Cherae Robinson of Tastemakers Africa hit on a recurring theme of Condé Nast Traveler’s Seventh Annual Points of View Summit when, during a panel discussion moderated by Erin Florio about shifting travel seasons, she said, “Destinations are more than our desire to reach them.” That “more” refers in part to the people that live there and make the place. During the day’s gathering of editors, travel specialists, and industry insiders, nothing was clearer or more resonant than the idea that travel’s purpose is to facilitate human connection. When done right, visiting a place allows the traveler to share space and time with people unlike themself, and any material or cultural exchanges that might occur serve to benefit both parties. Through the aforementioned discussion, as well as two more about traveling for food and entertainment, the human element came up again and again.
The day began with remarks from senior features editor Rebecca Misner celebrating the launch of Best Places to Go in 2025 and Bright Ideas in Travel and a prerecorded message from global editorial director Divia Thani, occupied with the first iteration of the summit in London, the conversation got started. After the summit, those in attendance gathered to celebrate the launch of the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards at the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad. Read on for a recap of the proceedings.
The shifting travel season
In Edith Wharton’s America, all who were willing and able (of body and of bank account) could set off to Europe during the same summer months without concern for the space they were taking up. These privileged few could book their passage and accommodations, visit the sites, and dine out with little concern for crowds and the like—there simply weren’t that many people in competition to do what they were doing. Most couldn’t afford it. These days, a whole lot more people can. The explosive democratization of international travel this side of Y2K is not a bad thing, make no mistake—everybody should get to travel. But because the destinations themselves did not grow in tandem, what was once the once the travel season proper has become highly unpleasant, if not downright untenable, for many travelers. Even shoulder season, in places like Italy, no longer feels quite so mid-peak. In search of solutions, executive editor Erin Florio convened with travel expert and Places to Love host Samantha Brown, Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce President Bill Miles, Tastemakers Africa founder Cherae Robinson, and Vice President, Sustainability at Virtuoso Javier Arredondo.
To begin, there are the statistics. Florio used Greece—which welcomed a whopping 6.9 million international tourists in August of this year but only 2 million between November 2023 and April 2024—as an example of a destination that could stand to see off-season travel nurtured. Arredondo pointed out that another massive merit of extending the tourism season was to sustain jobs in the sector for longer periods of time. On Hilton Head Island, Miles notes that a long-term approach to fostering shoulder season travel has been successful thus far. As a beach destination, Hilton Head has long counted its peak season between Memorial and Labor Day. That’s unlikely to change, but by taking a resident-first approach to off-season programming—asking the locals what they want to see happen in the community and executing on that—with the faith that travelers will follow, the island has seen bookings up 10% in the month of October. The annual resident sentiment survey shows increased approval of local tourism on the island.
