Wealthy tourists, travelers with families and millennials from developing countries will be the main drivers of the tourism recovery. On the other hand, tourism activity is recovering more slowly among residents of developed countries, as well as among representatives of generation Z. These are the highlights of the global travel market trends report published by Euromonitor International, an international research company.
As part of the preparation of the report, Euromonitor International interviewed approximately 1,000 people in 40 countries of the world.
Millennials the Most Active
The researchers note that in 2020 the international tourism market collapsed by 75 %, and its full recovery could take at least five years.
The pandemic led to a massive closure of borders and a shift in demand for domestic tourism. One of the travel market trends is that the millennial generation is the most active in this aspect.
In Europe, 78% of millennials surveyed traveled domestically this year, while 45% traveled abroad.
In the Asia-Pacific region (APR) and the Middle East, the difference is even larger. In the APR, 80% of millennials surveyed have traveled within their countries, and only 41% traveled abroad, in the Middle East - 82% and 44%, respectively. The smallest gap between domestic and foreign tourism was in North America - 61% and 39%, respectively.
Generation Z More Affected
Meanwhile, Generation Z is more affected by the pandemic. The reason is that they do not yet have sufficient income. Moreover, Generation Z prefers more informal and less stable jobs.
At the same time, 71% of surveyed representatives of Generation Z and millennials from developing countries intend to increase their expenditure on tourism in 2021. Their peers in developed countries are more cautious - 63%.
Wealthy Travelers and Families Drive the Recovery
One of the travel market trends is that wealthy travelers and tourists with families are the drivers of the recovery of the market.
According to the report, for people whose annual income is at least $100,000, the most preferred type of travel is traveling with a partner or spouse, while these holidaymakers do not really want to travel alone.
Another category of consumers intending to increase their expenditure on international tourism in 2021 is family people, who are going to resume travel with their spouses and children.
Importance of Digitalization
Another trend to be noted is the growth of digitalization. China has become the leader in this aspect, as in 2021 56 % of surveyed Chinese booked trips using smartphones. Vietnam and Saudi Arabia were second and third, respectively.
For their part, tourists from developed countries are still in no hurry to use mobile technologies. Among those surveyed in Germany, Belgium and the UK, this figure was less than 20 %.
Experts note that mobile digital services can attract many more customers if they focus on the development of personalized offers, artificial intelligence, and big data analysis.
In this case, new services can gain great popularity not only in developing but also in developed countries, especially among the representatives of younger generations.