If you’re a travel or holiday brand looking to increase your bookings, it is vital to be aware of upcoming and current trends. This enables you to plan campaigns with highly targeted and relevant ads that will appeal to people actively searching for the best travel deals. Let’s look at the five big travel trends you need to be aware of for 2024.
1) An increase in automated bookings
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given our increasing reliance on tech, one of the biggest trends predicted in travel for 2024 is automated bookings.
Automated bookings in travel aren’t new, but they are expected to see dramatic growth over the next couple of years. To give you an idea, in 2020 the online travel booking market was worth $432 billion. By 2025, this is estimated to rise to $833 billion according to one survey. Advertising in the places your customers are searching for their holidays is vital.
2) Faster mobile reservations
On top of the rise in automated bookings comes the greater use of mobiles. So what does this mean for highly-invested advertisers? Firstly it’s important that not only are you reaching potential customers through their mobiles, but your ads effectively engage their attention. And secondly, you only have a short window of opportunity from search-to-booking. You need to be able to effectively retarget customers with display ads that are appropriate, based on their prior activity and engagement. If not, you risk losing sales to a competitor who can.
3) More personalisation
Whilst many senior leaders today understand the importance of personalization, the real key to success in today’s marketplace is offering a good personal experience to customers. More than half (63%) of customers will stop buying from brands that use poor personalization tactics according to marketing firm Smart Insights. The more you can personalise your ads, based on legal and consented data, the higher your conversion rate will be and the more long-term ‘goodwill’ your travel brand will generate.
4) Bigger ‘Bleisure’ trips
As its name may suggest, bleisure travel is the blurring of lines between travelling for business and leisure. Basically, it involves extending or combining a work trip with leisure travel for just yourself, or with friends and family. So you may book a few days’ city break before or after a conference, or bag a European football break after a big meeting.
Bleisure travel started to grow in popularity in 2022 as lockdowns eased, and has become so popular it’s predicted to take over business travel, with over 89% of people planning to add personal vacation time to their business trips.
5) A surge in sustainable tourism
One of the most significant trends is a renewed interest in sustainable travel, as people become more aware of the impact of tourism on the environment and local communities. Another trend is the rise of remote work and digital nomadism, as more people opt to work remotely and travel at the same time. Additionally, there is a growing demand for off-the-beaten-path destinations, as travelers seek to avoid overcrowded tourist hotspots and discover unique and authentic experiences. These trends are reshaping the travel industry and providing exciting opportunities for both travelers and the travel industry alike.
Portway Systems is a fast-growing travel technology company that powers the global travel industry, offering a comprehensive suite of products including Mid & Back-Office, CRM, ERP and Business Management technology. Headquartered in Birmingham, UK, Portway Systems serves customers in more than 30 countries around the world with regional offices in North America and Asia. For more information visit https://portwaysystems.com/
