Travel Trends

Travel trends represent the evolving preferences and behaviors of travelers, influenced by technological advancements, socio-economic shifts, and environmental factors. These trends are important as they guide the travel industry in adapting to changing demands, offering new experiences, and ensuring sustainable practices. Staying attuned to these trends helps businesses innovate, meet traveler expectations, and remain competitive in a dynamic global market. Understanding travel trends is crucial for anticipating future developments and shaping strategic decisions in the travel and tourism sector.

Key Takeaways

  • Wellness & Retreat Travel: Focus on health-based travel experiences.
  • Eco Travel: Increased emphasis on sustainable tourism.
  • Cool-Cationing: Trend towards cooler climate destinations.
  • Space Tourism: Rising interest in outer space travel.
  • Cultural Tourism: Growing demand for authentic cultural experiences.
  • Adventure Tourism: Increased popularity in adventure-focused trips.
  • Bleisure Travel: Combining business and leisure trips.
  • Dark Tourism: Interest in historically significant, somber sites.
  • Virtual Reality Travel: Enhanced planning and experience through VR.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

The travel industry is constantly evolving, and the pace of change is faster than ever as emerging technology and shifting demographics alter expectations and standard practices. Companies have real opportunities to keep pace with the latest travel trends and embrace new business methods.

Why Is It Important to Keep Up With the Latest Travel Trends?

Staying on top of travel trends is vital for any business in the travel industry, whether in the hospitality sector, transport, or entertainment. Customers expect the businesses they patronize to offer the latest innovations. While fads may come and go, some travel trends indicate the direction of the industry; identifying and embracing these trends is vital to remaining relevant in the future.

Table: Reasons to Keep Up with Latest Travel Trends

Reason Impact on Travel Industry Advantages for Businesses
Customer Expectations and Satisfaction Trends often reflect evolving customer expectations and desires in travel experiences. Businesses can meet or exceed customer expectations, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
Innovation and Relevance Staying current with trends fosters innovation and ensures relevance in a fast-changing industry. Enables businesses to be seen as industry leaders and innovators, attracting more customers.
Directional Insights Some trends provide insights into the industry’s future direction and potential growth areas. Helps in strategic planning and making informed decisions about future investments and developments.
Competitive Edge Embracing new trends can provide a competitive advantage over businesses that are slower to adapt. Increases market share and profitability by offering cutting-edge services and experiences.
Risk Management Understanding trends helps in anticipating and adapting to potential market shifts and challenges. Reduces the risk of becoming obsolete; allows for proactive adaptation to market changes.
Sustainability and Responsibility Current trends often include a focus on sustainability and social responsibility. Aligns business practices with environmental and ethical standards, enhancing brand image and loyalty.

Factors Responsible for Emerging Travel Trends

A trend refers to a general development or change in behavior, and for something to be described as a trend, there will usually be either increased popularity or prevalence. Within tourism, there are several significant travel trends, and the following developments or factors have influenced these behavioral shifts:

Use of Technology

Technological advancements are at the heart of many travel trends, with voice search making it easier for customers to find travel products and voice control enhancing the customer experience. Additionally, artificial intelligence improves customer service, while contactless payments and the Internet of Things are removing friction.

Lifestyle Factors

In addition to the aforementioned factors, several lifestyle factors influence travel trends worldwide. Concerns over health and animal welfare have led to the rise of organic food and vegetarian and vegan diets. Eco-friendly travel has also become more popular, along with a focus on local experiences.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic and its effects are still felt in the travel industry. Many travel trends, including contactless payments and placing more emphasis on local rather than international travel, are some of the trends that have stayed. Travelers have newfound values and needs within travel that the industry needs to incorporate, such as safety and flexibility.

Discover The Latest 21 Travel Trends for 2024

In this section, you can read about the latest travel trends you should understand and embrace. These trends have relevance throughout the industry and will see growth throughout 2024.

1. Wellness & Retreat Travel Trends

One of the major travel trends that continues to grow in popularity is wellness and retreat-based travel. According to the Global Wellness Economy Monitor Report by Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness tourism market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.6% until 2027. There are many different types of wellness and retreat experiences available to travelers. Still, some of the most common examples include meditation retreats, health spas, silent retreats, healthy eating destinations, and yoga retreats.

