THE WONDER YEAR

Travel in 2024 looks bold, with unique experiences in faraway places promising memories to last a lifetime.

- VICTORIA BURROWS

With all remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions finally dismantled earlier this year, we are once again free to explore far and wide. The year ahead offers plenty of opportunities to embark on far-flung adventures and indulge in once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

We've rounded up some of the most appealing destinations - be they familiar or new that are topping the travel list for 2024. Offering everything from snowy escapades to desert blooms, these places remind us there is a big and beautiful world out there waiting to be discovered.

ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE

Every five or so years, flowers stain the flat plains of the Atacama desert - the world's driest nonpolar desert - in vivid magenta, yellow and purple. The flowers only bloom in years when there is rain. Due to the ongoing El Nino event, which brings wetter conditions, scientists predict that 2024 will see a superbloom, with hundreds of millions of seeds germinating in a breath-taking display of colour.

Chile's new national park, Desierto Florido, has been set up to protect the fragile ecosystem and ensure tourism to this truly remote region is well managed. The new Our Habitas Atacama resort further north near the Los Flamencos National Reserve has striking desert-inspired decor and a cooling swimming pool, and allows adventurous nature lovers who have made it this far to enjoy the beauty of the landscape and the spectacular night skies ensconced in luxury.

PARIS, FRANCE

All eyes will be on the City of Love next year for the 2024 Olympics, when the Games' first-ever breakdancing contest will fire up the Place de la Concorde and beach volleyball courts will skirt the Eiffel Tower. The giant sporting event is expected to attract 3 million more tourists and an extra spend of anywhere from €1 billion ($1.45 billion) to €4 billion.