13 Tourism
Trends to Watch Out For
Below
you find thirteen of the most significant tourism trends right now and in the
future.
1. Solo Travel
Leisure
travel used to be a family affair or something that couples undertook together.
While that’s still the case for many, more and more people are choosing to
strike out on their own. Enjoying a solo trip is no longer so unusual and
tourist trends increasingly reflect this. The needs of solo travellers are
diverse. Some simply want to travel without the distraction of a companion.
Others are young singles looking for social activities or to find a partner.
Some widowed seniors even use long-term hotel stays or cruises as a luxurious
alternative to conventional elder care. These tourism trends are set to grow
and grow.
2. Eco
Travel
Tourism
trends are heavily influenced by the concerns and mores of the customer base.
As a new generation becomes increasingly relevant in the marketplace, the
ideals driving their purchasing decisions create new tourism trends. Eco travel
is just one example of these tourism trends, reflecting a growing concern among
today’s travellers for ethical and sustainable tourism options. Eco travel
includes simple changes, such as the availability of carbon credits when
booking a flight or the option to rent an electric instead of a conventional
vehicle. More sophisticated examples might include tourism with a volunteer
element, perhaps working on a nature reserve or engaging in conservation work.
3. Local
experience
Today’s
tourists don’t want to be insulated from the places they visit inside a
cultural bubble. They want to engage with and participate in the local culture.
From enjoying local cuisine to celebrating regional festivals and holidays,
local experiences are set to become some of the top tourist trends to watch.
One example of a popular local experience would be visiting Japan during a
major festival, renting formal Japanese clothes to wear, consuming regional
delicacies and engaging in traditional games or cultural activities. Another
might be a long stay with a host family in the destination country as a means
to learn more about the local culture.
4.
Personalisation
You’re
probably familiar with those ads that pop up on social media and certain other
websites, ads related to things you’ve looked at or purchased online. This is
just one example of personalisation. As well as in marketing
tourism more effectively, personalisation can apply to every
aspect of the tourist experience. Today’s consumers expect experiences that
closely match their personal preferences, from destinations to accomodation and
the kinds of activities they’ll engage in. The more closely an experience can
be tailored to a client’s desires and expectations, the more likely they are to
return and to use the same service again.
5. Bleisure
Travel: A Millennial Tourism Trend
The
concept of combining leisure and tourism with travel for business is
hardly new: “bizcations” have been popular for many
decades. As the tourism sector attempts to woo a more frugal customer base,
however, the concept of bleisure travel has become increasingly relevant among
tourism trends. Bleisure travel tourism can take many forms. Sometimes a client
who is travelling for work decides to engage in tourism on their downtime; in
other cases, a company may arrange for tourist activities on work trips as a
perk. Another increasingly popular set of tourism trends relate to the “digital
nomad” phenomenon where online workers engage in travel.
6. Robots,
chatbots and automation
One
of the more eye-catching examples of these particular tourism trends is Connie,
the Hilton Hotel chain’s robot concierge. Other hotels have also got in on the
robot-staff trend, installing interactive robots to handle certain reception
duties or even having them serve food and drink to visitors. This kind of novelty
application, however, is far from the only one. Many customers now book their
travel and accommodation with the help of internet chatbots, specifically
tailored AI who can handle queries and assist customers with useful information
when human operators are unavailable.
7.
Artificial intelligence
As
well as the aforementioned chatbots, artificial intelligence is becoming
increasingly important to the tourism
industry. Machine learning technology is now firmly entrenched in
the marketing of the tourism sector, with AI helping to personalise the
experience of finding and booking tours and trips. AI is also increasingly
valuable in contexts such as smart hotel rooms, identifying the likely needs of
guests and fine-tuning the environment and services to fit the guest’s needs
and preferences. Artificial intelligence is finding applications everywhere,
from customer service to security. Future AI tourism trends to watch out for
might include self-driving vehicles and virtual guides for tourism.
8.
Recognition technology
Recognition
technology is one of those increasingly important travel and
tourism trends that’s starting to creep into a multitude of
different areas. One of the most familiar applications of recognition
technology for a frequent traveller is the bank of automatic gates at some
borders. The gates are capable of reading the data on the traveller’s passport
or ID card and matching it to their face using a camera and facial recognition
technology. Recognition technology is one of the big tourism trends in the
hospitality industry too, with voice recognition becoming more and more popular
as a method of control in smart hotel rooms.
9. Internet
of things (IoT)
The
IoT is relevant to many tourism trends. IoT devices are gadgets equipped with a
microprocessor and some form of digital connectivity, allowing them to connect
to, and be controlled from, the internet. IoT devices include heating and
cooling systems, entertainment systems and other items often found in a hotel
room, giving rise to “smart” hotel rooms. The
IoT is also used to integrate services in a hospitality setting, for example by
allowing guests to book activities (a session in the hotel’s spa, swimming in
the pool, training in the gym etc) or request such things as room service or
extra linen via a hub or a smartphone application.
10. Virtual
reality
Virtual
reality (VR) technology offers many opportunities for tourism
management. Tourism trends involving VR include high-end
entertainment applications, some of them combining physical elements like
controllers or movable seating and platforms. Sports simulators are
increasingly popular, ranging from virtual baseball and other familiar sports
to extreme sports such as skiing or snowboarding. Many extreme activities can
also be simulated using VR, such as hang-gliding and other adventures. VR can
also allow tourists to “visit” destination that
are too fragile for physical tours, such as archeological sites: structures can
be recreated in VR and tourists can enjoy the experience of walking around them
unimpeded.
11.
Augmented reality (AR)
Where
VR simulates entire environments and experiences, augmented reality combines
real-world experiences and virtual elements. A familiar example would be the
smartphone game Pokémon Go, where imaginary creatures are superimposed on
real-time footage of the player’s environment. In the tourist industry, this is
obviously very useful: instead of fantasy monsters. AR smartphone apps can show
tourists information about the area they’re exploring. This could be historical
details about buildings and landmarks, or listings and menus for entertainment
venues and local eateries. Museums make increasing use of AR, allowing visitors
to view artefacts with their original appearance as a virtual overlay. Other
augmented reality applications might include internet-enabled virtual maps.
12. Healthy
and organic food
Healthy
food and the kind of fare consumed by tourists used to be antonyms in the minds
of many travellers, with holidays traditionally representing a chance to break
one’s diet and indulge in forbidden treats. Today’s travellers know that
delicious and nutritious are not exclusive concepts. Demand for excellent
cuisine with a view to better nutrition is driving new tourism trends. The
modern tourist wants to know that the food they’re eating is as healthy as it
is delicious. The organic food movement is also affecting tourism trends, with
more eateries and hotels offering organic options. Other special diets are also
represented.
13. Customer
Experience
Of
course, the customer experience has always been central to the tourist
industry. With new technologies and an ever-broadening array of options for
tourists, enhancing the customer experience has never been more vital. In the
final analysis, customer experience is what will make or break your business.
Fine-tuning the experience can make the difference between creating a loyal
repeat customer who boosts your business via word of mouth, and one who drops
out at the booking stage. Everything from the web interface where your clients
book their trips to the very last day of their journey needs to be as enjoyable
as possible.
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