SINGAPORE, 8 January 2024: Demands on the technology used by holidaymakers and business travellers are accelerating, while the personalised experiences travellers seek continue to advance, says HBX Group in its look forward to 2024 travel trends.
HBX Group, which runs Hotelbeds, forecasts 2024 will be a year of optimism for global tourism despite the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts.
“This is a year of optimism for global tourism, the first fully ‘normal’ year of travel since the turn of the decade,” said HBX Group CEO Nicolas Huss. “While several topics remain evergreen, including a focus on personalisation and sustainability, HBX Group is also anticipating a shift towards wellness and increased demand for new payment options from travellers. At HBX Group, we have reconfigured our organisation to meet the changing hopes of travellers and fully anticipate 2024 will be the year when long-held expectations are realised.”
Last year, front-of-mind topics for global hospitality included “trip stacking”, with many catching up on trips denied during the pandemic and the continued digitalisation of the hotel experience.
New figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) highlight the recent growth in travel, revealing that destinations worldwide welcomed 22% more international tourists in the third quarter of 2023 than in the same period of 2022, reflecting a strong northern hemisphere summer season.
HBX Group identifies trends that could shape the travel industry in 2024.
Experiential travel
From sports to shopping, booking trips around favourite pastimes will increase in 2024. With the Olympics this summer, expect a surge in travel to Paris, while Euro 2024 will see football fans flock to Germany, and cricket fans will head to the US and Caribbean for the T20 World Cup.
Retailtainment is also expected to peak this year as consumers book their holidays around must-visit shopping destinations. London, particularly for Chinese travellers, and the US have always been popular, but other destinations, such as Italy, could share the limelight as consumers invest in their homegrown designers.
Luxury travel
Luxury travel, including the wellness tourism sector, grows as travellers prioritise achieving a harmonious internal and external balance. Travellers will look for more exclusive experiences built around dining experiences.
Asia-Pacific rebound
2024 will be the first full year for travel for Asia-Pacific since 2019. This means there’s a lot for tourists to explore in and out of the region. While China will lead the way, Vietnam will see a significant spike in popularity.
Personalisation and automation
Research among travel agent partners of HBX Group reveals that up to 90% of travellers now seek personalised solutions, catering to a rising demand for tailored and seamless trips. The transformation of HBX Group into a global travel ecosystem player, introducing new product lines to meet the end consumer’s needs as they seek a frictionless end-to-end travel experience, is designed to meet these ambitions. Partners report customers are not just after essential services, such as insurance and financial provisions; they also seek comprehensive travel packages that offer 24/7 customer support and assistance in local languages.
HBX Group will introduce a range of Fintech products this year, including travel insurance, payment solutions, and multi-currency solutions. These products will be embedded into the core business to offer its clients and partners these services across their businesses. The size of these opportunities is already large and growing. For example, the travel insurance sector alone is worth EUR15 billion and is expected to grow to EUR99 billion by 2030, according to Spherical Insights & Consulting research.
