This month, Condé Nast Traveler will launch a new platform that takes its name from the 1 in 10 people worldwide who work in jobs connected directly or indirectly with tourism, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council. These are the concierges and the taxi drivers, the bush guides and the sommeliers, the flight attendants and the housekeepers we all encounter every time we take a trip. Without them it would be nigh impossible to go anywhere or do anything, of course, but they’re also the key to why we love travel. When we think back on what made the journey great, it is so often their kindness, their wisdom, and their good humor.

These folks’ lives and livelihoods have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they so often are by crises that affect travel and the global economy. We know that you, our readers, increasingly make travel decisions based on how you can have a positive impact. The 1 in 10 Project is conceived in that spirit, with the goal of sharing stories from the amazing people who work in travel, passing along their recommendations about what to see and do, sharing their insights, their passions, their jokes. We’ll be building it out online all next year with first-person accounts of what it is like to do certain jobs in the travel industry and how people in the business spend their time when they’re not working, plus guided video tours and more.

The spirit of the project imbues our roundup in this issue of where—and how—we think people will be traveling next year: often to classic destinations, slowly and immersively, driven by the desire to get outside, to find out who we are, and to be with people we love. (In making these plans, of course, we hope everyone is following CDC recommendations and local guidelines.) Consider it not only an action plan but also a call to support all those who make travel great. Look for more about where to go in 2021 online, and for updates on the 1 in 10 Project, please sign up for my new newsletter, What’s Next for Travel.

This article appeared in the December 2020 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.

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