American Express Travel has released its Global Travel Trends Report this week, which makes for some interesting reading about the state of the travel market and trends expected for the future.
The research was carried out across seven countries, including the United States, Australia, India, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom, with 8000 travellers taking part. Travellers were defined as adults who travelled by air at least once in 2019.
According to the research, the top insights include:
87% of people surveyed said that having a trip planned in the future gives them something to look forward to,
76% of respondents are creating their destination wish list for future travel even though they might not be able to travel yet and 63% of respondents said that they are saving their credit card points so they can go on a vacation once they feel comfortable travelling.
56% of respondents said that they miss traveling so much that they are willing to book a trip now even if they might have to cancel it in the future.
54% of respondents said that the freedom and flexibility of being able to live and work while traveling the globe is more appealing now than it was prior to the pandemic.
65% of respondents said they plan to travel after they and their family members have received a vaccine for COVID-19.68% of respondents agree they are trying to be more aware of sustainability-friendly travel brands to support.
“Our latest global trends report shows that there is a pent-up demand for travel among consumers, with many people longing for and beginning to plan future trips,” said Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel. “In addition, the pandemic environment is giving rise to emerging trends, such as the increasing appeal of working from anywhere while travelling globally, luxury being defined as more personalized experiences, cleanliness and privacy as the ultimate luxury amenities, as well as a growing interest in the environmental and social purpose of their trips and travel companies.”
The pandemic has changed peoples’ perception of luxury travel with personalized experiences (82%), high cleanliness standards (81%) and privacy (79%) being the most desirable luxury amenities among respondents1. 59% indicate that they want to use a travel agent to help plan and customize their next trip and 80% indicate they are willing to travel to destinations during the offseason so that it's less crowded.
69% of respondents are interested in visiting lesser-known destinations and American Express Travel booking data reinforces this trend, showing a rise in reservations for second-city destinations. For example smaller cities like Porto (instead of Lisbon) in Portugal, and Wellington (instead of Auckland) in New Zealand.78% of respondents indicate wanting to travel in 2021 to relieve the stresses from 2020.One in three say they will more frequently use travel credits or points to pay for all or part of a trip in 2021 than they did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.61% of survey respondents plan to spend more than they normally would on a trip in 2021 since they could not travel in 2020.64% of respondents miss travelling so much that they would be willing to give up social media for a month to be able to go on vacation.62% of respondents say that eating is the top activity they are interested in doing while travelling.72% of respondents agree that they are passionate about travelling to destinations to help boost tourism revenue and the local economy.69% of respondents agree that they want to choose an airline/hotel that values diversity and inclusion, and whose employees reflect a diverse customer base.60% of respondents agree they want to book airlines that have a carbon neutral commitment.
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