It’s worth bearing in mind that long-haul flights are set to offer the best bang for your buck this year, so let your imagination run wild and think far and wide. Meanwhile, the eurofree zone continues to surge in popularity as the pound wobbles, and travellers appear enticed by adventurous holidays of discovery rather than beach-bound lounging.

With these trends firmly on our radar, we’ve come up with the top five must visit destinations for 2010. Just see below for inspiration.

Lebanon
Lebanon hasn’t had an easy time of it over the last couple of decades, but somehow, despite the odds, it remains one of the Middle East’s most exciting destinations. Since Israel’s 2006 attack on Beirut and its suburbs, the country has bounced back, rebuilding infrastructure, creating new roads and opening spectacular hotels. Head to the capital (only four hours away from the UK) for a taster of the indomitable Lebanese spirit and to party hard with Beirut’s beautiful people. Elsewhere, there are ski slopes, historical sites, ancient mosques and gorgeous landscapes.

Cuba
Since Fidel Castro stepped down as leader in 2008 the country has seen its political stance against capitalism relaxed. Couple this with Obama’s more amiable approach to the Caribbean hot spot, and you have a Cuba that is ever more enticing to tourists. If Cuba’s vintage cars, humble tourism infrastructure and laid back, friendly reputation appeals, this year might be your last chance to enjoy it – expect the Hummers, luxury resorts and American tourists to roll in soon.

South Africa
With the FIFA World Cup taking place in South Africa this year, the country is braced for a mass influx of tourists. Sure, flight prices will be up, and hotels hard to book, but the atmosphere will be unbeatable! If football really doesn’t interest you, avoid the month of June and travel either in early spring, or late autumn. This way, you’ll get the best of the improved hotels, restaurants, events and lively atmosphere without the hullabaloo.

Egypt
Egypt enjoyed something of a boom in 2009 as cash strapped holiday makers looked for destinations beyond the eurozone. Expect this to continue for Egypt (as well as Morocco, Tunisia and much of Eastern Europe) well into 2010. Take advantage of stellar package holiday deals, bargain flight prices and perennial sunshine.

Dubai
The reports of Dubai’s fall from financial grace may be raging on, but the Arab Emirate continues its flashy assault with the world’s tallest building, the world’s biggest theme park and an ex-pat paradise of plush bars and fancy hotels. Its spirit may not have broken, but flight prices are certainly crashing. It’s also a good time to score good deals at hotels and good value package deals. If Dubai doesn’t appeal, try its neighbour Abu Dhabi – a country that is currently hawking its wares (stunning desert landscapes, impressive heritage and welcoming people) and is definitely not short on cash. essentialtravel

Expedia Partner Services Group (PSG), the central point of contact for travel suppliers to access the global Expedia marketplace of leading travel brands, will hold a Supplier Summit in Limassol, Cyprus on September 8th at 20:00hs. Supplier Summits are a way to show Expedia’s loyalty to its travel industry partners. The most important hotelier players and Expedia representatives will meet in this Summit to analyze the sector results and to talk about how the industry performance could be in 2010, based on the current forecasts and data available.

“Supplier Summits are a great get-together opportunity” said Diego Lofeudo, Regional Director of the Market Management for Expedia in Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. “Expedia continuously invests in partner – facing tools and activities. These Summits are a great example of our commitment to the hotel industry”.

Around 120 suppliers of the tourist industry among them hotels, airline airlines, car-rentals, Tourism Boards are invited by Expedia to participate in the Supplier Summit organized at the Amathus Beach Hotel Limassol. This is the first of the 19 events that will be taking place in the forthcoming months in the following countries: South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Malta, Cyprus, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya and Tanzania.

In these meetings very relevant industry topics will be discussed and the main purpose of them is to examine the industry performance vs. last year, talk about what Expedia expects in terms of results for the year ahead, make a summary of the main highlights of the year in course such as new developments, products launches, results analysis, and give an award to the seven best hotels of each market.

Among those highlights, Expedia will explain the www.expediapartnercentral.com launching, which is the one stop service point to facilitate the hoteliers its work management with Expedia, as well as the Media Solutions, a marketing program for the hotels that allows them to do advertising in Expedia in order to increase its sales, or the launching of new sale points of Expedia and hotels.com during 2009.

Expedia, in the eagerness to find new ways that could help to improve the results of the industry, after the drop of tourists as a result of the international crisis, has decided to set up these meetings known as Supplier Summits, showing once again its commitment with its partners.