One of the exciting things about wellness-based travel is the prevalence of experiences where people intentionally get away from negative aspects of everyday life, including unhealthy food, alcohol, or work stress. However, other experiences may be focused more on improving mental or physical health or learning new skills.

Video: Global Rise of Wellness Travel

2. Eco Travel

Today’s customers are more ecologically conscious than ever; current travel trends reflect that. Airlines, tour operators, car hire firms, hotels, and a whole spectrum of businesses across the industry have embraced this trend, which is only set to become more prevalent.

Some changes have been small and fairly simple, such as allowing air travelers to purchase carbon credits when they book a flight to offset the environmental impact. Another example would be vehicle hire companies now offering, and even specializing in, electric vehicles. Hotels and resorts with an emphasis on sustainable technology are springing up around the world.

For more information, please read “Ecotourism: What It Is, Advantages & Disadvantages, Examples & More.”

Video: How to travel to eco-friendly Germany

3. Cool-Cationing

The concept of a cool-cation can effectively be summarized as the trend of travelers actively seeking out locations with a cooler climate. While this is nothing new in and of itself, it has become one of the most important travel trends to be aware of because it is likely to grow significantly as climate change continues to alter weather patterns.

In essence, what many experts are anticipating is that as temperatures continue to increase, those who live in places that are becoming warmer and warmer will become more likely to travel to cooler locations for a break. This is already helping to create major tourist industries in locations that have not previously attracted many travelers.

4. Expedition Cruise Experiences

Expedition cruise experiences are one of the major travel trends affecting high-value travel. Many of the wealthiest and most experienced travelers are now looking to get more from their trips, and expedition cruises provide a fantastic opportunity for these people to learn and participate in interesting activities.

Expedition cruises are usually considered luxury cruises, and some of the most famous examples include cruises that facilitate wildlife conservation efforts and cruises that allow people to study rocks, plants, or wildlife. Some of these cruises may also focus on traveling to remote locations for pure exploration.

Video: The Arctic & High Latitudes with Poseidon Expeditions

5. Local Travel Trends

The days when travelers expected to be cloistered in a resort, consuming the same food they ate at home and interacting chiefly with people from their own country, are drawing to a close. Instead of peering out from a hotel balcony with only the climate to distinguish home from abroad, today’s travelers now crave engagement with the people, cultures, and landscapes of the countries they visit.

Focusing efforts locally may mean altering marketing messages to appeal to different audiences, and it can also involve promoting features that are likely to appeal more to locals. This could mean promoting facilities and features like gyms, saunas, Wi-Fi access, and rooms as temporary work offices for hotels.

Video: Tailor-Made Trip to The Azores

6. Healthy and Organic Food

Travel and healthy eating used to be mutually exclusive concepts — but not anymore. A more health-conscious customer base drives these travel trends, increasing demand for more wholesome food and options for those on special diets. Vegetarians, vegans, and those who need to avoid gluten, lactose, or other common allergens — all these groups are better served now than ever before.

Hotels and resorts combine health and leisure with innovative new cuisine, often emphasizing fresh local ingredients and regional recipes. Some resorts focus on specific goals, such as weight loss. Food-related travel trends also emphasize organic produce.

Video: Organic Holiday in Italy

7. Bleisure Travel

Bleisure travel (also known as a “bizcation”) combines both travel for work or commerce and leisure activities. While not the newest of travel trends — extending a business trip to enjoy some leisure time at a destination has been a common practice for as long as business trips have existed — bleisure travel has been enthusiastically embraced by Millennials. According to the Bleisure Travel Market Report by Allied Market Research, the global bleisure travel market is projected to reach $731.4 billion 2032.

For the frugal under-40 traveler, combining work and leisure travel is the most effective way to visit locations that they might otherwise not be able to afford. The most extreme version of bleisure travel is the “digital nomad” phenomenon, where online workers travel the globe with a laptop.

Video: The State of Business Travel — Bleisure Benefits

 

Find more detailed information about “Bleisure Travel” in the articles “What is Bleisure Travel?” and “Bleisure: Tips for Hotels to Attract More Bleisure Travellers”.

