#Trending This Week - Making Gen Z Loyal, The Multi-Billion Dollar Sleep Tourism Industry, Transformative Wellness, And 2024 Food Trends

Issue 177 • February 13, 2024

If you are working in the travel and hospitality industry, you have to keep on top of consumer buying trends in order to make sure your hotel, resort, restaurant, tour, or destination is meeting the needs of what today’s travelers seek. It’s no longer just enough to operate a hotel with modern, clean rooms and a good restaurant. Today’s consumers expect MUCH more. Savvy marketers need to create and promote amenities which are ahead of the curve for what people seek. It is our aim at JC Communications to help you learn the latest trends in travel behaviors so you can adapt them, adopt them, promote them, and, most importantly of all, DRIVE REVENUE.

This week, it’s all about the pursuit of great sleep. Learning what makes Gen Z and Millennial travelers choose a vacation option (hint: digital detox is high on their list). Identifying what it’s going to take to create loyalty with the next generation. Putting the latest food trends on the plate. And dialing up wellness. Check it all out in our two-minute read below.

It’s All About Sleep

We’ve reported about it before here, but sleep tourism continues to trend and has now become a multibillion-dollar industry as a growing number of Americans travel to rest in AI-powered beds and suspended cocoons. More travelers are forgoing itineraries jam-packed with activities from dawn to dusk and instead focusing on pillow menus and retiring early. The sleep tourism market is estimated to grow by nearly 8% and over $400 billion between 2023 and 2028. Read more in Fortune here.

What Young Travelers Seek

According to recent studies, it’s not what you would think. Many Gen Z and Millennial travelers actually want a digital detox. Young adults under the age of 30 are also reporting significant feelings of loneliness, and while many travel solo, they end up joining a group tour with like-minded participants. There is also a focus on slow responsible tourism, prioritizing free time for participants to immerse themselves in and explore local communities, and partake in one-of-a-kind adventures. Read more in Travel Pulse here.

The Next Generation Of Loyalty

Courting the next generation’s loyalty is not going to be as easy as it once was. Ultra luxury brands are at a crucial milestone with the next generation of consumers who possess influence and affluence and are coming of age when their spending power and loyalty will define the path forward for many heritage and legacy brands. They are less likely to have the same affinity for the ultra luxury brands their parents and grandparents had – particularly if they don’t align with principles of sustainability, social responsibility, technology, innovation and exclusive access to experiences and communities. Read more in Smart Brief here.

Food Trends To Expect This Year

A longing for authenticity. An urge to protect the planet and embrace nature. An itch to spice things up. These are the modern sentiments shaping what will show up on our plates and in our glasses in 2024, according to experts who forecast food trends. We’re talking “Third-Culture Cuisine,” which is dishes representing a chef’s diverse background like a Filipino-British bakery. More Asian ingredients like black sesame, ube, and milk tea. Steps toward sustainability like alternative chocolate made without cocoa. Using mushrooms as a meat replacement. And dinner in a drink. Read more in Time here.

Transformative Wellness Has Arrived

In pursuit of ultimate wellness, travelers are seeking something beyond the typical weekend spa getaway. The world’s best wellness retreats are turning the volume up on self-care, offering experiences which range from blissful solitude in remote island hideaways to holistic healing in the heart of the rainforest. Meditating on a mountaintop as the sun rises, practicing yoga overlooking the vast expanse of the desert, or indulging in a therapeutic massage with a view of the rolling hills of a vineyard. These retreats are designed to be transformative gateways to a new you — someone who is ready to tackle anything with zen-like calm and a rejuvenated spirit. Read more in The Populist here.