Today we talk a bit about the future of travel. We have talked a lot about trends in work environments, coworking spaces or digital nomads. In this blog post we want to focus a bit on how the future of travel will look. Which are geographical areas we are expecting to grow higher than others in terms of travelers? What are interests of travelers which will define the future of travel?
Lowering of travel barriers helps flourishing the tourism industry
You remember our blog post where we argued that 20 years ago, for most people going to an exotic restaurant was a way of letting your mind travel? An at that times affordable way of diving into a different culture for an hour or two. Today, we can easily do a weekend trip somewhere which may not be significant more expensive than a dinner with a friend. Traveling has become affordable to a vast majority of the population. While in the 1950s about 25 million international arrival has been recorded, the same number reached 1.2 billion by 2015. This is an increase of 4,700%! According to the World Economic Forum, travel is actually one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world.
A key element of this growth in international travel, is the lowering of travel barriers. Travel just have become affordable. In addition, the disposable income has grown as well which helped the middle classes around the world to grow steadily as well.
People from Africa and Middle East will be traveling more in 2030
Looking at trends in the future of travel, we are expecting an above average increase of travelers especially from Africa and Middle East. While in 2015 Africa recorded around 35 million outbound tourists, it is expected that this number grows to 90 million by 2030. This is an increase of 157% and as such the highest increase compared with other regions around the world. The second highest increase of 125% is expected in the Middle East. Travelers will grow from 36 million in 2015 to 81 million by 2030.
On a global scale, there is generally an increase of travelers expected by 57%. The global number of outbound tourists will grow from 1,180 million in 2015 to 1,809 million in 2030. This growth and especially the growing interest in regions which are currently still considered being exotic which will shape the future of travel.
If we are looking at the fastest growing destinations for leisure travel spending from 2016 to 2026, it is interesting to see that “exotic” locations like India, Angola, Uganda and Brunei are leading the list with between 7.3% and 7.8% of annual growth.
Not only travel locations are changing, traveler personalities as well
There is not only a shift in from where travelers are mainly coming from but as well a categorization of travel personalities. Amadeus created six travel personalities which behave differently in their travel planning and interest. This categorization will shape the future of travel and how stakeholders in the travel industry will have to adjust their service offerings.
Simplicity searchers are focusing on ease of travel. They are find with third parties organizing the details of the travel.
Cultural purists are those travelers who want to deep dive into different cultures. It is all about disconnecting from the daily routine and completely blend into a different culture.
Social capital seekers are individuals which are digitally well connected. Their decisions are is geared towards letting their social network participate in their travel experiences.
Reward hunters are pampering themselves with experiences and comforts they do not have in their daily life. They are ready to spend extra money on additional services.
Obligation meeters travel because of a duty. This includes business travelers or people who travel to a wedding or a family reunion.
Ethical travelers will let their travel decisions being guided by personal beliefs and values. This could be linked to environment, political or social issues.
The future of travel will empower people from currently under-represented regions in terms of travel to move around globally as well as requires from the industry stakeholders to understand the profile and motivation of the individual travelers.
