Tourism businesses would need to contend with the changing travel behaviours spurred by Covid-19. — Unsplash
As the world slowly reopens for tourism, the industry needs to contend with changing travel behaviours spurred by Covid-19.
Travellers, according to a new report from global travel marketplace Skyscanner, are now more conscious of their spending and want peace of mind during their holidays.
The Emerging Traveller Behaviour As the World Reopens study reveals that price is the biggest incentive to booking holidas, followed by trust.
“Our findings reveal that for the majority of travellers, low price offers provide the biggest incentive to book. However, other factors and outcomes from the past 18 months are also top of mind. For example, greater ticket flexibility and Covid-19 travel insurance.
“And there is now a focus on the booking experience, in particular trust and service,” said Skyscanner vice president (flights) Hugh Aitken in a statement.
The report analyses survey data from 24,000 consumers in eight countries as well as extensive global search data to provide unique insights and potential opportunities for the travel sector.
Opportunities are evident for “unserved” routes – itineraries that are only currently possible via a one or two-stop journey – and the origins and destinations they encompass.
“When it comes to flight search, we see increasing demand for long-haul leisure and VFR (visiting friends or relatives) destinations, some of which are only currently possible with indirect itineraries.
“Within this demand, there may be opportunity – especially within the VFR segment – as travellers look to reconnect with family after prolonged periods apart and corporate travel takes longer to bounce back,” said Aitken.
When it came to important factors for booking their next flights, the majority of travellers (58%) said they want greater ticket flexibility.
However, the primary reason for Japanese travellers is up-to-date information on Covid-19. German travellers meanwhile, are motivated by free flight cancellation.
In a separate news, the “living local” trend has gained strong momentum this year with travellers rediscovering closer-to-home destinations and experiences, according to new data by Global Hotel Alliance (GHA).
GHA is the world’s largest loyalty programme for independent hotel brands.
Data of summer travel behaviours from members globally revealed domestic hotel stays accounted for 88% of all stays globally from June to September 2021, compared to 72% two years prior (June to September 2019).
“In 2021, consumers are embracing opportunities to live life to the fullest, exploring new destinations that are closer to home, revisiting old favourites, and demanding more in-hotel experiences whether they are staying overnight or taking a quick ‘daycation’, as our summer 2021 data clearly reveals,” said GHA chief executive officer Chris Hartley.
By region, guests in Asia stayed local the most this summer, with domestic stays jumping to 91% during the four-month period in 2021, versus 52% in 2019.
The top staycation markets were United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, the United States, Germany and Britain.
