Future Travel Trends by IHG

IHG Hotels &Resorts made a survey where it asked people about their travel plans and wishes. It looks like travel is about to show some growth as there is decent optimism in responses. Tourism was an essential way to see different countries and enjoy new experiences but the pandemic changed everything messing vacation plans for millions of people worldwide. People had to cancel their beach holidays in Mallorca, forget about joyful cityscapes at hotels in Paris, and replace them with self-isolation and remote work.

Nearly 60% of the survey respondents had to cancel up to four leisure or business travels in 2020. People had to postpone their plans but didn’t skip them – more than half of the respondents have already rebooked hotels or plan to do this in the nearest future. Family vacations or visits to family and friends are the main reason for people to travel these days. People in all age groups from 18 to 55+ are optimistic about the future of travel and hope that vaccination will allow reopening the borders.

People are hungry for traveling and want to travel more when it is finally possible but still have their plans on hold. Only people from the youngest age group (18 to 24) are going to travel in 2021 – roughly 25% of them have vacation plans for this year’s summer or autumn. Younger people are also the ones who are most interested in doing volunteer work while traveling. 50% of people 55 and older will travel only when there are more people vaccinated and the pandemic becomes less a threat.

Overall, people are still hungry for visiting new places and enjoying new experiences but the pandemic has made everyone more thoughtful and careful about their decisions. Business travel is also put on hold at the moment. One in three employees around the world said that they had fewer business trips in 2020. Overall, people find this demotivating and want to have face-to-face meetings again. Business travel is a good way of creating relations with partners and colleagues so this is an important factor for the prosperity of any business.

When asked about the primary aim of traveling, different nationals stated different goals. For example, Australians are craving sightseeing, Americans want to visit their loved ones and improve their mood, and British tourists need more sunshine in their lives. When traveling for work, the survey respondents named comfortable beds and room service to be one of the most important factors.