New Research Study: 5 Trends From Travel’s 2021 Summer season Rise

Skift Take

Expedia Group Media Solutions’ Q2 2021 Travel Healing Pattern Report includes the latest research study and crucial information on how travel is returning, with actionable insights to help assist the industry as it catches brand-new demand.

Expedia Group Media Solutions

Slowly however certainly, the travel and hospitality market is finding its feet, regardless of lingering questions ahead. As recovery sets even more in, and a boost in leisure travel reservations continues to drive momentum, operators are navigating new consumer habits and looking for to set themselves up for the need to come.

Expedia Group Media Solutions’ Q2 2021 Travel Healing Trend Report covers the current development trends in the industry, shining important light on the “how” and “where” of travel’s return. “Although Covid-19 versions generate care, the clear indications from our research study are that travelers are eager and prepared to explore again– including to places they weren’t thinking about earlier in the pandemic,” stated Wendy Olson Killion, senior vice president, Expedia Group Media Solutions.

The report is the most recent edition of Expedia Group Media Solutions’ extensively welcomed quarterly Travel Recovery Trend Report, following up the first version released in May 2021, which harnesses special access to more than 300 petabytes of Expedia Group first-party information and customized research.

SkiftX unpacks the motivating trends seen in the second quarter of this year, focusing on Expedia Group’s key information, to help brands and operators industry-wide with actionable insights in order to mesmerize customers and place themselves for the need to come.

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Rising Browse Volumes

A key takeaway from the report reveals that search volumes throughout the board increased in Q2 2021, leaping up 70 percent from the first quarter of the year.

Travelers demonstrated their desire to make up for lost time and take a trip more throughout this summer season and beyond, allowed by access to vaccines and the subsequent easing of border restrictions in lots of parts of the world.

This dovetails with the more optimistic mindsets around post-pandemic travel that travelers reported. Expedia Group’s Traveler Value Index further reveals that 72 percent of travelers stated they intend on traveling over the next 12 months, based upon a study of over 8,000 consumers in eight nations.

While questions around the state of the pandemic stay at the minute, brands and operators industry-wide ought to feel urged to boost their marketing and analytics in order to make the most of the upward trend.

Lengthening International Search Windows

During the height of the pandemic, travelers felt limited, usually going with brief journeys– frequently scheduled at the last minute– near house. This behavior continued through Q1 2021 and was still a feature of the second quarter of the year, with half of worldwide searches once again having a 21-day search window or less.

Encouragingly, this trend appears to be changing. Searches with a longer window of 22 to 90 days in advance of travel dates accounted for more than 35 percent of searches in Q2, up almost 25 percent compared to the very first quarter of the year. This indicates that tourists are feeling more positive to start scheduling on the back of loosening up worldwide constraints.

International Travel Gains Steam

International travel reduced practically overnight at the height of the pandemic. But in Q2 2021, these reservations seemed increasing. Internationally, searches for worldwide destinations grew at a quicker rate than those for domestic destinations during numerous weeks of Q2, correlating with a growing variety of green list nations and less worldwide restrictions. In addition, while 60 percent of consumers reported that they will travel within their house country in the next 12 months, 27 percent likewise said they would do so internationally.

Remarkably, one in two Americans plan to take a dream vacation, or take more journeys for longer, compared to prior to the pandemic, according to a current Expedia Group survey. Container list locations, such as Italy, Hawaii, and Mexico– as recognized by the Media Solutions 2020 “Where Next?” campaign — have an unique chance to take on this demand during travel’s rebound.

Urban Hubs for the Win

Beach and city locations comprised the leading 10 reservation options for destinations in Q2 2021. Nevertheless, the preference for cities seems to be growing.

Cities that either got in the regional leading 10 or moved up in ranking throughout Q2 consist of: Chicago and Atlanta among tourists based in The United States and Canada; Seoul and Jeju City for travelers from Asia-Pacific; Copenhagen and Paris for those from the Europe, Middle East, and Africa areas; and Houston and Mexico City amongst tourists based in Latin America.

Hotels likewise saw an increase in need, rising 10 percent in between Q1 and Q2 2021 globally. This is a trend that will likely continue as more regions and destinations open their doors to a steadier circulation of global traffic.

Growing Need for Sustainable Choice

Consumers likewise suggested a strong preference for more eco-friendly and sustainable products, with Expedia Group’s Tourist Worth Index highlighting that more travelers are seeking to decrease their ecological footprint and unfavorable effect on local communities.

Nearly 3 in 5 customers reported their desire to pay more for these types of culturally and environmentally sensitive experiences. This was particularly real for Gen Z and millennial travelers, two-thirds of whom stated they’re most likely to consider environmentally friendly travel, a minimum of some of the time.

Hotels, operators, and travel brands in every sector of the market would succeed to deepen their commitments to getting rid of single-use plastics, enhancing recycling facilities, and making more usage of electric automobile charging stations, LED light bulbs, and renewable energy– touchpoints which ranked especially high in the consumer feedback.

“The progressive recovery and rebuilding of the travel market continued in Q2, and we’ll continue to track and publish these patterns in the quarters to come,” Olson Killion stated. “However what our research study in Q2 also showed is that numerous tourists are trying to find a changed travel industry to re-emerge after the pandemic– a message that all travel brand names and operators ought to consider.”