Praytell Predicts: Travel’s Top Trends for 2024

As we sprint wildly into 2024, we can’t help but feel a little *~*psychic*~* and dive very, very deep into our top travel predictions for the year ahead. So, our first-class travel practice got to researching. Reader, you’re welcome to board:

We know 2024 will be a big year for travel ... but maybe not in the ways we’re used to. It will be the year of the “vibe,” with 90% of global travelers saying the nebulous vibe of a hotel or lodging is most important to them while booking. In 2024, travelers want to step into the spotlight during their vacations and adventures with over half (57%) of travelers seeking out “main character energy” from the moment they’ve left the routine of their daily lives to the end of their journey.

But many things about travel remain the same, too. Regardless of generation, the No. 1 reason people still want to travel in 2024 is to rest and recharge. What does that actually look like for the 2024 traveler? We pulled from nearly a dozen primary-sourced travel predictions (Kayak, Expedia, Crimtan, SkyScanner, Forbes, AirBNB, Booking.com, Virtuoso, Hilton, Pinterest, and RVShare) and found the six most common trends across all data. These reports have been cited in Travel+Leisure, Thrillist, Elle Magazine, Time Out and more in the past two months, indicating the media will be eyeing up these trends, too.

2024 TRAVELERS AREN’T AFRAID OF AI. IN FACT, THEY’RE BANKING ON IT.

Why AI-tineraries? According to Expedia, travelers want hyper-specific,
personalized recommendations. With 80% of travelers hoping to book their trip entirely online, AI cuts the anxiety and hassle of chatting with live people to create uniquely tailored experiences.

• But it doesn’t stop at itineraries ... Booking.com also found 46% of travelers are hungry for “phygital experiences” (where physical meets digital), to incorporate elements of AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

• And it continues once they arrive at their destination; more than half (56%) of
  travelers will want insights and tips from AI while on vacation, to upgrade experiences with suggested ancillaries and deals.

PRAYTELL’S TAKE:

With a growing preference for AI in travel, we see a clear shift towards personalized, technology-driven experiences, spanning across all generations. Travel brands can riff on this trend by introducing unique and ownable AI extensions to their existing products, or pitching AI-generated itineraries (with a brand POV on what you should, and shouldn't, take from the AI-generated itinerary -- human touch remains crucial!), or even sending an influencer on an AI-generated itinerary to share their experience.

PEOPLE WANT TO BE OUTSIDE.

• Of bookings already completed for 2024, AirBnB found lodging with national
  parks, amazing views and beach categories are the top-booked spots. They also found searches for listings within the US path of the solar eclipse (April 4 – 7, 2024) increased almost 300% in 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. The 2024 outdoor traveler has also changed demographically from past years, with RVShare finding half of all new campers are non-white. Outdoor businesses have also seen waves of Gen Z travelers, unlike years past.

• As it gets hotter almost everywhere, the majority of travelers (51%) report climate change will impact the way they plan vacations in 2024, while over half (56%) report that as temperatures soar close to home, they will use their vacation to cool down elsewhere. And where are they going to cool down? Three-quarters (75%) agree being close to water instantly makes them feel more relaxed, with over one-third (36%) interested in water-centric vacations in 2024.

• According to Outdoorsy, outdoor travelers don’t book at just any time, but
  specifically target the range around May 22nd (Memorial Day weekend), June 30th (July 4th), and August 29th (Labor Day). They’re also planning their outdoor centered trips ~253 days ahead of their travel day.

• Pinterest predicts that boomers and Gen X plan to take their travels up the
  mountains in their 4x4s with related searches trending 40% to 110% more than the previous year: “Overland gear” +110%, “Off road camping” +90%, “Adventure car” +80%, “Off road wheels” +70%, “Off road car” +40%.

• While many outdoor travelers embarked upon “forest bathing” meditations in their 2023 trips, Virtuoso predicts we’ll continue to see travel booked in this same category, with “wild swimming” as the top predicted outdoor experience trend. Virtuoso has already seen destinations with “wild plunge pools” surge in 2024 booking behavior.

PRAYTELL’S TAKE:

This trend provides a keen opportunity for travel brands to show consumers how they can interact with and enjoy the great outdoors in new ways. This could involve press trips that include outdoor, scenic, and adventure-forward itinerary items, or even unique outdoor stays (think: treehouses, yurts, remote fly-in cabins). Travel brands might also plan ahead by considering what moments of the year are best to showcase unique outdoor experiences and plan media outreach and press trips around these moments.

THERE WILL BE NO SHORTAGE OF NEW FLAVORS TRIED IN 2024.

• 70% of Virtuoso travel industry advisors have seen an increase in culinary travel and 20% of their clients book trips with food and wine as the focus.

• In 2024, Pinterest predicts that we’ll continue to see fusion cuisines and recipes offer high appeal for eager eaters. Dishes like “burger quesadillas”, “Carbonara ramen”, and “pizza pot pies” increased in searches from 55% to 255%.

• Four in five (81%) want to try indigenous cuisines in 2024. Heritage flavors are in the spotlight with travelers putting power in the hands of the under-represented and unlocking the secrets of cultures which may have been lost or forgotten in other parts of the world.

• Pinterest also predicts that a tropical aesthetic will spread all throughout
  boomers’ and Gen Z’s lifestyle choices, but especially in what they eat with searches for “Pineapple mocktails”, “Crushed pineapple upside down cake”, and “Hawaiian sheet pan chicken” increasing 70%, 50%, and 35% respectively.