8. Nostalgic Travel

The idea of nostalgic travel is another of the key travel trends that the industry will need to get to grips with, and this can take many forms. For example, it may be that some people yearn for simpler times before smartphones and digital technology, and they may opt for remote locations where they can feel cut off from the modern world.

With that being said, nostalgic travel can take other forms too. Traveling on older modes of transport, such as steam railways, would be one example of this. Alternatively, travelers may wish to visit domestic locations they visited as children or iconic locations they remember from films, television shows, or video games.

9. Customer Experience

Enriching the customer’s experience is vital in the modern travel and tourism industry. Customers have more options than ever, so ensuring loyalty and satisfaction is increasingly important. All of the strategies and technologies listed above have their parts to play in creating a positive customer experience.

From the chatbots used to book a trip to the food on offer to the smart devices in the hotel room and the AR applications that help guests navigate their destinations — it’s all about improving how the customer feels about their journey or stay. When adopting a new trend, it’s important to ask: “How can this enhance the customer’s experience?”.

Find more information and examples of customer experience in the article “Ways to Improve Customer Experience in the Travel Industry.”

10. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI systems are becoming one of the top travel trends. Many types of AI are now used across the tourism industry. The chatbots use artificial intelligence to automate and streamline many sales and customer service tasks. As customers require faster response times and more interaction, chatbots bridge the gap when human operators are unavailable.

Although limited in their functionality, chatbots can provide a wealth of helpful information for customers. Machine learning allows these systems to learn from every interaction and continually improve. AI is also widely used in data collection and analysis — essential tools for boosting efficiency, security, and customer satisfaction.

Video: Create Your Bot Booking Travel

 

Find more detailed information and examples about artificial intelligence use cases in the travel industry in the article “How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Travel Industry.”

11. Internet of Things (IoT)

The IoT has gone from a geeky curiosity to one of the most critical trends in the travel industry. Internet-connected and microprocessor-controlled devices (smart devices) have become increasingly prevalent.

The IoT permeates every aspect of travel and tourism, from dedicated iPad tablets that provide information for museum-goers to smart hotel rooms where lights and HVAC systems can be controlled using voice commands. This trend will continue with Amazon introducing a hospitality-oriented version of its popular Alexa virtual assistant. Guests can use the Alexa for Hospitality hub to control their room environment, book sessions at gyms or spas, and ask for services.

Example: Smart Technology Smarter Airports

 

Find more detailed information about the ‘Internet of Things’ in the travel industry in the article “How the Internet of Things (IoT) Can Benefit the Travel Industry.”

12. Wider Adoption of Contactless Payments

Contactless payment has been a major travel technology trend for some time now, but the situation with COVID made this even more prevalent. Contactless payments have proved to be a great way to minimize physical contact between people, but they remain an excellent and convenient payment method.

The technology provides travelers with greater convenience and a swifter payment process. This can also encourage spontaneous purchases, which can help your travel business maximize revenue, especially since contactless payments can be made with mobile phones as well. Contactless payments are easy to introduce if your business has installed a card payment system.

Video: How Do Contactless Payments Work?

 

Read “4 Reasons Why Contactless Payments are Becoming Popular Within the Travel Industry” for more.

13. The Power of Virtual Reality

Virtual reality technology has been one of the breakthrough technology trends, and its role within the travel industry exceeds almost any other area of usage. After all, virtual reality allows for destinations to be showcased, properties to be viewed, and attractions to be explored, all via a digital experience.

This can be especially helpful in the decision stage when travelers want certainty that they are going to the right place. It can also help organizations that host corporate or event bookings because these customers can fully explore facilities without needing to travel for in-person viewing.

Video: A Guided City Tour (360 VR Video) of Rome

 

Find more detailed information and examples about how virtual reality can benefit your business in the article “How Virtual Reality is Transforming the Travel Industry.”

14. Voice Control Technology

Voice control technology is another way travel companies can provide touch-free environments, increasing accessibility and guest experience. This particular travel trend has been especially prevalent within the hotel industry, where many companies use voice-controlled devices in their hotel rooms.

This allows guests to adjust their room’s temperature, turn on the television, change channels, contact the front desk, and use smart speakers or a voice-controlled hub. The same technology can be easily applied to other areas of the travel industry, providing further layers of safety and convenience.

