Orla Neligan, editor of 'Abroad magazine'

"Slow travel will be the way to go. Think rail, ferry, boat and road trips.

"Sustainable tourism: ecotourism sites will do well, such as the sustainable, spiritual experience of following the Camino Trail. See www.followthecamino.com

"Hotspots will be Vietnam, Middle East, South Africa, China and Latin America. Latin America registered the smallest decline in wealth in 2008, and now presents enormous potential for luxury travel, where nature overlaps with luxury. Brazil's hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games will also boost the region's infrastructure.

"In the UK they are predicting that staycations will not boom; as the economy recovers people will head abroad again.

"The cruise market is the big story – it's the only sector doing very well. I would think this is due, in the main part, to cruises being popular with the over 50s market who still have disposable income."

Eoghan Corry, editor of 'Travel extra'

"We will travel more. Most of us will continue to go to Spain, Portugal and France, but the numbers going to long-haul destinations will more than double.

"We will go east. For 50 years all of our long-haul travel from Ireland has been westward. In a decade there will be more eastbound long-haul routes than west-bound.

"We will network. Social networking will take the place of email and the internet travel advice sites. Facebook and its successors will become the major source of travel information and offers.

"We will pay extra charges. Established carriers will pile on those extra charges imposed by low-cost carriers (as long as the internet pricing system remains as blunt as it is). The experience of the noughties is that the lowest headline fare gets the business. The race will be to get the lowest headline fare and then hit the customer for additional charges.

"Hotels will be fuller. Hotels will also chase you with a low headline fare. They will become more specialised, more luxurious and get cheaper because it is easier to fill rooms as reaching the customer gets easier.

"We will book later and make our own arrangements. Easier border controls and biometric passports will make spontaneous travel easier. The standard bucket and spade holiday will be bought on the internet. What travel agents remain will be consulted for the more expensive and exotic trips.

"We will have more choice. After a short (hopefully) period of contraction (we will lose about a seventh of our routes next year) point-to-point air travel is the future, with smaller and more remote airports getting direct services from Ireland."

Stephen McKenna, founder of www.gohop.ie

"The past year has brought profound changes to the Irish travel and tourism industry with many a household name no longer represented on the high street. Special offers are flooding the market and breaks on the internet seem endless. With such a bewildering choice on offer a little common sense and planning will go a long way to ensure we can enjoy that break to the sun, ski slopes or far-flung shores. Interestingly enough, the consensus amongst the travel industry seems to be that the Irish travelling public still want to talk to a professional who can ensure a holiday is booked according to budget, destination and itinerary. The avalanche of information online can seem overwhelming to many travellers and so there is still a need to talk to an expert when planning a self-drive trip in South Africa, a walking holiday in the foothills of the Himalayas or when you are just looking for a few helpful restaurant recommendations in Prague.

"In terms of long-haul traffic, the number one destination last decade was the United States but I think going forward people will seek out more culturally interesting destinations which offer an escape from reality; destinations that are not focused on consumer spending but rather on real world experiences.

"The destinations I predict to be hot in the new year are:

1. Dubai

2. Auckland, New Zealand

3. Bali, Indonesia

4. Mozambique

5. Jamaica

6. Buenos Aires, Argentina

7. Bulgaria

8. Cuba

9. Miami, Florida

10.Cape Town, South Africa

11. Space

"Richard Branson has just revealed the new Virgin Galactic space plan that will allow paying passengers to be jetted into space on a two-hour flight. His rocket plane, named SpaceShipTwo (SS2), has been built in Mojave, California, and will undergo rigorous testing over the next 18 months before taking its first paying customers on short trips from the desert, and later extending the service to other countries."