• Healthy eating and wellness are also a priority for travelers. According to Forbes, more than 40% of 2024 travelers surveyed say they are likely to book a detox trip in the next year, and half of respondents say they would be interested in staying at hotels that offer easily accessible alcohol-free beverage options.

PRAYTELL’S TAKE:

This trend shows us the demand for culinary tourism is entering new niches: authentic cuisine and health-minded dining. Travel brands may want to strategize how they can highlight these two categories, target culinary reporters with these recommendations, and pepper in the above data to make a culinary pitch even more compelling.

MANY 2024 TRAVELERS WILL DO SO TO ESCAPE THE ROUTINE OF THEIR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES.

• More than two-thirds (68%) of 2024 travelers feel they’re the best version of
  themselves on vacation because they’re able to “shed inhibitions and embrace new aspects of their personalities.” In fact, more than a third (37%) make up stories about their real life to people they meet on their travels. In 2024, travel is not only a form of escapism, but a means to become a completely different person!

• Over half (57%) of travelers feel ‘main character energy’ on their travels and want to take center stage during their trips, which they might not otherwise be able to at home. When renting cars during travel, 42% pay more to rent a nicer car than they drive at home to live an upgraded lifestyle.

• What does this mean for itinerary and destination planning? Averse to the
  ‘sameness’ of everyday life and actively avoiding cookie-cutter experiences, Booking.com found over half (52%) of 2024 travelers are keen to book a surprise trip where everything down to the destination is unknown until arrival. 56% prefer to venture off the beaten path and a third (34%) even seek to travel with complete strangers.

• In line with Booking’s No. 1 reason to travel, Pinterest found that boomers and Gen Z will look for trips that provide rest and relaxation that they are otherwise unable to find in their day to day lives. Searches that equip travelers with slow experiences surged between 70% and 165%.

• Travelers are also leaving spare time in their itineraries to go on dates and use
  time for matchmaking in new destinations, with over a third (39%) of travelers saying that they’d carve out time for a matchmaking holiday to find a spark with a new partner or lover.

PRAYTELL’S TAKE:

For the travel industry, this shift indicates a need to offer more adventurous, customized, and socially-engaging travel packages that cater to the desire for personal transformation and novel experiences. We see that travelers are hungry to stray from the pack. Travel brands will want to think about what experiences travelers can do completely on their own and what kind of itineraries allow for adventure and surprising outcomes. They can lead with pitches like “No two experiences exploring the XYZ can be the same” and invite different reporters to take on different adventures while traveling.

2024 TRAVELERS WILL CHANGE THEIR DESTINATION, ITINERARIES, OR EXPERIENCES TO SAVE MONEY.

• Hilton found that cost is the primary factor influencing Gen Z and millennial
  travelers. Despite seeking affordability, these groups anticipate spending more on travel in 2024 than ever, with 64% of global travelers planning to cut spending in other areas to prioritize leisure travel.

• The rise of 'Destination Dupes' offers budget-friendly alternatives to traditional hotspots, allowing travelers to experience the magic of some of their dreamed destinations without forking over all that dough. For example, some travelers highlight visiting Liverpool over London as it’s not as saturated by an expensive tourism industry, yet offers much of the allure of London.

• Kayak found that domestic airfare will drop 16% in 2024 compared to 2023. That means it’ll cost ~$461 on average to fly in the states. Kayak predicts domestic travel will be the most appealing for budget friendly travelers whereas the price for international travel is expected to increase 10% over the next year.

• Travelers are also expecting to save money by blending their work travel and business travel, aka “bleisure.” Globally, more than a third of Gen Z and millennial business travelers said they plan to extend a business trip in 2024 to enjoy leisure time before or after their work obligations.

However, in 2023, the destinations of many large conferences and events shifted from large, urban city centers into secondary markets. In the Americas, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, and Fort Myers topped demand growth among one-year-out bookings. According to Hilton, young travelers are expected to extend their business travel wherever they are, including less-traveled cities growing into business travel hotspots.

PRAYTELL’S TAKE:

This trend indicates a shift towards value-driven travel choices, where affordability meets convenience and quality, enabling savvy explorers to enjoy amazing experiences without overspending. We also have heard from reporters that they prefer not to showcase experiences to their readers that are solely exclusive to members of the press. In 2024, travel brands should include a balance of high-end/exclusive and affordable/mass-market pitches in their editorial calendars.

TRAVELERS CONTINUE TO SEEK OUT DESTINATIONS FEATURED IN BOOKS, MOVIES, AND TV.

• According to Expedia, more than half of travelers say they’ve researched or
  booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or in a movie. In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok, and podcasts!

• Expedia predicts that Thailand (White Lotus S3), Romania (Wednesday S2), Poland (Hunger Games BOSAS), Malta (Gladiator 2), and Paris (Emily in Paris S4) will be the top jet-setting destinations to watch in 2024.

• Since the start of the Yellowstone series, RVShare has seen large numbers of
  travelers heading to Montana to recreate experiences seen in the show and in 2024, predicts Yellowstone as the top outdoor destination for 2024.

PRAYTELL’S TAKE:

While not every travel destination will have a “White Lotus” or “Yellowstone” cameo, travel brands can capitalize on these trends and pinpoint culturally-alluring moments in television and film to their destination. Brands are also able to combine this continuing trend with the “destination dupe” trend and showcase similarities between their brands and those featured in television and film.

Thank you for flying with Praytell’s travel practice today. We’d love to hear your take on these trends. Reach out to us at hello@praytellagency.com.