve an RV site anywhere in the US. With over 20,000 campgrounds and RV parks listed, the Austin-based company makes the whole planning less painful leaving you plenty of time to fully enjoy your RV journey. Campers and RV owners may also like these other resources: RVshare, RVillage, RV Park Reviews, Workamper News, and RV University.

The travel trends that come out at this time of the year make you want to stay at home and take a sabbatical to visit all the metro stations of the nearest large city or all the country’s “X-branded” pubs. Yet most people keep moving in herds.

The World’s Top Trending Destinations for 2018 – Infographic by Airbnb

The top trending places for 2018 include Gangneung, Edmonton, Indianapolis (Airbnb), Agadir, Victoria Falls, Cluj-Napoca (Skyscanner), Cartagena, Ljubljana, Tbilisi (Booking.com). Amazingly enough, one of the most popular experiences on Airbnb is called “Secret Concert in a Treehouse“… let’s not spread the word.

As every year since 2012, Toprural, a platform for booking rural vacation rentals launched in 2000 and now part of the HomeAway Network, has organized an online contest to select the seven rural wonders of Spain.

Royal Monastery of Santa María of Guadalupe – Photo Courtesy: Rpmayor @ Wikimedia Commons

The 2017 winner is Guadalupe, a village with just over 2,000 inhabitants located in Extremadura known for its beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Monastery, which is the second most important pilgrimage site in the country.

Looking back at the previous editions, Toprural’s users seem to really love this relatively poor area of western Iberian Peninsula. And you can’t blame them. Extremadura is also one of Europe’s least visited regions with only 71 yearly nights spent per square km. What better to enjoy ecotourism in Spain?

If you are a data junky like us, you will certainly appreciate the fresh Global Digital Traveler Research 2017 by Travelport, based on interviews with 11,000 travelers from 19 countries worldwide. Here’s a snapshot of the key findings.

Key Findings of the Global Digital Traveler Research – Infographic by Travelport

Taking a closer look, we were particularly impressed with the following results:

– 60% said they would be lost without their smartphone, but 43% would switch off all devices (so, at least 3% is already lost and where are the moderates here?)
– 68% of Indonesian travelers book their trip on a mobile device (jeez, really?)
– 63% of senior travelers (those over 55) “know exactly what they want” when researching a trip (the wisdom of age… yeah sure, but how sad is that?)

Anyway, the report also includes a list of the most digitally-dependent countries and the top ten are not exactly the ones you would expect. In fact, the ranking looks like this: 1) India, 2) China, 3) Indonesia, 4) Brazil, 5) Saudi Arabia, 6) Mexico, 7) South Africa, 8) United Arab Emirates, 9) Colombia, 10) Italy.

To find out more, download Travelport’s Global Digital Traveler Research.

Thanks to the popular TV show Game of Thrones, whose winter scenes mostly take place in Iceland, the country has welcomed 1.8 M foreign visitors in 2016, up 40% from 2015, and is expected to reach 2.4 M by the end of this year.

Brand Finance, that annually reveals the world’s most valuable nation brands, considers Iceland the best performer in 2017 and sums it up with an auspicious “money is coming”. There can’t be over tourism with all that space, eh? Hmm…

In case you are wondering, in the ranking, led by the US and closed by Cyprus, the worst performing nation brand is Uzbekistan. Now you decide where to go for the next holidays… The full report “Nation Brands 2017” is available here.