While there are numerous factors that have affected travel trends in the past, tourism is expected to grow in 2023
More than one billion people travel internationally each year, and this number is only expected to increase as more and more people seek out unique experiences. Tourism is predicted to grow by 30% in 2023! While there are numerous factors that affect travel trends, including economic factors like inflation rates and unemployment rates, there are some trends that have remained fairly consistent over time.
Here are some of the most important trends in tourism for 2023:
Micro-tourism
Micro-tourism is defined as "traveling to a destination for a single purpose," such as visiting a specific restaurant or museum within a city or country. Micro-tourism has been around for centuries, but it hasn't really picked up steam until recently because of advances in technology like smartphones and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Experiential travel
Experiential travel involves going somewhere new and doing something different while you're there. Many travellers are getting tired of vacations in hot spots, and they are seeking better experiences in every place they wish to travel. 58 per cent of travellers want to get ‘out of their comfort zone’ next year, according to a Booking.com poll of more than 24,000 people. The research found that 58% of travellers are looking to experience ‘out of comfort zone’ travel and 40% want to experience radical culture shock in 2023, be it a completely different cultural experience and language or exploring lesser-known cities and their hidden gems.
Sustainability
One of the biggest trends in tourism is sustainability. As more people are becoming aware of their impact on the environment, they are looking for ways to reduce it while they travel. it is no great surprise that in the face of climate change and the frequent string of weather and climate disasters we’ve been seeing in the past year that conscientious travellers are asking how they can reduce their carbon footprint while traveling. This will mean less hotels and restaurants serving plastic-wrapped food, more eco-friendly modes of transportation like buses or trains instead of cars or taxis, and an increase in recycling programs at hotels and resorts.
Budget Holidays
Prices will increase by 8.4%, 8.2% and 6.8% for flights, hotels and car rentals respectively in 2023. With the cost of living and travel rising, 60% of travellers plan to budget more tightly and take advantage of deals, hacks and smartly timed travel. More than half (56%) will also take advantage of discounts and loyalty schemes. Holiday planning is therefore likely to take longer than in previous years. There is also likely to be a rise in off-peak bookings, as 49% will look outside the usual windows for good deals.
Last Minute Travel
We have already been noticing much smaller book-to-travel windows in 2022, and we expect that to continue in 2023. What does this mean? Basically planning last minute. There are travellers who plan a year or more in advance, but one thing COVID-19 taught us was that planning can be difficult and unpredictable. People got used to not making plans at all, or to making them on the fly.
No matter what the trends will be in 2023, expect more digitised bookings. Travel experiences will be powered by technology. Tech innovations will bring better and easy travel experiences and this will include: mobile applications, easy cancellations, mobile boarding, and contactless transaction.