We often get asked in the travel industry where are the hottest places that we are sending people, or what are people enquiring about when booking. The reality is people are travelling everywhere and anywhere these days. In the last 12 months, there has been no little or no “destination” trends.
However we sat down to dive a bit deeper into the question when crafting this blog post there are 7 stand out Trends – which are sweeping the travel industry.
We have listed these based on importance to our customers – as well as the importance to our ethos and the underlying reason why we are so curious about the world and want to tell everyone about it.
True Sustainability has become a requisite – not a nice to have
“Over-tourism” is a growing concern. During the peak European summer travel months, destinations such as Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik find themselves simply overwhelmed, residents increasingly angered by the takeover of tourists.
For travel to remain true to people and place, we must ensure that we work to grow tourism in a sustainable, environmentally concious manner – assisting local communities to celebrate who they are, respecting their uniqueness, as a prelude to building their economy and protecting their environment.
We were thrilled to see Air New Zealand introducing an sustainability report as well as joining the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Where they offset their carbon emissions – this is a world first for any major airline.
The term “sustainable” has been increasingly paired up with “travel” and “tourism” to denote a desired way of operating.
We are hearing more and more from our travellers that they are becoming increasingly engaged with spending their money on “sustainable” ventures. It is not about being eco-friendly, it is about being environmentally-conscious – being part of the bigger picture, preserving something for the long term.
How does Travel Shack give meaning to the term “sustainability”? These are our three criteria for sustainable travel:
- Economic – how, the business model supports the local economy
- Cultural – being sensitive to the history, traditions, identity and ideologies of a people and place
- Environmental – preserving, protecting and promoting the gifts of natural environment all around us.
We will see people travelling at traditional “off-peak” or shoulder periods as is, not only to avoid excessive crowds but also to avoid compromising some of those destinations that cannot cope with the burgeoning influx.
It will help pace the tourism intake and sustain businesses that might otherwise be stretched with having the highest percentage of their business boom during the key summer months (more longevity and sustains business and tourism).
It’s all about personalisation
Lest we never forget: when travelling, personalisation is no longer a pleasant surprise more and more of our customers are demanding this. So for Travel Shack it is an absolute expectation that your travel experience is personalised with you.
Today’s connectivity means that consumers are rightfully expecting, and demanding, more. From our perspective, for every single one of our friends (also known as clients) around the world, no one matters more than each of them.
Because travellers want to feel like their interests and preferences are not only taken seriously but are legitimately applied. They want their holiday to be as individual as they are. And rightly so.
Plus our best friends and customers, have invested trust, time, energy and not to mention sums of money to choose to book their holiday with us over others. We totally accept that it is expected, we reciprocate by honouring not just their choice, but honouring them with one in a lifetime experiences every single time they head away.
Off-the-beaten-track
Discovering the mysterious, undiscovered and is becoming more and more vital to travellers. Particularly millennial's who are the most well-travelled generation in history.
We continue to see more and more people visiting cities that were, until recently, overlooked, unheard of or inaccessible. There is no doubt that the lower cost of airfares in recent times has had a profound, positive impact on these lesser known places.
Since the privatisation of many national carriers and increased competitively over the past 2 decades, airlines have added over 15,000 new routes — serving more than 39,000 city pairs.
There are now 1,295 international airports serving 49,977 routes worldwide.
What does this mean for travellers in 2018?
More choices, more exploration, more learning, more opportunity to create more in life for the people accessing these remarkable new jewels of travel.
Technology, enriching the travel experience
From AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) and IoT (Internet of Things), they are all becoming integrated into daily life. In 2018, we envision them further assimilating into the traveller experience, making them an integral part of the journey to the ultimate destination.
It shouldn’t be surprising that holidaymakers in 2018 will want to ensure that technology works for them to leverage their travels – before they go, whilst travelling, and after, especially when sharing their experience.
As an industry, we need to ensure we are tapping into this trend, embracing technology that genuinely enriches our experiences.
There is no doubt that the written form is quickly evaporating and today consumers are ever-increasingly looking at video for inspiration; and particularly short-form video, (from 5 – 30 seconds). We know that when a video starts, 62% of people look at the time bar and if its long, they click off.
