Go-Big Experiences

These unmissable adventures will make 2024 a year to remember

- SOO KIM

IT'S TIME FOR FRESH ADVENTURES FOR A BRAND-new year, and all the trends show people are ready to go big in 2024.

Travel is set to reach "record highs" this year, with global tourism spending expected to reach $2 trillion, fueled by leisure demand, according to a December 2023 survey by market research firm Euromonitor International. Meanwhile, a global survey of over 10,000 travelers across nine countries conducted by Ipsos and the Hilton hotel group found consumers will cut down on other areas of personal spending to prioritize travel.

Luckily, you couldn't pick a better year to fill your planner. Here, we highlight seven experiences across the globe not to be missed.

1_ Spot the Best Northern Lights Display in Decades

For the very first time this year, northern lights chasers may be able to catch a view of the natural light display as far south as the lower 48 U.S. states, Europe and Asia. Scientists say 2024 will see the strongest northern lights also known as Aurora Borealis-activity in the past 20 years due to high solar activity, which is expected to peak between January and October, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

When auroral activity "picks up a little," you might be able to see them on the northern horizon, such as in North Dakota, Michigan, the Canadian province of Quebec and central Scandinavia, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

Meanwhile, "fairly strong auroral activity" may allow you to view the northern lights in South Dakota as well as Hobart, the capital of the Australian island state of Tasmania; the southern tip of New Zealand; Vancouver in Canada; and St. Petersburg in Russia, according to the institute.