If 2021 was the year of domestic travel, 2022 has the potential to be the year of bucket-list vacations. Despite the industry’s rocky start in 2022, as the omicron Covid-19 version tangled it, this is one of the most significant trends that travel specialists predict for this year. People are itching to leave. They’ve been wanting to get out there again, and they’re not afraid of overseas destinations or once-in-a-lifetime adventures.
The Year Of The ‘GOAT’
According to Expedia, 2022 will be the year of the GOAT, or ‘greatest of all travels’. According to CNBC Travel, 65% of respondents want to ‘go big’ on their next trip, based on a study of 12,000 travellers from 12 countries. As a result, it dubbed the desire for adventurous and lavish vacations. The number of searches for ‘epic destinations’ has increased, according to Amadeus. According to the research, these patterns will continue to expand this year, as will interest in islands in the Indian Ocean and Antarctica.
According to Decius Valmorbida, head of Amadeus Travel, the epidemic has impacted the ‘feeling of tourists’. Searches for stays in holiday homes overseas are currently on par with 2019 levels. According to the research, Tuscany, Italy (+141%), the Bahamas (+129%), French Polynesia’s Bora Bora (+98%), the Maldives (+97%), and the south of France (+88%) are the overseas locations with the highest search growth this year compared to 2019.
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Loosening Purse Strings
While the pandemic has been financially catastrophic for some, it has provided opportunities for others. Specifically, professionals who have been able to save more money by working from home. In big countries, around 70% of leisure tourists. According to CNBC Travel, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Spain intend to spend more on travel in 2022 than they have in the previous five years.
HomeToGo’s global average booking expenditures climbed by 54% last year compared to 2019. However, average nightly rates haven’t increased nearly as much. This summer, American vacationers are looking for quieter, more opulent destinations. Despite the greater costs, Maui is preferred over Honolulu and Nantucket over Cape Cod, according to HomeToGo’s research.
Travelers may be willing to pay more to see specific locations rather than upgrade the trip itself. According to CNBC Travel, visitors would be ready to spend extra to see “bucket list” destinations (32%) rather than book luxury experiences (15%) or accommodation or aircraft upgrades (16%). Because travel prices have risen in certain regions, the willingness and ability to pay more is likely a good thing. Food prices have grown by 10%, hotels have increased by 13.3%, and motor fuel has increased by 26.6 percent.
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Family Reunions And ‘Friendcations’
People are reuniting with extended family to commemorate missed milestones. In comparison to 2019, data from Abercrombie & Kent reveals a 26% increase in future bookings of five or more people. According to Mark Hoenig, co-founder of the digital travel company VIP Traveler, family reunion holidays will be hot this year.
Renewed Demand For Travel Agents
Huge trips necessitate big arrangements, which is driving up demand for travel agents, according to Elizabeth Gordon, co-founder of Extraordinary Journeys, a tour and safari company. Professional planners can assist tourists with “Covid-19 testing,” restrictions, changes in entrance criteria, visas, flights, lodging, activities, and contingency plans. Even “do-it-yourself” tourists, who generally plan their own vacations, are now seeking professional assistance to ensure that their planned journeys run smoothly.
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