In 2023, we saw revenge travel come back in full swing – from a massive surge of tourism in Europe and “bucket list” vacations to wellness-focused getaways. However, people’s eagerness to explore the world is not slowing down as we look into the next year. In fact, Bloomberg reports that by 2033, travel is set to become a $15.5 trillion industry—a 50% increase over its $10 trillion value in 2019. So, if we know that travel next year will continue to grow, what will it look like?
Below please find 3 travel trends that we should look at for in 2024, as shared by founder and CEO of a&o Hostels, Oliver Winter:
1) Sustainability Beyond Recycling: Travelers Will be Looking for Regenerative Travel Experiences: With many brands greenwashing their ‘sustainable’ practices, it will become even more important for travelers to do research on companies prior to visiting to ensure that their actions are aligned with their promotions. Over the next year, travelers will be prioritizing brands who can prove that they’re making a positive impact on our world. Aiming to give back to both planet and people, regenerative travel goes beyond traveling sustainably as it prioritizes not only the protection and preservation of natural environments and local ecosystems, but also plays an active role to the regeneration of them.
Having just published their first sustainability report last month, a&o Hostels is fully transparent about their regenerative travel practices and has taken numerous steps to reach their goal of becoming the first net-zero hostel chain in Europe by 2025. To reach this goal, a&o has taken action by implementing sustainable practices throughout their operations. Examples include installing photovoltaic systems, using cleaning supplies without chemicals, housing Ukranian refugees during the war, sourcing local products and buying green electricity and — where possible — the switch from gas to district heating.
2) Boom of shoulder season travel: For the first time this fall, a&o Hostels expects the average room occupancy to exceed 80%. And, this past spring, a&o had a room occupancy averaging 76% while last year it was only 66%. Oliver believes that the shoulder season will continue to be a desirable time to travel, especially because of the cooler weather, cheaper flights, and increasingly flexible virtual work structure that has helped drive this shift among travelers.
3) Trips are booking further in advance: In 2022, a&o Hostels saw a boom in last second bookings. For example, almost 50% of guests who stayed in Berlin in 2022 booked less than 24 hours before arrival. This year, only 30% of our guests did so. While people have been spontaneous with their trips last year, Oliver thinks that the booking window will widen again and people will be booking much further in advance. So, if you have your sights on a specific destination and activities, it’s better to book early in 2024!
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