It’s hard to believe that we’re already in 2017—it seems like 2016 flew by! To help everyone prepare for a new year of exciting travel experiences, we made 2017 the focus of our December Twitter chat.

What is a Twitter chat? For those not familiar, TripIt holds a monthly chat on Twitter on the third Thursday of each month from 2-3 pm Pacific Time under the hashtag #TripItChat. Every month there’s a new travel topic where we encourage participants to share advice with one another. To learn more, please see:http://landlopers.com/2013/05/01/tripitchat/

Here are some of the key takeaways from our last #TripItChat about 2017 Travel!

#Goals

We all dream about visiting new destinations, places featured on our screen savers and desktop calendars. There’s no better time to plan that trip than now, and we wanted to hear what was on everyone’s 2017 travel wish list. Warning: the answers will inspire deep wanderlust.

• Some people love to return to favorite places, like@VoyagerVickiwho is planning on trips back to Mexico and Spain.
• Other folks make plans around a major event like@DGQuoVadimuswho is taking a honeymoon trip to South America!
• For chat co-host@Bloggeriesfood plays a role in his decision making which is why Japan is high on his travel to-do list.
• Some other popular answers included: Scandinavia, Thailand, the Maldives, Canada and Australia.

The Next Best Thing

While we love highlighting the world’s most popular travel destinations, we are also interested in knowing about those up and coming hotspots that haven’t hit the mainstream yet. We asked everyone to share their picks for the top destinations that will be popular in 2017.

• A popular answer for Americans,@enjoytravel_krasaid that Cuba will be one of the year’s hottest destinations.
• For chat co-host@RickGriffinthe answer was an easy one – Portugal. The country has all of the charm we love in Europe without the crowds.
• Natural attractions are important for@always5starand she would love to track the Northern Lights whether it’s in Canada or Norway!
• Other up and coming destinations to keep an eye on include: Oman, Ethiopia, Canada’s National Parks, rural Nevada, Finland and Vietnam.

Packing Smart

There’s no end to travel tech and gadgetry on the market, but how much of it do we actually need? We put that question to the test when we asked the chatters to share important tech they plan to take on their 2017 travels.

• Drones are becoming more and more popular which is why chat co-hosts@theplanetdwant to upgrade in 2017 to the DJI Mavic Pro drone.
• While not high-tech,@AquamarineStephwants to invest in more packing cubes to help her stay organized when she travels.
• Staying active when he travels is important for@LeeAbbamontewhich is why he’s planning to invest in some new golf gear!
• Small items can make all the difference, like a good portable speaker so that@XploreDreamTravcan listen to tunes anywhere in the world.

Staying Trendy

How we travel and what we do on the road changes all the time, and since we always want to stay ahead of the curve we asked our online community to share what they think the big travel trends in 2017 will be.

• Always on point, co-hosts@theplanetdsaid that they believe responsible travel will be top of mind for most travelers in 2017.
• Travel pro@LeeAbbamontewent on to list trends such as the sharing economy, free Wi-Fi everywhere and boutique hotels instead of the mega-chains.
• More answers included: diminished value from frequent flyer programs, more people traveling to remote areas and travelers spending more for authentic and local experiences.

Resolutions

Almost everyone has a list of resolutions as they start the new year and for many people some of those resolutions are travel related. Our last question was focused on what everyone has resolved to do when it comes to travel in 2017.

• For@metallic_kissit’s all about pushing boundaries, which is why she wants to take her first solo trip!
• Chatter@findinganeishalso wants to expand his travel horizons, but in different ways: hitchhiking around Scotland and dog-sitting in Nice to start.
• Slower travel is the name of the game in 2017 for@SheTalksTravelwho wants to try to appreciate new places in a more thoughtful way.
• The most popular answer though was staying healthy on the road—good advice for any traveler!

Don’t forget to join us for the next #TripItChat! They take place on the third Thursday of every month at 2:00 pm Pacific/5:00 pm Eastern.