Who Are The Next Big Travellers? • THINK Global Research

Travel means something different to everyone – while one person is thinking of visiting the Eiffel tower, or shopping at Times Square in New York; there is another person looking for new experiences like climbing Mount Everest or co-living with the locals in Fiji.

As we are constantly refreshing our traveller segmentation, we have uncovered the next generation of travellers.

SOLO TRAVEL: CONQUERING DREAMS AND EXPERIENCES

Considering the complexity of committing friends to a trip, new generations are willing to experience adventures by themselves. Connecting with the culture and the locals for an authentic experience is what they’re looking for, more than just the iconic tourist spots. They want to check-off their bucket list outside their comfort zones.

CONSCIOUS TRAVEL: ECOTOURISM

Being socially and environmentally responsible is super on-trend nowadays. Travellers are willing to spend time on activities that offset the environmental impact of their stay. Bookings in eco-friendly escapes are increasing, allowing a priceless and enriching experience.

NOMADIC SABBATICAL: THE FAMILY GAP YEAR

Imagine packing up and leaving it all behind for a year, just to live a family travel adventure. With the option of working remotely and home-schooling, the growth of this trend is unavoidable, even creating the new term “edventure” (educating while travelling). Families want to spend more time together and manage their own schedules.

WELLNESS TRAVELLERS: MENTAL HEALTH FOCUS

It goes beyond eating healthy food, it’s about taking a holistic approach to mental health, from workout spaces to anti-stress and detox destinations. “Athleisure” is the clothing of choice for these travellers, preferring relaxed and comfortable clothes but still with a chic touch.

BUSINESS: BLENDING WITH LEISURE

Visualise being between airports, meetings and personal life, these travellers have started to view business travel as a perk rather than an obligation, blending business and leisure travel (“bleisure”). Knowing the stress that work-travel causes, they’re looking for an end-to-end experience from workstations in airports to anytime check-in hotels.

BABY BOOMERS: GOING BEYOND A 5 STAR HOTEL

Walking tours across Europe, cycling in Scandinavia or enjoying a Safari in Africa are the type of experiences they want to live. They’re looking for active and authentic travelling with friends of the same age. Smartphones are part of their travel to share their adventure with the family.

This all means changes to how we cater for these types of travellers when they arrive to their chosen destination with the first touchpoint being the Airport.  It opens a realm of opportunity for retail, food and beverage, hotels, transport, accommodation and events.

Want more on how to understand these types of travellers? Managing Director, Kristy Ihle, discusses the 6 key techniques used within major airports to understand their customer and create value including: placing a size and value to travellers types; deep diving into these travellers to understand their usage, behaviours and attitudes; mapping the traveller journey; plotting these opportunities across commercial stages and measuring the experience to identify traveller pain points; and using these insights to develop a customer-led brand marketing and communication strategy.

 

 

Written by:

Tatiana Davila – Research Associate