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I’ve recently travelled with a small group of young travel agents, just starting out in their careers, really, and it is very interesting to listen to their perspective on the travel industry. One thing is for sure. The industry has changed dramatically since I began working in it forty years ago! Back then, agents didn’t travel nearly as extensively. Very few people did, actually. Travelling was for the well-to-do until cheap package holidays became a thing and in those days most families would save up all year for a week on the Costa Brava!

I know there is a trend these days to count the number of countries visited, some people aiming to see them all (there are 195 by the way!). It has struck me how well travelled some young travel agents are. Of course, there is no one better placed to advise a client than an agent who has visited a destination and toured around the hotels. I’ve been lucky to travel the world for business and pleasure and my young colleagues were fascinated to hear my stories and perhaps learn something from my experience.

I’ve just returned from a trip to Queensland, and I can tell you that now is the perfect time to travel to this amazing part of Australia. In fact, there’s never a bad time to visit this gorgeous state, as it enjoys year-round sunshine and balmy temperatures. However, the exchange rate is very much in our favour, meaning that everything seems really cheap in comparison to the cost of living in the UK right now. Absolute luxury hotel rooms for £150 a night? Yes, please! Eating out, fine wines, great shopping at half the price you’d pay in London.

My focus was on sustainable travel, and I’m pleased to report that eco practices are very much in place everywhere and there’s huge awareness about preserving the planet and its wildlife. In Queensland, people love the great outdoors and enjoy it whenever they can. They want to keep their beautiful beaches, mountains and rainforests in peak condition and protect the wildlife that inhabits them.

There seems to be an exponential rise in demand for singles holidays, or solo travel as it’s more often referred to now. We are not necessarily talking about hedonistic holidays for the young and beautiful, thumping club music by the pool or unofficial dating opportunities! No, we are talking about people of all ages choosing to travel alone. Why? There may be many explanations for this current trend. With our frenetic pace of life, some people just want to escape and be by themselves. All by themselves, with the chance to breathe in fresh air, take stock, reflect, make plans, shut out the world, forget their problems for a while.

Are you the sort of traveller who cannot stay still in one place for a week? Me, too! I like to move around and see as much as possible of the country I’m visiting. If I’m particularly stressed and worn out, I sometimes dream of lying by a pool for a few days, but I know that I’d get restless after 48 hours.

Two lovely multi-centre holidays spring to mind, a trip around Italy or island hopping in Croatia. I’m going to play them off against each other and let you decide which you’d prefer!