Each year, travel experts Lonely Planet pick out their top destinations for the year ahead. This year, the Covid-19 global crisis has largely halted international travel, leading the guidebook publishers to make its 2021 list a little different.
In a year when travel was paused, other issues were highlighted. The conversation around diversity shifted, environmental issues were front and centre and decades-old problems such as overtourism changed overnight.
In order to reflect this, Lonely Planet's 2021 Best in Travel spotlights not only destinations, but also people, companies and communities transforming the travel industry.
In the final shortlist of winners, the Middle East is well-represented.
Jordan is the world's most welcoming place
Amman takes the award for the Most Welcoming Destination by Lonely Planet. The city was praised for its warm hospitality and friendly locals.
“In Jordan, Ahlan wa sahlan (welcome) is not an empty greeting. Stemming culturally from Levantine and Bedouin traditions, geniality and generosity are ingrained into the Middle Eastern welcome, with the sharing of food and drink at its heart,” say the travel experts.
In the Community category, Syrian refugee Hesham Moadamani is named Top Storyteller. Using his personal experience, he guides travellers around Berlin in his work for Refugee Voice Tours, drawing parallels between conflict in his home country and the history of migration in Germany.
One of the youngest black voices in travel
Gabby Beckford is named the Emerging Voice in Lonely Planet's Diversity category. The Virginian-raised traveller calls Dubai her favourite city after winning a scholarship and spending her junior year of college studying in the emirate.
Since then, she’s pivoted her personal blog to a travel resource, designed to empower young people hoping to see the world, and is one of the youngest black voices in travel.
From the UK, Soraya Abdel-Hadi is awarded first place in the Sustainable Storyteller category. The tour guide has previously lived in the UAE and in Morocco and aims to make travellers more mindful, even if they can’t venture far from home.
Recognising that all travel comes with a footprint, Abdel-Hadi uses her channels to encourage people to make choices that champion sustainability.
In January, Lonely Planet will announce another list – this time ranking readers’ nominations of their favourite people and places shaping the future of travel. Voting is now open on the Lonely Planet website.
The 2021 list also features 12 destinations across the world and you can see these listed in the gallery above.
From Rwanda's mountain gorilla conservation programme to a company offering perspective-altering treks through Ethiopia's landscapes and a group offering accessible tours in 30 destinations, here is the complete list of the places, people and initiatives that Lonely Planet thinks will make travel in 2021 a year like no other.
Lonely Planet’s 2021 Best in Travel
Sustainability winners
- Storyteller: Soraya Abdel-Hadi
- Walk: Le Vie di Dante (Roads of Dante)
- Wildlife programme: Rwanda
- Emerging destination: Antigua & Barbuda
- Train journey: Rocky Mountaineer
- Food destination: Greece
- Cycling route: Virginia Mountain Bike Trail
- Sustainable accommodation: Grootberg Lodge, Namibia
- Sustainable islands: Palau
- Sustainable city: Gothenburg, Sweden
Diversity winners
- Emerging voice: Gabby Beckford
- Accessible destination: Costa Rica
- Multi-generational: El Hierro, Spain
- Indigenous food: Hiakai, New Zealand
- Inclusive storyteller: Jeff Jenkins, Chubby Diaries
- Inclusive tours: Wheels of the World
- LGBTIQ storyteller: Karl Krause and Daan Colijn, Couple of Men
- Under-explored history: Gullah Islands, USA
- Cultural diversity: San Diego, USA
- Welcoming destination: Amman, Jordan
Community winners
- Tour: Invisible Cities, UK
- Accommodation: Kazakhstan
- Immersion: Faroe Islands
- Revitalisation: Medellin, Colombia
- Trekking: Tesfa Tours, Ethiopia
- Restoration: Australia
- Storyteller: Hesham Moadamani, Refugee Voices Tours
- Small business: Footprints Cafe, Cambodia
- Tourism project: Burren Ecotourism Network, Ireland
- Expat storyteller: Georgette Jupe, Girl In Florence
Super heroes
Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue
Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate
Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues
Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking
Black Widow
Childhood traumas increase risk of mental illnesses
Thor
He's a god
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
The Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize
This year’s winners of the US$4 million Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize will be recognised and rewarded in Abu Dhabi on January 15 as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week, which runs in the capital from January 13 to 20.
From solutions to life-changing technologies, the aim is to discover innovative breakthroughs to create a new and sustainable energy future.
