Source: "What Travel Agents Say Leisure Travelers Want Right Now" - Skift
According to Skift, the difficulty of planning large group vacations and organizing exclusive vacation activities has resulted in leisure travelers seeking more help from travel agents. Some of these agents give us the inside scoop on what leisure travelers have been craving in recent years. Keep reading to find out what travel agents say leisure travelers want right now.
What Do Leisure Travelers Want Right Now?
“River cruising is definitely the brightest spot of all growth opportunities,” said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group. Data from Travel Leaders Group shows a bump in cruise bookings, particularly in the Caribbean and Europe.
River Cruises Exhibiting in the Travel & Adventure Show
Chaos in Europe and the Middle East, however, may have limited tour bookings early in 2015.
The renewed strength of the dollar has not had much effect on the spending power of American consumers, but is expected to create a favorable environment for international travel this year.
Leisure Travelers Want Something Different
Throughout 2016, there has been a shift in customer demand that travel companies are reacting to. While travelers are spending more, they want different types of experiences than before. See “Tourism Consumers Want Experiential Travel.”
In order to satisfy consumers with such needs, travel agents must build deep relationships with partners in global destinations.
“People are doing less luxury travel for the sake of luxury, and more for the sake of experiences,” said David Kolner, senior vice president of global member partnerships for Virtuoso. What does this mean? Travelers want experiential travel.
Leisure Travelers Are Spending More
The percentage of travelers planning to vacation more in the next 12 months has increased significantly. After dropping from 27% to 16% between 2008 and 2010, it has now jumped from 24% in 2015 to 28% in 2016.
Spending among travelers has increased as well. From an average of $4,742 in 2015, travelers now plan to spend even more on vacations... $5,182 for 2016! See "American Travelers Portrait 2016-2017"
Leisure Travelers Want to Bring Their Families
While travelers are spending more, they are increasingly traveling on vacation with bigger family groups
“Families are in a situation where time is precious, and they don’t want to waste it,” said Sutherland. “We’ve seen a four percent increase over last year in terms of multigenerational travel; 36 percent of our travelers this year traveled in a multigenerational format.”
Millennials Want to Travel
Millennials, too, are beginning to seek advice from travel agents for travel tied to life milestones. The top booking by Travel Leaders agents for travelers 30 and under is for a honeymoon vacation.
“Millennials are leading the way in travel agent usage,” said ASTA president Zane Kerby. “Thirty percent have used a travel agent in the last 12 months, and they’re also most likely to recommend agents to a friend.” See “Milennials Are More Likely To Use Travel Agents Than Any Other U.S. Demographic.” - Skift.
Now What?
Now that you have an idea what what leisure travelers want right now, it's time to figure out how to reach these consumers.
At the Travel & Adventure Show, place your brand in front of an audience looking to book their next trip with you.
Who Are Travel & Adventure Show Attendees?
After 13 years and 68 shows, the Travel & Adventure Show team has painted a very accurate portrait of the travelers who attend the shows.
Among TAS attendees:
54% want cultural/experiential vacations
63% are married or in a committed relationship
79% are in peak earning years
85% Hold a college degree
56% Make over $100k/year
So come exhibit at a show and reach your target market!
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