Read the article “How Can Voice Control Benefit the Travel Industry?” to learn more about this.

15. Voice Search Travel

A significant travel technology trend emerging over recent years involves using voice search to book travel or learn about travel destinations. The growing number of smart speakers, similar products, including Amazon Echo and Google Home, and digital assistants like Alexa and Siri have aided this.

Capitalizing on this involves a process similar to what website designers went through with mobile optimization several years ago. Here, however, websites need to be optimized to gain visibility in Google’s featured snippets. In contrast, airline and hotel booking engines need to be configured to allow voice search. Voice search is expected to grow in the years ahead, so it is sensible to capitalize on this immediately.

Video: Book Your Travel Trip With Voice Search

 

Read the “Voice Search for the Tourism & Travel Industry: All You Need to Know!” article to learn more about this.

16. Personalization

Personalization is a hot travel trend these days, especially in marketing, and is increasingly easy in today’s data-driven world. It’s also increasingly important. Personalized marketing takes data regarding a client to tailor advertising and promotion specifically to that person.

A simple example would be the targeted ads that appear in your web browser when you visit certain sites, which use information derived from your browsing habits and prior purchases to show you products that might interest you. Regular travelers might be offered deals on plane or rail tickets or useful gadgets such as adapters, power banks, or noise-canceling headphones.

Video: Personalization in Travel

 

Find more detailed information and examples of “Personalization marketing” in the travel industry in the article “5 Ways Personalization Marketing is Used in the Travel Industry.”

17. Emphasis on Safety & Flexibility

Clearly, safety and hygiene have always been necessary. Still, they have emerged as one of the major travel trends because, after the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now one of the focus area for customers when making purchasing decisions. Flexibility in travel purchases, such as cancellation policies and the ability to change your bookings after purchase,, has become important when choosing travel destinations and hospitality decisions.

With this in mind, it is critical that companies highlight their safety and flexibility policies in their marketing content and take the necessary actions to keep to these policies in reality. Read “Tips to Highlight Safety in Marketing & Guest Communication in Travel” for more information.

18. Recognition Technology Travel Trends

Recognition technology is a broad category of devices, systems, and protocols. One branch of this technology uses individual biometrics to identify specific individuals. An example might be the face-recognition technology used in some airports to expedite passport control or simple fingerprint locks on mobile phones and other devices.

Another example of recognition technology is voice control, where spoken commands are used to control, for example, systems in a hotel room: lights, heating, entertainment, etc. Voice control can be set up to respond to any speaker; it’s also possible to restrict voice-controlled systems to a particular individual.

Video: KLM’s smart pack assistant on Google Home

 

Find more detailed information about voice control in the travel industry in the article “How Can Voice Control Benefit the Travel Industry?”.

19. Robots

Automation is one of the key travel trends to watch, with many tasks that were once handled by humans now being taken over by robots or automated systems. A familiar example would be the chatbots that have fallen into widespread use across the industry, designed to help people find and book tours, transport, and accommodation by asking questions.

More sophisticated examples might include the robot “staff” used by a few hotels to run the reception desk or even serve food and drinks. In the future, robots in the form of self-driving cars are likely to be one of the major travel trends.

Video: Alibaba Opens AI “Future Hotel” With the Help of Robots

 

In the article “Robots in the Travel Industry: 8 Real-World Examples”, find more detailed information about how to use robots in the travel industry.

20. Augmented Reality

Closely related to virtual reality is augmented reality (AR). Augmented reality combines virtual elements with real-world experiences. AR travel trends include museum exhibits where visitors can view objects and structures in the real world, then see them overlaid with a reconstruction of their original appearance; for instance, Greek marbles with a virtual overlay of their original colors.

Augmented reality can also provide information about the location that a visitor is exploring — cultural or historical data or listings for entertainment and travel. Augmented reality is easily realized using common devices such as smartphones, further driving these travel trends.

Video: Augmented Reality Within the Travel Industry

 

Find more detailed information and examples about how augmented reality can benefit your business in the article “How Augmented Reality is Revolutionising the Travel Industry.”

21. Virtual Reality & Metaverse Travel Trends

Few travel trends offer the true excitement factor that virtual reality and metaverse travel can provide. Essentially, the metaverse refers to virtual worlds where social interactions can occur, powered by VR and augmented reality technology, as well as social media elements, and this offers great potential for the travel industry.

