Now that Christmas is but a distant memory, it’s time to look forward to what 2013 has in store for travel.

I spent some of Christmas weekend reflecting on all of the places that I’ve visited during 2012. Most were repeats of favorites (Bratislava, Vienna, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong among others) while some places were new (Singapore, Istanbul and a few minutes in Guam). What prompted this reflection was a gift that my Mother-In-Law gave us. The gift, a large framed world map that allows you to place magnetized pins on places that you have visited. Thoughtful right?

As my wife and I thought through all of the places that we visited over the years and marked them on the map we soon discovered a glaring pattern. We had virtually used up all the pins on US and European destinations. Only 3 Pins were outside the US and Europe. Here I thought that we were “accomplished” travelers, but we’ve inadvertently ignored the rest of the world outside of Europe and the USA.

So with that realization, I’ve committed 2013 to be the year of “New Cities On New Continents”. Don’t get me wrong, there will still be several trips to Europe because those Lufthansa Ducks have a “siren” effect on me. But on the other hand, there are a lot of places on my map that don’t have little magnetic pins attached to them. So for 2013, my resolution is to see South America, Africa or Australia with the goal being to visit 2 of these continents. It may be just a 24-48 hour mileage run, but the proof will be the passport stamp. I’m thinking that flying Lufthansa from the US to Buenos Aires via Frankfurt is an efficient way to put the “Pin” on South America and Africa should be a piece of cake with a flight from the USA to Johannesburg via Munich.

To start things off in January, I’m planning on heading to Anchorage for some fantastic plane spotting opportunities. In February it looks like a trip to Istanbul over President’s Day weekend, then in April I take my wife for her first visit to Hong Kong. Other than that, the slate for major trips is blank, leaving plenty of room to deliver on my resolution.

What about you?

What did you accomplish with your travels in 2012 that was most rewarding?

What travel resolutions do YOU have for 2013?