This year could well be considered as the year travel goes ‘back to normal.’ More countries are relaxing their Covid-19 restrictions and, even in the face of a global cost-of-living crisis, young people are continuing to prioritise travel.
After extensive research, the world’s leading social travel brand Contiki can announce the top global travel trends to expect from the year ahead.
Bucket list travel
With airlines returning to normal service and more and more countries relaxing their travel restrictions, 2023 is tipped to be the year that travellers finally embark on the trips they’ve spent the last three years dreaming about.
“The prevailing sense is that travel has been, and could again be, taken away from us,” says Natasha Lawrence, Contiki’s Commercial and Product Development Director. “2023 is the opportunity to make it count.”
Sustainable travel
Travellers everywhere are becoming increasingly aware of the need to travel responsibly. Young people are loyal to brands that share their values, and that are committed to reducing their carbon footprint.
Also linked to sustainability is the rise in plant-based living. Rebecca Gade Sawicki, Creator of Veggies Abroad, says: “at least 15% of greenhouse gases are attributed to animal agriculture. Consumers are concerned about what’s on their plate and its impact on the planet.”
Young people are travelling more than others
During the past year, 18 to 34-year-olds averaged 2.2 more international trips and 1.3 more domestic trips than those aged 65+ and over.
Adam Armstrong, Contiki’s CEO says: “Young people were arguably the quickest to recover. We expect this trend to continue into 2023, albeit the older demo will play a strong catch-up game.
Long trips are in
Pre-pandemic, long trips were declining in popularity. In 2023, they’re soaring. This isn’t altogether surprising, given the global cost-of-living crisis and the increase in flight prices.
“Our average length of trip has increased,” says Natasha Lawrence. “Pre-pandemic it was around 10 days; right now for next year it’s two weeks.
“I think the rising cost of flights and air plays into this… if you are going to take a long haul flight, you want to spend more time in the destination at the other end.”
Multi-country trips are making a comeback
Multi-country trips, where travellers often visit 8-9 countries in two weeks, have also increased in popularity.
“During the pandemic, people were more cautious about crossing borders…” says Adam Armstrong. “Now that it’s easy to cross borders, multi-country trips are rock-and-rolling again.
Social travel is becoming more popular
It’s safe to say that 2-3 years of missing out on birthday parties, festivals and other social gatherings has affected young people more than their parents and grandparents. A 10% increase in multiple bookings (as opposed to solo bookings) highlights an elevated hunger for human connection among young people.
Another example of this is a surge in bookings for 6-bed hostel dorms. Natasha Lawrence says: “For 2023, this travel style looks to be back as people want to spend their time in social and community driven spaces.”
Travel inspired by music and TV
According to Expedia, ⅔ of global travellers have considered visiting a destination inspired by a movie or TV show they’ve watched. Grassroots music scenes have also become a huge draw for young travellers, offering up the chance to discover new artists before they break.
Neither trend is surprising given that TVs and headphones were most people’s only escape during the pandemic. The ‘musical pilgrimage’ trend has had positive consequences for destinations such as Israel which, according to TikTok superstar Brooke Alexx, has one of the “most underrated music scenes in the world.”
Local experiences
Given the rise of sustainability and a hunger for human connection among young travellers, it’s hardly surprising that culturally immersive local experiences have also continued to rise in popularity.
In a survey conducted by Hilton, 49% of respondents said they were looking to undertake such experiences while travelling in 2023.
Natasha Lawrence says: “Maybe it’s just my social feed, but I am seeing a lot of positive things regarding inclusivity and connection with other cultures. This could be the fuel for some really magical travel experiences.”
Read Contiki’s full article on the travel trends for 2023 here.
