The global travel industry will continue to grow in the next twelve months. This is a prediction made by TripAdvisor in it’s latest study. According to it, the average travel budget for 2014 has increased with nearly $200. However, more people have shared that they would travel domestically instead of internationally.
The research takes a look at the current tendencies in both global and regional travel. In addition, it examines hotel booking trends and spending habits, and different travel patterns. Analysts have estimated that travellers will spend an average of $6,136 this year. In comparison, in 2013 this figure amounted to a little over $5,950. Travellers in South Africa have gone even further, since they have increased their travel budgets by 30% over the last one year. Similar is the case with Asia-Pacific countries like Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Nevertheless, 9 in 10 travellers do not intend to cross the boarders of their home country in 2014. International trips, on the other hand, are predicted to be 23% less than domestic ones. This means that hoteliers might finally need to focus more on their regional guests.
Also, the study has found the main thing that influence travelers’ decisions this year. More than 90% from the people who participated in the survey have shared that their choice of vacation often depends on the deals which they have found. Still, the price factor continues to be the most important one for international travellers. In fact, only 5% of the respondents have stated that the price is of little significance for them. Travellers also interested in special offers, since 44% of them base their holiday choice on this particular factor.
Hoteliers, however, seem to have built a completely different profile of their clients. According to most hotel or resort owners or managers, the majority of their guests are most concerned with reviews they read on the web (64%). Only 50% believe that the price actually matters for modern travellers. In addition, 45% of hoteliers are confident that their clients’ choice of vacation is heavily influenced by their family or friends.
TripAdvisor’s study has also categorized 2014 travellers into three main groups. The first one is called the Millennials and it consists of travellers aged 18 to 34. They are characterized with their desire to visit new location and to explore the local events there. Another thing about millennials is that they like to rely on travel blogs and social media websites for travel inspiration.
The second group is the families. In 2014, they are one of the few exceptions which will be more interested in international than in domestic trips. The research has found that they are highly interested in special travel offers and deals.
The third main group of travellers this year consists of retirees or people over the age of 55. Out of all groups, they seem to car the least about price. Despite that, they are early birds and prefer to book in advance of six months.
Also, the web has become an important tool in travel planning. Only 2% of all participants in the survey do not have the habit to research and plan their trip on the web. Still, in most of the cases, travellers combine online and offline travel planning methods.
