Booking.com has identified the needs and wants of future travellers based on research among more than 27,000 travellers across 33 countries combined with the platform's digital insights into consumer behaviour.
With almost fifty percent of travellers looking to book surprise trips where everything is unknown until arrival, the concepts of ‘surprise and delight’ will keep increasing next year.
This potential shift in destination decision-making paves the way for lesser-known locations and experiences as people venture off the beaten path and connect with strangers.
Flexibility will be key, with the majority preferring to have no plans set in stone or travelling with loose plans so they can change direction based on what feels good, creating a rise in last-minute bookings.
Technologies that help embrace spontaneity and AI expansion, like Booking.com’s AI Trip planner in beta in markets like the US, are going mainstream in 2024.
Travellers want insights and tips from AI when on holiday to upgrade experiences with suggested ancillaries and deals. In New Zealand, 34 percent of Kiwi travellers trust AI to plan a trip.
The rising inflation will also cause travellers in 2024 to take a save-and-splurge approach to itinerary building, seeking moments of luxury as an add-on to budget-conscious basics.
Forty-five percent of travellers will be willing to pay for day passes to use the amenities in a five-star hotel rather than staying there, while 34 per cent would pay to rent a nicer car than they drive at home to travel in style.
Sustainability innovation and experiences rooted in purpose are being sought by discerning travellers.
Travellers want jaw-dropping architecture that has environmental features at its heart, with two in five looking for accommodation that has a wow factor, while two-thirds want to see the outside brought indoors with green spaces and plants in accommodations on holiday.
Accommodations and experiences that can elevate the traditional history, geography, and craftsmanship of local cuisine will also be in hot demand for next-gen gastro-tourists.
Industry operators can further tap into this by offering experiences that take travellers on trails that tell the story behind the food they serve.
Relaxation will be seen as an antidote to the challenges of modern life, like sleep concierges and cutting-edge tech in the sleep tourism category.
This also taps into the expected rise of water-centric travel, as 74 percent agree that being close to water instantly makes them feel more relaxed. Experiences such as floating yoga, water sound baths and snow meditation will boom, as well as ice therapy retreats, underwater hotels and mermania.
"Our 2024 travel predictions reflect the idea that travel is not a means to escape life, but instead a catalyst to live our best lives,” said Arjan Dijk, CMO and Senior Vice President of Booking.com.
Travel Predictions 2024 research commissioned by Booking.com and conducted among adults who plan to travel for business or leisure in the next 12-24 months. Respondents completed an online survey in July 2023.
