Sustainable options will dictate the 2024 travel trends

On the holiday itself, personalization might include offering the chance to immerse in local customs and hospitality, bespoke itineraries or guided tours by expert locals. Travellers want the chance to create interest-specific, individually-tailored moments and connections with a destination’s culture, people and traditions. After two years of revenge travel and well-researched bucket-list vacationing, travelers are experiencing planning fatigue thinking about the year ahead.

International leisure travel hit record highs this year as many travelers checked off bucket list vacations to Europe, Asia and beyond. Following a year of far-flung adventure, just 24 per cent of survey respondents report plans to take more international trips in 2024, and only 26 per cent are planning big trips to bucket list destinations.

In a way, 2024 looks to be the year Americans will prioritize ease, quality time, wellbeing and restoration while travelling.

As we near the end of 2023, the global travel market itself is still emerging from the single greatest shock the industry has ever suffered to its ecosystem. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the trends on the horizon for next year are in lots of ways shaped by the after-effects of that shock, which are still being felt around the world.

The outlook is healthy though: a 10-year forecast by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) puts the sector on track to outpace global growth at a rate of 5.8% annually, while global GDP grows at just 2.7%. The WTTC estimates that this could potentially translate into 126 million new jobs by 2032.

After hitting $7.7tn in 2022, this year has seen the contribution of travel and tourism to GDP worldwide rebound to an estimated $9.5tn, almost scaling its pre-pandemic 2019 height of $10tn.

This is partly due to the market. Extensive growth from low-cost airlines continues to make holidays appear cheap overall. Companies are also finding ways to adapt to these pressures so that travel remains affordable. Some airlines have moved to pay 50% immediately and the balance two weeks before. We’re also seeing the duration of booking times increase to 18-24 months, to keep monthly payment costs low and encourage continued growth in bookings.

It’s fair to say that one-size-no-longer-fits-all in the travel industry. The disparity between what consumers want – and what they receive – is still glaring.

Tourists want tailor-made travel experiences that give them authentic, unforgettable moments. The reality for lots of travelers though, is that there is still plenty of friction in the travel booking process, thanks to antiquated, silo-ed systems.

That said, there are some leaders in seamless travel tech and we expect to see some consolidation in the travel industry, bringing airlines and OTAs together. The prize itself is huge: the value of the personalized travel and experiences industry is forecast to more than quadruple during this decade to nearly half a trillion dollars by 2030.

On the holiday itself, personalization might include offering the chance to immerse in local customs and hospitality, bespoke itineraries or guided tours by expert locals. Travellers want the chance to create interest-specific, individually-tailored moments and connections with a destination’s culture, people, and traditions, all of which (they hope) will linger in the memory when the holiday is long over.

After two years of revenge travel and well-researched bucket-list vacationing, travelers are experiencing planning fatigue thinking about the year ahead. While desire to travel remains high, 75 percent of survey respondents say they would love to have at least one element of a trip be a surprise, especially Millennial and Gen Z travelers. Almost half (48 per cent) find it appealing to have trip activities be a surprise; 40 per cent are interested in being surprised by dining choices and 36 per cent prefer that the destination is kept a secret. While having someone else plan aspects of travel is desirable, only nine per cent of travellers are willing to throw all planning out the window and embark on a trip that is a complete surprise. While battling planning fatigue, travelers are in turn prioritizing restorative travel for the year ahead.

Instead of spending time in crowds of tourists, 57 per cent are looking to spend quality time with family while travelling, which is a 7-point spike over last year, and 43 per cent are planning annual trips with family or friends in 2024.

At the start of this decade, online and app bookings were worth an estimated $432 billion, which is predicted to grow to $833 billion by 2025. Around 70% of customers use a smartphone at some point in the holiday booking process, while 72% book via their mobile phone within two days of finding what they’re looking for in Google search.

More and more travelers are hungry for more sustainable alternatives. A report from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) shows that 69 per cent of travellers are actively seeking sustainable travel options, and there’s no sign of that trend slowing down.