It will be possible to explore virtual recreations of locations from the comfort of your home through virtual reality technology. This technology can be used to encourage customers to travel to new locations. Moreover, booking travel while still in that virtual environment may be possible when combined with metaverse technology.

In the article “Metaverse Travel: How the Metaverse Will Change the Travel Industry”, you can learn more.

What Are the Biggest Technology Travel Trends?

Technology is almost always a major factor behind shifts in behavior and expectations, and travel trends are no different. The industry is evolving due to technological advancement, from virtual and augmented reality to the increased use of contactless and mobile payment methods and the growing reliance on robotics.

If you want to discover more about some of the most significant technology trends that are changing the industry, read the “Key Technology Trends Emerging in the Travel & Tourism Industry” article.

What Are the Biggest Marketing Travel Trends?

Within the field of marketing, there are a variety of significant travel trends to be aware of, such as the increased demand for personalization and targeted messaging, the rapid growth of voice search, the ever-evolving uses for artificial intelligence to deliver marketing messages and content, and the growing role of content marketing.

In general, customers can be more cynical towards overt marketing techniques, leading to a rise in marketing strategies that provide genuinely useful information. You can learn about the major marketing trends in more detail by reading “The Latest Travel Marketing Tips to Optimize Your Results“.

Courses and Educators Covering Travel Trends

Enrolling in a relevant tourism course is among the best ways to learn about the latest travel trends and boost your career prospects. There are many options here, from introduction to tourism courses and marketing courses to courses based on sustainability or tourism management.

Aside from the different courses available, it can also be essential to research the educators who can deliver these courses. You can read “Tourism Course: A Complete Overview of Courses & Tourism Educators” to learn more.

Using Travel Trends to Find Tourism Jobs

Possessing an understanding of the latest travel trends can also help you to find tourism jobs. There will always be demand within travel companies for people with the right skills and qualifications, but this is especially true if you have your finger on the pulse of the industry and understand which trends are most crucial.

There are many possible routes to explore to find jobs, including industry job boards, company websites, and social media. Read “Tourism Jobs: The Best Tourism Industry Job Boards for Your Career” for more.

Grow Your Bookings by Linking With Travel Agencies

In the last decade, the biggest travel trend has shifted from offline booking to online booking behavior. A travel agency will be able to reach travel customers who mostly do not book with individual companies directly. Linking with travel agencies can, therefore, help to optimize and grow your bookings.

Meet the most important travel agencies in our article “Grow Your Bookings by Linking With Travel Agencies”, and learn how to best benefit from linking with them.

Travel Trends FAQs

The travel industry is experiencing growth in many areas, rebounding from previous downturns. While recovery rates vary globally, sectors like domestic tourism and nature-based vacations are particularly booming, signaling a positive trend overall.

The top three megatrends in travel are sustainability and responsible tourism, digital transformation enhancing traveler experiences, and personalized, experience-driven travel, focusing on authentic, local, and unique experiences.

In 2024, travelers are expected to seek authentic experiences, prioritize sustainability and health safety, demand personalized and flexible travel options, and increasingly blend work with leisure in their travel plans, reflecting the ongoing “bleisure” trend.

Yes, the travel industry has a future, but it is evolving. Adaptation to new technologies, sustainable practices, and changing consumer preferences, especially around health and safety post-pandemic, will be key to its recovery and growth.

A growing style of travel is sustainable tourism, which focuses on minimizing environmental impact and promoting local cultures. Also, experiential travel, offering immersive experiences, and solo travel, tailored to individual preferences, are on the rise.

You may already have adopted some of these travel trends into your business model. Other travel trends may seem more esoteric, particularly those relating to emerging technologies. Even so, getting on board now is important if you don’t want to be left behind.

Want to Learn More About Trends in Related Industries?

It is essential to be aware of all the upcoming trends in the hospitality & tourism-related industries. While some trends can affect multiple industries, some are specific to the industry. You can learn more about trends within different industries in the following articles.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten
Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. I am specialized in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have over 15 years of experience developing, implementing, and managing revenue management and marketing strategies and processes for individual properties and multi-properties.