Six Travel Trends that will shape our marketing

SIX TRAVEL TRENDS TO shape our marketing for 2014 and beyond

Six travel trends that are going to shape our marketing in 2014 beyond...

The influence of the ‘millenials’

The Millennials are those born since 2000.  These 18- to 30-year-olds of growing importance to the travel industry and have some key characteristics and will shape the future of travel propositions for the industry. Specifically, the millenials are more ethnically diverse, more interested in urban than resort destinations, more likely to travel to follow interests or activities and more likely to travel with friends in organized groups.

The continuing growth of the Silver market

The Silver market is estimated to comprise 1.3 billion to 1.6 billion people worldwide by 2015. Of crucial importance to this group is customer service. The senior group travels primarily for rest and relaxation on either short or longer stay trips and prefer quieter and less congested destinations. Not only is the senior market the world’s wealthiest group – it is also the most demanding and show very little tolerance to poor or average levels of customer service.


An increase in conspicuous leisure

The ubiquitous use of social media and with it the widespread sharing of photos with friends, families and colleagues – has fostered a trend in conspicuous leisure.  Experiences  will become a ‘social currency’ signalling social status through unique experiences rather than through consumer goods.  These experiences will most likely include owning a holiday home, having the freedom to work from home, taking holidays to exotic destinations and enjoying active experiences

The rise of ‘creative tourism’

Creative tourism is travel that provides an engaged and authentic experience and that can make a connection with those who live and work in the tourism destination.  The ‘creative’ tourist differs from a ‘cultural’ tourist in that he or she is active and interacts with the locals.


The strength of luxury travel

Luxury travel continues to be a robust segment of the travel industry and has remained recession-proof over the last five years as other sectors have struggled.  There are now literally millions of millionaires and the number of affluent households are projected to double between 2012 and 2020. Despite the growth of the Asian (and particularly the Chinese) market, it is still projected that U.S., Japanese and European travellers will dominate the luxury travel market until 2020

The emergence of  multi-generational travel

The older the original baby-boomers get, the more family travel they are doing with a lot of that travel planned around milestone events. The multi-generational market is about trading memories, with convenience and value.

Most destinations have struggled when it comes to providing services and amenities that appeal to six and 60 year-olds alike, but some cruise lines have already taken a leadership position in catering to the multigenerational travel market.

New Exhibitors for WTM 2012

The World Travel Market is welcoming 157 new exhibitors at the event for WTM 2012 with some new interesting names (but sadly not Molvania just yet....)

Europe leads the way in new exhibitors with 41 exhibitors appearing for the first time as Main Stand Holders. They include tourism boards and offices as far apart as San Marino, Lille and Belarus as well as the Republic of Komi, in North Western Russia.

The Technology and Online Travel region has 36 technology companies taking their own stands from a wide range of disciplines including names such as Travel Republic and Online Travel Training. 

Software firms are represented by Hotelogix and Intuitive, while the rise of social media and mobile is reflected in the appearance of specialists in this area such as Revinate and Voiamo Group. Other suppliers exhibiting for the first time include Worldpay and technology services company Wizie.

The Global Village region sees 18 new exhibitors from all parts of the industry including the K+K hotels chain, wholesaler Adonis, Autorent Car Rental and Chic Outlet Shopping in Europe.

Asia has 13 first-time exhibitors (reflecting the growth in China’s travel industry) including China Southern Airlines and newer destinations such as Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, represented by Victoria Vietnam Group, Saigontourist, Uzbektourism and the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators.

India has its own dedicated stand-alone region with 12 new exhibitors including Brys Hotels, Inbound Tour Operator Council (ITOC), West Bengal, hotel company ITC Limited and Odisha Tourism.

The UK has 12 new exhibitors including English Heritage (for the first time??) and the National Trust, plus London attractions The View From the Shard and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

A further ten new exhibitors will attend the show in the Africa region highlighting a continued development  in African tourism, as Africa emerges from last year’s Arab Spring. Notably these include the Libyan Export Promotion Center and Airkenya Express.

Sorry! Mumbai is full.

As the Cricket World Cup Final draws closer, nearly every starred hotel room in the city has been booked.

If you insist, you can be on the waiting list, in case of last-minute cancellations - not that there are likely to be any what with this being a) the first time a host nation has contested the Cricket World Cup final on home soil and that b) Sachin Tendulkar is up for reaching his 100th Century and that c) Muttiah Muralitharan will be bowling his last ever overs in competitive cricket. This is India and this is cricket after all.

"The position is extremely tight. We don't even have enough rooms for prominent guests," said Kamlesh Barot, president, Hotels & Restaurants Association Western India (HRAWI) which has a membership of over 1,200 hotels in the western region of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.

There are around 9,000 rooms in star-rated hotels in Mumbai. According to hotel industry sources, even the approximately 11,000 hotel rooms in the unorganized sector have been booked.

"There are waiting lists. In case of last-minute cancellations, people will be accommodated," Barot said.

Guests from across the country and even from abroad are making a beeline to the city's hotels. Hotel industry sources said it was high time a city like Mumbai expanded its capacity of hosting guests by increasing the number of rooms.

"The availability of 9,000 rooms in star-rated hotels is very low for the financial capital. Cities like NYC, Los Angeles and London have abundant resources for tourists and guests," a senior corporate official who travels frequently across prominent cities said.

A senior government official said the guests, including major corporates, who had booked stands and pavilions at the Wankhede, had made bulk bookings. "There is no option for others but to wait or they can go to hotels in the unorganized sector, including lodges," said the official who could not book rooms for his guests.

My money is on India by the way. And for Tendulkar to get his 100th century..

Three & Four Star hotels get back to basics

A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit entitled 'The Austere traveller' highlights some of the trends hotels will face over the next 12 months. Namely, that business people will make fewer, shorter and cheaper business trips in 2009 and prefer basic efficiency and good service over 'frills' and ancillary services.

The good news here is that there will be a move towards established brands with a reputation for levels of good service, no matter where they are in the world.

With nearly a half of all respondants planning to take fewer trips in the next twelve months, over a quarter expect to downgrade from 4 and 5-star hotels.

What a great opportunity for three and four star hotels! Ensure you provide good services levels and you will pick up business - just get the simple things right!

• be flexible to changing arrangements
• have an efficient check in-check out
• remember you customers
• resolve any problems quickly
• provide internet connectivity!