Travel demand is set to break records in 2024. Three years on from reopened borders after Covid, we’re seeing a strong interest in luxury travel on a budget and international train trips. Not to mention a host of mega events — including the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France and the Euro 2024 in Germany — boosting travel numbers across Europe.
However, despite global sporting moments causing local hotel occupancy to surge months in advance, not everyone has fully locked their summer plans yet. New research shows a significant increase in spontaneous travel, with 48% of European bookings last August being made the week before departure. Additionally, seasonality has changed. Holiday bookings are now extending peak season into a “summer stretch” as people seek value for money.
The movement towards last-minute and late summer bookings is great news for marketers. Now is the time to uncover this year’s hottest holiday insights and connect with travel-ready consumers in the moments — and locations — that matter.
People seek affordable luxury with elevated experiences
Travellers crave luxury escapes from the everyday grind, but with the cost of living continuing to impact people’s personal finances they also want value for money. We can see this desire play out on Google Trends, where there are markedly more searches for “best” than “cheap” in the travel category.
Enter “affordable luxury”. In 2024, people are making budget-friendly luxury happen through elevated, impactful travel experiences. This includes upgrades — 54% of travellers would pay for accommodation upgrades and 47% are willing to invest in flight or train upgrades, as long as it doesn’t break the bank — and paying more for a stay at a boutique hotel or for a one-off unique adventure.
Another way the affordable luxury trend is playing out, is through a rise in popularity for “destination dupes”. These are more budget-friendly locations that have all the charm and luxury of their more popular counterparts. Take, for example, Taipei as a stand-in for Seoul or Curaçao as an alternative to St. Martin.
A summer of sports and entertainment boosts multi-country getaways
The summer months are a prime season for large-scale sports and cultural events. However, this year marks a particularly significant moment for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), with the Summer Olympics and UEFA European Championships happening back-to-back in France and Germany. Because of this, Euromonitor predicts that sales for global sports tourism packages will increase by 15% this year.
“As a partner on big sport events, we’re very excited about the influence of the summer of sports on travel in EMEA this year,” says Mehdi Hemici, chief loyalty & e-commerce officer of Accor Group.
“We’re already seeing a significant impact on booking behaviours within our platform All.com, with Americans and Brits the most interested in sports travel. For the Olympics in particular, we’re experiencing a surge in hotel bookings across France for the first week of the event, with Paris and Marseille currently leading the trend.”
And let’s not forget the highly anticipated European leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. It will not only spark record-sales for friendship bracelet kits and “Bejeweled” outfits, but also has the potential to insert “Karma” into local economies.
As a result of this influx of sport and music fans in the region, travel numbers are expected to increase — with people from as far away as North America planning multi-country getaways before and after these mega events.
Sustainability is ‘on track’ with the great rail escape
Eco-tourism is not a new trend in the industry, but it continues to be top of mind for brands and consumers. Train travel has risen to particular prominence this year — including overnight journeys. They can make long-distance travel more convenient and are a unique experience in their own right. After all, it’s very exciting to go to sleep in one country and waking up in an entirely different one the next day.
According to Euromonitor, rail is the fastest growing travel category worldwide. They cite a growth of over 35% during 2023-2024, with a third of eco-adventurers saying they prefer trains to air travel.
This comes as new government regulation also encourages alternative modes of transport, with the French parliament banning short-haul flights, and countries like Spain and Germany introducing heavily discounted and free rail travel. Additionally, tools — such as the Travel Impact Model, which helps consumers calculate flight emissions — are creating greater transparency of the carbon footprint of air travel. And Google Search now provides train route suggestions if there’s a good alternative to flying.
“Europeans are travelling more frequently to neighbouring countries and rail is playing an increasingly important role,” says Sakshi Anand, vice president of growth and president U.K. at Trainline. “Last year we saw a 122% increase in cross-border travel compared to the pre-Covid period, with Italy leading the way with a 220% surge in cross-border train trips.
“We’re looking forward to the continued growth of rail travel and new international and overnight routes opening up. For example, we’ve just added the new European sleeper to our platform, which goes from Brussels to Prague several times a week and will become a daily service in 2025.”
AI-powered tech assists holiday-goers wherever they are
We’ve seen an incredible rise in the use of AI technology, and the travel industry is no exception. There’s been a particular movement towards helpful tools that take the stress out of trip planning.
AI-powered apps such as Hopper help travellers find the best hotel and flight deals when they’re researching their next holiday. And existing tools, like Google Search, Maps, and Lens, are evolving with new AI capabilities, turning them into handy trip planners and local tour guides.
Dedicated trip planners with additional functionalities are also emerging. Examples include Layla, a travel planner that combines AI with social media to share ideas and bite-sized video inspiration, and Travelstart, a South African online travel agency that uses an AI chatbot to enhance the booking experience and provide personalised travel suggestions.
What 2024’s summer travel trends mean for marketers
Mega events are making it a mega summer for travel marketers in EMEA. Align your campaign messaging and creatives to the topics that matter to holiday-goers today — and entice travel-ready consumers to hit ‘book’ on their sizzling summer holiday plans.
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