What influences our choice for responsible travel in 2021?
Of course, there are the conscious choices that we make, like what’s on our bucket list, what have we heard others talk about or seen in the latest movie. But could some economic and political influences play a more significant role in our unconscious choices than we think?
One of the biggest shifts we have seen in recent years is people of all ages looking for experiential travel, rather than just tourism. The idea that you are getting under the skin of a place rather than sitting on a sun lounger in your all-inclusive hotel. Why travel all the way to Sri Lanka just to sit in your hotel when somewhere warm closer to home would give you the same experience?
If you ever backpacked in your early 20’s, this is the same kind of sightseeing but with the emphasis on luxury. I never went back packing, I was more a fan of the finer things in life, but wherever we go we always want to experience the local culture, get a real feeling for what a place is really like away from the typical tourist traps.
To make sure that they get this experience, more and more curious travellers are utilising the expertise and personal touch of travel professionals to help create their perfect itinerary.
The best travel professionals will use local guides as a way of making this a reality. After all, they are the ones with the best stories and knowledge of a location. This in turn, helps us all give something back to the local communities and everyone in the chain can feel comfortable that they are contributing to responsible tourism as we all become more conscious travellers.
There is a bewildering choice of year-round destinations and new locations, that were once considered only by the hardened traveller. These are now opening up new and unique travel options and experiences for those keen to try something different.
The rise of low -cost airlines has opened up more destinations for people and the opportunity to enjoy weekend breaks. It’s now possible to leave your desk on a Friday afternoon and be in the Cote D’Azur drinking spritzers by the evening, having not broken the bank in doing so!
Many people now turn an experience into a holiday and will often combine events. See where your favourite band is playing, hear about a new restaurant opening, visit an exhibition or show, all combined with a few days away. The one or two beach holidays a year is no longer the travel experience many aspire to.
Whether we would like to admit it or not when it comes to travel (as with many other things in life) it is easy to be driven by feelings of envy. We all want to have done something unique, something that makes other people say “wow that sounds amazing”. The rise of social media has heightened this as we see the rise of influencers and even our friends' feeds which create 'the fear of missing out'.
Whilst people might not be booking their holiday directly from social media, it allows us to make definite choices about where to travel. It is now easy to see what people are up to and decide that you need to do it too. Hotels and travel professionals alike use social media to enhance their brand and drive the conscious and unconscious thinking of would-be clients. Great photos and eye- catching posts send powerful messages and messages of price all entice us to make a decision about where to go.
The more traditional avenues are still around and thriving more than ever. The internet has made it easy to search for holidays and the perceived ‘cheap’ flight. Gone are the days of the travel agent with their giant directory of hotels – but the advice of someone ‘in the know’ is more important than ever. The average holiday takes 30 hours to do all of the research and book. For this there is a reliance on reviews and the choices made by others.
The intricate knowledge of many modern travel professionals can totally change your holiday experience - if a hotel was once great but the General Manager has changed it can completely change the standards of the hotel - this is something that you can't tell by searching on the internet. The experiences that are just right for you.
Financial protection is also becoming more important to people. We are seeing so many companies, in all sectors getting into difficulty. We know that it is important that your hard earned cash gives you the holiday you were expecting, but also that you are protected in the event of a provider going out of business or all or part of your holiday being cancelled.
2020 was set to be a year of another big trend, with a huge increase in sustainable travel expected. The environmental considerations of both hotels, airlines and tour operators are becoming more of a driver of holiday choices, whereas they were once barely considered. This is more than just the war on plastic, this is the full impact that is seen by the environment.
As the world this year has been holding its breath and waiting for travel to once again open up, this theme is something that is set to continue into 2021. We expect travellers to try to become more conscious and more sustainable in protecting the environment as they travel. This year, more than ever, the sense of giving back whilst also enjoying a luxury break or wellness retreat, of improving the communities of the countries visited and of taking the time to really experience the diverse cultures will all be a stronger feature of the tourism offer.