According to new research from Booking.com, the travel industry is set for a strong rebound in 2022. The study was commissioned by the company, and collected responses in AUG 2021 from 24,055 participants across 31 countries, including 500 from Canada and 1002 from the U.S., who are planning for business or leisure travel in the next 12 to 24 months.
From the responses collected, Booking.com has made seven key predictions for the travel industry in 2022:
Travel Confidence on the Rise
After a pandemic pause on travel, the number of travellers who are looking to make up for lost trips has risen from 42 per cent to 63 per cent.
OpenJaw has previously reported on the rise of “revenge travel,” due to pent up demand.
Additionally, Booking.com predicts 2022 will be the year of travellers just saying “yes.” 72 per cent of respondents to the study said that they would say “yes” to any vacation as long as their budget could allow for it.
New Places, New Faces
60 per cent of respondents are looking to meet new people while on vacation. In a related note, Booking.com also predicts that a resurgence of “vacation romances” is coming, with 50 per cent of respondents hoping for travel romance on their next trip.
Work-Travel Balance
After a year and a half of working from home due to the pandemic, travellers have expressed desire to re-establish their work-life balance. Despite a pandemic trend of ‘work from anywhere’ travel, now, 73 per cent of respondents said that future vacations will be strictly work-free.
Wellbeing
Booking.com predicts that travel will be a significant form of self-care for many people in 2022. 79 per cent of respondents said that travel “helps their mental and emotional wellbeing more than other forms of self-care.”
Community Connection
Travellers are also looking to make a positive impact on the places they visit. 58 per cent of respondents said they believe it is important that their trip is beneficial to the destination’s local community. 31 per cent also said they would do more research into how their trips and tourism efforts will affect or improve local communities.
Top Trending Destinations
Through the study, Booking.com identified eight trending destinations that interested travellers for an upcoming vacation:
- Atlanta, USA
- Taichung, Taiwan
- Gramado, Brazil
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Brașov, Romania
- Llandudno, U.K.
- Montpellier, France
- Melaka, Malaysia
Digital Solutions
Travellers showed an increased willingness to use technology for travel. 63 per cent of respondents said that they believe technology is important for controlling health risks when travelling, with 62 per cent agreeing that technology helps to alleviate their travel anxiety.
Nearly 7 in 10 travellers (69 per cent) would be interested in a service that could predict which countries will be safe to visit even months in advance, or could automatically suggest destinations that are easy to travel to now based on their country’s and the destination’s current COVID-19 requirements (67 per cent).
OpenJaw also recently reported that consumers are using digital solutions to boost travel confidence.
More information about Booking.com’s survey is available on this web site.