In 2018 we will see short-form videos on Youtube or Vimeo help drive over 50% of millennials decisions on where they want to travel and what they want to experience. It is these videos and images that truely engage and inspire travellers.
In 2017 the world reached the tipping point when we viewed more websites or apps on our smartphones and tablets than our desktops. This milestone highlights how our interaction with technology is rapidly shifting.
With this distinct trend we know the use of technology whilst travelling with us in 2018 is imperative. Travel Shack have partnered with Tripcase an innovative new way for our guests to get information via mobile before, during and after their travels. The key features of the trip case are, it stores all your flight tickets, booking information plus you can engage directly with us via messaging or calling us from the app. Make sure you chat to one of us about TripCase before your next break away.
Off-Season travel
Travel has become a way of life. Exploring, adventuring, relaxing, escaping, reconnecting – all of these have become a part of what we do, and shape who we are.
The numbers of travellers are growing annually, dramatically.
Clearly, however, in key cities, the industry can’t build accommodation fast enough to accommodate high season peaks, and travelling on your own can result in long queues that simply exhaust the desire to fulfil a travel dream. Re-adjusting our mindsets to embrace year-round travel as a genuine prospect allows travellers to fully enjoy every moment and not have that sinking feeling of worrying about battling crowds at each turn. Lack of crowds means lack of frustration of time and space lost as you embark on the same “bright idea” to travel to the same place at the same time as everyone else.
The following three variables are being increasingly considered and I believe we will see more travellers shifting to embrace year-round travel:
If you’ve ever been to the same destination during the typical peak season and the off-season, you could relate to us instantly.
- The way locals treat visitors when there aren’t many of them is also worth noticing. Welcomes are warmer – you will feel more like a traveller than a tourist.
- You will also see more. Without traffic and queues, you will get more opportunity to discover a whole new range of activities to enjoy taking part in
- Finally, there are the prices. From flights to activities to accommodation, depending on the time of year and season, rates can vary significantly. Discounts are for times of low demand. The plus points make it all a rather obvious alternative
HDD – Holiday deficit disorder
Holiday deficit disorder: An expression that one of our great friends and clients bestowed on us. It wasn’t that long ago that taking all of one’s holiday time was almost frowned upon. Today the importance of unplugging is greatly understood. Never has there been such an awareness of the strong relationship between wellness and taking time off. “Holiday Shaming” is rapidly becoming an ideal of the past.
Encouraging personal timeout is the evolved way of looking at employee well-being, on and off the job. At the same time, travellers recognise that regularly recharging, refreshing and rejuvenating is part of a healthy work-life balance. What better way than to travel to new places, get away from the day to day and completely escape. The need to learn more to increase one’s productivity, creativity, sense of purpose and sense of participation is not only acquired in the workplace. There is no better school for personal growth and decompression than the travel world that surrounds us all.
Bragging Rights
If there is one thing that is going to distinctly differentiate this travel generation compared to those of years, and generations, past, it is the articulation of feedback – posting, rating, bragging. Today’s travellers are more ambitious and adventurous, both in their travelling and in their travel-sharing. It’s no longer about checking boxes. Travellers want adventurous, participatory experiences. Sight-seeing is important but not enough. Sight-doing is the way to touch their travel souls and make memories to last a lifetime.
The quest for realness – living local – has put heightened pressure on the most overused word in travel, “authentic”. What must never be forgotten is what travellers are ultimately looking for: getting below the surface of destinations, understanding their uniqueness and very essence.
For the rest of 2018 going into 2019, we think there will be an increase of people fully engaged in the sharing economy, communicating to the world the wonderfully enriching experiences that they have discovered but that their friends haven’t. Yet.
So, these are our Top Seven Travel Trends or Insights for the rest of 2018 and into the future – we are calling them our truths for the year ahead. Hopefully, you can use these trends to guide you in your quest to an amazing experience of adventure, exploration and travel in the future.
If you have any questions or keen for a chat feel free to get in touch.