Mintel: How Do The Different Generations Holiday

This Horizons report was conducted with a survey of 19,000 travellers worldwide to reveal a unique forward-looking view of changing attitudes, planning and destination trends for 2025.

Findings include:

• Travel remains a priority, despite the cost of living squeezing budgets,
• Research shows that Millennials are now contributing to half of all air travel spending, with Gen Z's spending power also rising. 
• Travellers increasingly want to explore in ways that suit them and that are aligned to their values.  
• A major theme that has emerged this year is how the search for community is driving travel behaviour.  Travellers want experiences they can share alongside others with similar interests, to enjoy being part of something bigger.
• The question is: How can travel providers and destinations meet this demand and desire to travel?

The latest ETC Long-Haul Travel Barometer (LHTB) 3/2024 shows that international travellers are becoming more cautious about visiting Europe this autumn.

• 58% of respondents plan to travel long-haul in September – December 2024, and 40% intend to visit Europe (4% down on last year).
• 83% of surveyed Chinese travellers express a desire to visit Europe, up 9% from last year.
• Affordability remains the most important barrier to travel to Europe.
• Safety, iconic landmarks and quality infrastructure are the top three criteria for selecting a European holiday destination.
• Travellers are increasingly drawn to authentic travel experiences as they seek a deeper understanding of the local culture.
• Affordability is a key barrier, with 44% citing it as a concern.

See all the insights in this report.

Findings in the latest sentiment report for Chinese travellers:

• Chinese travellers are making significantly more outbound trips than last year, As of August 2024, 16% of survey respondents had already taken an outbound trip, and another 17% had an outbound trip booked, compared to just 4% and 9% at this time last year. 
• Travel motivations for travelling out of China are diverse, interest is high in sporting events and cultural activities.  
• Chinese consumers are seeking discounts and promotions, while allocating extra budget to food and drink, and entertainment. 
• Asia is the world region visited by 80% of survey respondents on their most recent outbound trip in 2024.
• For long-haul travel, Europe stands out, with survey
  respondents planning to visit a total of 28 European countries.  
• Chinese travellers have a reserved attitude towards the usefulness of AI but respondents hoped that AI could help them optimise their trips through language translation and itinerary planning.

See more in the report.

This report gives insights on luxury travel post pandemic. Some of the insights include:.  

• Like other global consumers, affluent travellers are spending more on travel. 
• Passion for travel is particularly high among younger luxury travellers. 
• Flexible working arrangements following the pandemic has  created opportunities for more blended trips - Bleisure Travel .  
• Health and Wellness travel is now key motivator for affluent  consumers seeking to rejuvenate their mind and body in  health and wellness retreats.
• Sustainability is also an important consideration for this group.  Conscious travel is high on the luxury list - staying in eco luxury accommodation or aligning with travel brands that support local communities and protect the planet.

See more in the full report. 

This report looks into the world of millennials (consumers aged 27-40), showcasing their attitudes, media habits, and how brands can engage with them. 

Millennials have grown up & are spending less time online

• Nostalgia resonates with them
• They are competitive  
• The top quality millennials value in brands is reliability. 

See more about this demographic in the full report. 

All data in this report is taken from GWI’s online research among internet users aged 16-64, or 16+ in 52 markets. 

Travel Predictions 2025 research commissioned by Booking.com and conducted among a sample of adults who plan to travel for business or leisure in the next 12-24 months. In total, 27,713 respondents across 33 countries and territories.

Insights from Expedia for 2025:

• Detour Destinations: Travellers are looking for less crowded locations, 63% say they are likely to visit one of these destinations on their next trip.  

• All-inclusive resorts are attracting Gen Zers who are looking for stress-free stays and a good deal.  They list minimal stress (41%), ease of booking (39%), and staying at all-inclusive hotels feels luxurious (38%) as reasons to book.
• Travellers will embrace JOMO, the joy of missing out by doing less on vacation to escape everyday life, to boost relaxation and reconnection. Two-thirds (62%) of travellers say these types of trips reduce stress and anxiety.  
• The Phenomena-List: People will travel great distances to see natural phenomena in real life. The Northern Lights (61%) are the top phenomenon travellers want to see, 

See  more on the trends for 2025 in this report.

This article looks at Solo female travellers which is a growing and  attractive market; 14% of women travel without the company of family, friends or a partner.

• Three out of four female solo travellers travel to destinations within their own countries
• Spanish, Italian and Japanese women are the ones who venture most to visit international destinations.   
• Safety along with the variety of experiences available in a destination are decisive factors in choosing the perfect destination. 

Click on the image to read more. 

Despite challenges like fluctuating exchange rates, climate concerns and varying levels of affordability, the desire to travel remains strong. People are becoming more strategic about how, when, and where they travel, with 2024 seeing significant shifts in travel patterns.

• Passengers travelling: An all-time high of about 15.9 million Americans travelled internationally in Q1 2024 while Japan welcomed over 3 million passenger arrivals in March 2024.
• Consumer spending: As of March 2024, nine out of the last 10 record-setting spending days in the global cruise and airline industry were in 2024 
• Leisure for longer: Tourists spend more time on vacation, by about one extra day relative to pre-COVID trends, particularly for lower-cost destinations
• Travelling for events: Memorable events are driving travel trends, whether it is for concerts or sporting events. 
• Top gainers: Japan, Ireland and Romania experienced the strongest growth in share of spending from tourists relative to last year

See more in the full report.

In the 2024 edition of the Holiday Barometer the findings are : 

• High interest in travel persists, even in the escalating geopolitical climate, indicating a remarkable resilience and a desire for escapism among travellers.
• European destinations remain the  most popular ones, especially among European travellers with Spain,
  France and Italy top choices. 
• The perfect vacation is considered to be: mixing rest, social & family interactions and discovery. 

• Inflation is still very much a constraint; but travellers continue to prioritise travel and they are adapting spending  priorities to accommodate this. 
• Travellers are eager to adopt responsible travel practices, however not ready yet to change destinations or modes of transports only for environment.

See more in the report. 

Booking.com have used data from a global study of 27,000 travellers across 33 countries to produce seven 2024 travel predictions and local market insights from the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, the USA and Latin America.

See these insights in this report. 

The number of people concerned about their health and wellbeing has soared since the pandemic began.   21% of global travellers are travelling for health-and wellness reasons (2022 Travel Trends) and this is likely to grow in 2023, with 29% of global travellers stating that they are interested in travelling for wellness reasons in the future.

Read more in this article from National Geographic.