The perfect time to visit Italy – World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

2022 is well underway and consumers are ready to set out on their next adventure… if they haven’t already.  Based on Trip.com Group and WTTC’s report on consumer trends – we’ve called it Trending in Travel – here are the 10 global consumer trends for 2022 and beyond. Check out the full report here.

The first trend includes WTTC’s projections for global and regional recovery. Domestic travel was huge and, regionally, the Americas were leading the recovery with a 36.8% projected growth of T&T GDP. This was followed by Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Projected international spending growth in the Caribbean was the highest of any region in 2021, with domestic spending growth projected at 52.6% and international spending projected at a notable 61.7%. Understandably, domestic travel supported Travel & Tourism spending and helped keep people employed.

The remaining trends can be seen in three broader clusters namely, booking trends, consumer considerations, and consumer profiles. We will share some interesting insights from each trend and cluster in three blogs and today’s blog covers consumer booking trends. If you would like to read ahead, check out the report.

Booking trends

The domestic rediscovery

With ongoing restrictions on international travel, that change rapidly and with little notice, travellers are rediscovering domestic travel. People have taken to their home countries or regions to explore somewhere new or rediscover the familiar. Staycations are popular with about half of global travellers planning to travel for a domestic holiday and more than half of travellers in the US and Europe intending to take a domestic trip. In fact, roughly one-third of European travellers planned to take an international trip within Europe. As the world reopens and international travel returns, domestic travel may slow proportionally, but the trend to rediscover domestic destinations will definitely linger in the long term. What are some of your favourite local gems?

Longer stay for longer play

As you can gather from the name, travellers are staying for longer and really making the most of their trips as they work around current restrictions. In 2019, the average domestic trip was 4.45 days and 9.22 days for international trips; in 2021 over 52% of global travellers indicated a preference for longer stays, with approximately one in four (26%) favouring a stay of 10+ nights. Plus, with the freedom and flexibility of hybrid working models, living and working while travelling the globe is more appealing than ever. Bleisure (business + leisure) trips were on the rise before the pandemic and we expect their popularity to continue, and maybe even grow, in the longer term. Workcations and “flexcations” enable more travellers to experience new destinations with family and friends without missing a beat at work. Our research found that 40% of travellers expressed a willingness to quarantine prior to their holiday if it meant that they could work remotely worldwide. Personally, I love this. I have had jobs where I could work from anywhere and I loved the flexibility of being able to go for a swim in the sea on my lunch break or take a scuba class to break up the day.