Research more than 27,000 travelers across 33 countries and territories, combining it with its insights as a leading digital travel platform to reveal seven predictions for travel in winter 2024.
1- (Alter) Ego Enthusiasts
In winter 2024, travelers will feel more alive by creating their very own epic alter egos on vacation, with more than a third (37%) making up stories about their real life to people they meet on their travels. These alter ego enthusiasts love the thrill of embodying a 2.0 version of themselves, and go to great lengths to reimagine their best self, with more than three in five (62%) enjoying the anonymity of travel and the chance to recreate themselves.
Over two thirds (68%) feel they are the best version of themselves on vacation, able to shed inhibitions and embrace new aspects of their personalities, while 42% would even pay to rent a nicer car than they drive at home to live their finest lives with confidence. What’s more, well over half (57%) of travelers feel ‘main character energy’ on their travels, with these performers empowered to be the stars of their own life.
2- Surrender Seekers
Travelers increasingly want to surrender themselves to the element of surprise, explore the unknown and venture into uncharted territory on vacation, with over half (52 %) keen to book a surprise trip where everything down to the destination is unknown until arrival. Averse to the ‘sameness’ of everyday life and actively avoiding cookie-cutter experiences, the intuitively adventurous traveler of 2024 wants to step outside of the homogenized vacation, with 56% preferring to venture off the beaten path and a third (34%) seeking to travel with strangers.
The explosion of AI, which has already seen the launch of Booking.com’s AI Trip planner, is going mainstream in 2024: 48% would trust AI to plan a trip for them, with a third of baby boomers (30%) and one in five (20%) of the silent generation finally surrendering to AI in order to assist their travels plans in the year ahead
3- Culinary Excavators
‘must-eat’ delicacies than they were in the past. Four in five (81%) want to try indigenous cuisines in 2024, and heritage flavors are in the spotlight with travelers putting power in the hands of the under-represented, unlocking the secrets of cultures which may have been lost or forgotten in other parts of the world.
Foodie travelers in 2024 will be experientialists who fluctuate between digital and physical realities to transform every discovery into a heightened multisensory extravaganza, with nearly half (46%) wanting an immersive ‘phygital’ food experience enhanced by VR or AR.
4- Reboot Retreaters
For those who are used to sleeping solo, over a third (39%) of travelers would carve out time for a matchmaking holiday to find a spark with a new partner or lover, while more than a third (35%) would focus on a heartbreak holiday to get over an ex. On the contrary, for those still rocking their relationships, a quarter (24%) want to deepen that human connection with their partner as their main priority for traveling in 2024. On the flip side, for those increasingly frazzled parents, they are surprisingly seeking solace on completely solo holidays, with the majority (58%) planning to travel alone in 2024, dropping the kids and their partners to prioritize their vitality.
Taking the impetus to reinvent their ‘real’ life even further, half of all travelers (51%) revealed that the stripped-back lifestyle of agrarian and indigenous communities, where self-sufficiency is a way of life, would appeal to them in 2024. Beyond just back to basics, the focus is on a better balance with nature and the elements to reset their day-to-day back home.
5- A La Carte Affluencers
Travelers in 2024 will employ money saving hacks to cut costs, yet level up vacations with ‘à la carte’ luxuries, scoring a rush from traveling like the rich – even if just for a moment in time. These à la carte ‘affluencers’ want to appear wealthy, sweeping away the reality of having to make financial sacrifices, but behind the scenes are obsessed with see-through spending and curating budget-friendly travel itineraries with the help of their travel partner in crime, AI. In fact, more than half (56%) of travelers will want insights and tips from AI when on vacation to upgrade experiences with suggested ancillaries and deals, all with a flick of their finger.
Additionally, half (50%) of travelers plan to pick destinations in 2024 where the cost of living is less expensive than their hometown, while traveling closer to home is also a draw for some who will be searching for luxe-for-less copycat vacations to reduce costs in 2024 (43%). Many (51%) travelers will be willing to pay for day passes to use the amenities in a five star hotel rather than actually staying there, with a similar number of parents (47%) planning to take their children out of school to travel outside of peak season to make their money stretch further in 2024.
6- Mindful Aesthetes
Discerning travelers will hunt down jaw-dropping architecture that has environmental features at its heart, with over half (53%) looking for accommodation that has wow-factor sustainability innovation. Three in five (60%) want to see sustainability in action, while nearly two thirds (65%) want to see the outside brought indoors with green spaces and plants in accommodations on vacation.
In 2024, in exchange for contributing to conservation efforts, sustainable itineraries will give travelers exclusive access to the places that they are helping preserve, in the most mindful and responsible way. A large number are interested in sustainable travel apps where they can unlock rewards (60%), such as experiences with locals in off-the-beaten-path areas (47%) or visiting remote locations that tourists otherwise have limited access to (44%). The mindful aesthetes are a reminder that it’s possible to bring home all the vacay feels, but also that bold sense of purpose to feel more deeply connected to the environment and surrounding communities when back at home as well.
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