#Trending This Week - The New Breed Of Travelers, How Families Are Vacationing, Restaurant Reviews Are Changing, And Experiences Are Driving Destination Choices
Issue 164 • October 31, 2023
There’s so much to unpack this week about the evolution of travel as we head into 2024. People are no longer planning a vacation just because of a hotel — instead they are choosing where they go based upon the experiences those destinations offer and hoteliers need to recognize that as they curate packages and recommend things to do for their guests. We’ve got the latest on family travel findings — including the fact that beach vacations still reign supreme and skip-generational travel continues to trend. Celebrities are setting out to change the restaurant review system as they are finding sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor tend to be too negative. After a few years of revenge travel and people racing around the globe, insiders are predicting a return to slow travel back out in nature. Yes, that means camping may be back once again. Check it all out in our two-minute read below.
Meet The Culinary Excavators And Reboot Retreaters
We’re starting to see talk of the top 2024 travel trends and media are talking about things like “Culinary Excavators” — people who are bucking next-gen food trends in favor of preserving the craftsmanship of traditional dishes — and “Retreat Rebooters” who are booking trips rooted in self-improvement when things at home are falling apart. Check out these and the other travel personalities appearing in 2024 in Travel Agent here.
How Families Are Traveling On Vacation
There’s lots to talk about regarding family travel as a result of the 2023 U.S. Family Travel Survey. Not surprisingly, beach vacations are the most common family travel vacation type at 54%, followed by visiting family and friends (49%) and seeing museums and cultural attractions (41%). “Skip-generational” travel (children and grandparents, without the parents present) is still big, with the destination focus leaning toward museums and cultural attractions. Read more at NYU’s School of Professional Studies here.
Celebrities Are Getting Into The Reviews Business
Move over Yelp and TripAdvisor, John Legend is entering the restaurant review space. He's got a new food and travel app called It's Good which focuses on trusted recommendations, not reviews, so you can confidently visit a restaurant or destination while skipping all the negativity associated with sites like Yelp. The site is nixing the star rating system and just relying on “it’s good” or “it’s not good.” Read more in Food & Wine here.
It’s Time For Travel To Slow Down Again
After a year of fast-paced, bucket-list-focused vacations, travelers are “feeling drained and disconnected from the essence of the destinations they visit,” according to a Campspot survey. Additionally, one in three respondents are feeling stressed about the economic uncertainty in the year ahead, with nearly 70% of travelers craving “a sense of calm and relaxation” on their trips in 2024. Therefore next year is going to be all about slowing down and spending time in nature. Read more in Travel + Leisure here.
Experiences Are Driving Destination Choices
We haven’t even begun 2024 yet and there is a lot to understand about how the travel landscape is changing. Whereas older travelers plan and book experiences when they’re already in a destination, Gen Z and Gen Y travelers say experiences are influencing where they go. Their mindset is “I want to do this, so let’s go somewhere we can do that.” Read more in Travel Agent here.