The first day of this year’s ITB Berlin began with a talk by Rohit Talwar, CEO of research and insights firm Fast Future, about the attitudes and tastes of 2024 travellers.
Talwar said that the majority of people were looking for new destinations on their home continents or continents further afield, with 90 per cent reporting that their largest influence was their own wish lists, followed by 54 per cent citing the influence of friends and family. Only 12 per cent, Talwar said, were influenced by destination marketing.
The main thing, Talwar, said that people want is ease when it comes to booking.
He said: “Life is complex, and so are choices. People want their lives made as easy as possible, and then a little easier. They want things made so simple that even their oldest relative can book their holidays without instruction.”
Also cited as factors when booking holidays, Talwar said, was the influence of geopolitics (72 per cent), with some people saying that they were wary of not only travelling to countries in conflict, but also to those countries immediately adjacent.
Some people, Talwar said, refuse to fly over war zones. However, less than a quarter (24 per cent) said it would reduce or prevent them from travelling.”
Talwar also predicted that we would see an increase in travel in the coming years, particularly after the bump that ‘revenge’ travel post-Covid had given the industry. He said that nearly three quarters (73 per cent) said that they would spend more on travel in the coming years, citing increased freedom after the pandemic. Others reported that inflation would increase their spending.
Interestingly, Talwar said that many wanted to travel now and in the near future because of fears that deteriorating environmental conditions would lead to future restrictions on travel.
Exclusive LIVE coverage of ITB Berlin 2024 by our own team of journalists and bloggers. This is strictly a 4Hoteliers.com exclusive feature. Reproduction in any shape or form without explicit permissions is prohibited.
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