2020 saw new consumer trends in travel due to which the global travel sector had to adapt to the new situation. Tripadvisor, in collaboration with Phocuswright, has conducted an extensive analysis of websites and data on changes in consumer behaviour since the start of the pandemic. The survey, published in October 2020, included consumers from six different markets and revealed important results for the market.
Health comes first
Consumers still do not feel safe to travel internationally and it is not very likely that such a trend will change soon. Thus, communication with consumers has become crucial in providing a positive experience and boosting passenger demand. One of the new useful communication tools is Tripadvisor’s free Travel Safe, designed to provide potential guests with health and safety information about a property. Companies that used this tool had, on average, a 16% higher engagement of users on their lists compared to companies that did not.
From urban centres to nature
According to the second survey result, there is a noticeable trend of increase in travel to less populated areas. For most respondents, the main factor in choosing a destination is avoiding crowds, and more than half would now prefer to choose a nature trip, something they would have less likely done before the pandemic. This affects both the consumer’s choice of destination and the choice of accommodation.
More careful travel planning
Despite the current circumstances, people have not given up the desire to travel. There has been a trend of last-minute travel planning providing travellers with a sense of escape from reality. However, this trend has not led to more spontaneous decision-making. Although there is an increased desire for last-minute travel, consumers have begun to put more effort into more detailed travel planning.
Tripadvisor traffic data and analysis of consumer surveys have come to the same conclusion – the recovery of the global travel sector will largely depend on the speed at which the vaccine becomes widely available. Consequently, countries and regions will recover at different speeds. But there are predictions that some of the trends listed in this report could continue after the pandemic.
