World's top emerging travel destinations named

World Travel Market has identified some of the destinations to watch out for in 2012.

A number of nations popular with overland tours adventurers have been named as the biggest emerging tourism destinations on Earth.

According to the World Travel Market 2011 Industry Report released earlier this week, top players in the global travel industry have named Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Argentina as the places to visit next year.

Dubbed the 'SLIMMA' countries, it is thought that adventure holiday travellers and those seeking something a bit different could make these destinations among the most popular in the world.

Those travelling around Asia might enjoy a trip to Sri Lanka, which the report claims is investing heavily in infrastructure and has natural beauty in abundance.

Indonesia is also a popular destination with adventure travel holidaymakers thanks to its varied landscape and plethora of unexplored islands.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has been known to attract overland adventure seekers in the past and is likely to continue to do so thanks to its blend of Asian and western cultures.

Across the other side of the Atlantic, Mexico has an established tourism scene with Aztec ruins, beautiful scenery and a rich and colourful culture.

Further south, Argentina has been enjoying economic growth while others flounder, which could give its tourism providers a bit of breathing space when setting prices.

With natural beauty in abundance, Argentina is great for a relaxed trip to the vineyards of Mendoza or an action-packed visit to Patagonia, which provided some of the scenes for the new star-studded snowboard film The Art of Flight, featuring Travis Rice, among others.

Reed Travel Exhibitions chairman for World Travel Market Fiona Jeffery explained that the SLIMMA nations could rival the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - destinations in the coming years as travellers begin to expand their horizons.

"The SLIMMA nations - Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Argentina - are the ones the industry has identified as the nations to look out for both inbound and outbound tourism for a variety of reasons including investment in infrastructure, natural beauty and high disposable incomes," she added.