Tourism Learning Blog

Trends in tourism for 201915 January, 2019 by Raúl García López
In this article we want to show you the main trends that are shaping the travel industry for this 2019. For this, we have analyzed the forecasts of tourism sector giants and media such as Booking.com, Expedia, CondeNast Traveler, ABTA, Lonely Planet, Virtuoso, Washington Post, Amadeus, Eye for Travel or Thomas Cook.

Trends in motivations and sources of inspiration

Travel as a source of learning

Many tourists look for trips that provide added value in their personal development. They value travel as a source of valuable life lessons and therefore increase in demand for trips that include educational components, volunteer activities or trips to improve work skills.

In search of unexplored territories - While waiting for space trips to be confirmed as the next frontier of tourism, more adventurous travelers seek vital experiences in remote and little known places.

Experiences recommended by experts - The focus on experiences during the trip will continue to be a trend in 2019. What is done in the destination is as important as the destination to which you are traveling.

Maximizing small - Multiply short trips to nearby destinations (city breaks). Tourists seek a more intimate journey and do unusual things in destinations they may have visited in the past.

More exciting couple trips - Many couples look for more daring vacations, that inspire them and generate adrenaline and lasting memories (reinforcing their bonds as a couple).

Lonely travelers - More and more tourists travel alone. And because of their profile, they look for accommodation options that allow them to know the local population. The co-living is an accommodation option for people who live alone. They are apartment buildings with common areas of cool design, entertainment services, green areas and program activities such as yoga, concerts and cultural events.

Traveling families - Some families seek long-term vacations, traveling around the world. They are called "Nomadic Sabbaticals".

Changes in the structure of the labor market that affect tourism - By 2020, between 40% and 50% of the labor force in the United States and the United Kingdom will be freelance workers. This new way of working, makes it easier to combine work with travel.

Dark Tourism - Dark Tourism - Certain tourists are attracted to places where tragic events have occurred, such as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Trends in tourists' needs

Dependence on technology - Dependence on technology generates 2 models of behavior in relation to travel:

FOMO- Fear of Missing Out - people with fear of missing important things that are happening in their virtual communities or social networks, if they are not connected at all times.

JOMO- Joy of Missing Out - people who seek during their holidays to enjoy being disconnected from technology and their social networks.

Personalization - Technology is enabling tourists to offer experiences that are more and more adapted to their particular tastes and needs. The success of tour operators lies in extracting relevant information from their behavior patterns and consumer habits of tourists, in order to anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations.

Importance of the content - To achieve that customization, the tourist companies will have to know how to generate relevant content that involves the audience. To do this, we must segment increasingly, generating content for micro niche markets and based on different psychographic profiles of our different target audiences.

Outside the busiest roads - With the growth of tourism and the problems of massification, more and more tourists are looking for destinations that allow tourists to enjoy places that are little traveled and to know the authenticity of the place and its people.

Millennials become business travelers - Next year Millennials will already account for 50% of all global tourism spending. This generation is also having great influence on how work trips are managed, favored the growth of bleisure.

The growth of the travel consultant - Many tourists would like to have a travel consultant that offers options of personalized hyper programs adapted to their tastes and personalities, at a competitive price.

Close and personal (more human) - The distribution and consumption of travel information continues to grow. Destinations and tourism companies have to produce small promotional short films, focused on niche segments and offering super attractive and relevant content for different target audiences.

Slow Travel - People suffer more and more stress in their daily lives. The holidays are perceived as an excellent opportunity to disconnect and see life from another perspective. The idea is to enjoy more of the destination and live disconnected from the internet and social networks.

Astronomical Tourism- In the cities it is increasingly difficult to see the stars at night (due to pollution and light pollution). There is an increasing demand for tourism to destinations such as La Palma in Spain, Arizona in the United States or the Region of Coquimbo and Atacama in Chile.

Children with more specific weight in travel decisions- Children are already fully involved in decisions about trips made by the family. Each time they have more specific weight in the choice of destination, hotel and especially the activities to develop during the trip.

Sustainability

Sustainability is being integrated into the processes of inspiration and purchase of tourists, influencing when choosing the destination, the tourism providers and the experiences that they want to develop.

Tourism with awareness - Greater interest of travelers to analyze how destinations and tourism providers deal with the issue of sustainability and equality. Tourists also demand destinations where they can travel safely, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation of the tourist.

Battle against plastic - The global awareness of the damage that plastic is generating in the oceans around the world continues to increase. The Millennials and Centennials look for sustainable experiences and want to develop activities in the destination that allow to revert part of the environmental impact they generate.

Demand for greener transport options at destination- Greener tourists opt for transportation options that are better suited to their needs (hourly rental) and have less impact on the environment (electric cars).