- Travel isn’t just an escape like in the past years, but a catalyst for experiencing our best lives in the year ahead.
- 81% of Vietnamese travelers reveal that they feel more alive than ever when they are on vacation
- 72% want to be more like their vacation self , which is the best version of themselves, in their day-to-day life back home
As 2023 enters its final months and 2024 optimistically appears on the horizon, people around the world have emotionally checked out of the news agenda and events at home in order to take a much-needed breather. Where in the past years, travel has been a means to escape life, Booking.com latest research shows that travel is life in 2024 with 81% of Vietnamese travelers revealing that they feel more alive than ever when they are on vacation, and 72% wanting to be more like their vacation self in their day-to-day life back home, coz they are the best version of themselves on vacation. And with AI set to transform 2024, travelers are increasingly plugging into tech to do the grunt work, tuning into their intuition and spark more soul-stirring experiences.
To explore how travel will transport people out of autopilot and into unleashing their best life, Booking.com commissioned research among more than 27,000 travelers across 33 countries and territories, combining it with its insights as a leading digital travel platform to reveal seven predictions for travel in 2024.
1. (Alter) Ego Enthusiasts : Creating alter egos
In 2024, travelers will feel more alive by creating their very own epic alter egos during their holidays, with 37% weaving intricate narratives about their real lives when interacting with fellow travelers. These alter ego enthusiasts love the thrill of embodying a 2.0 version of themselves, and go to great lengths to reimagine their best self, with 78% Vietnamese travelers enjoying the anonymity of travel and the chance to recreate themselves.
They’re excited to reinvent themselves and take on different personas when traveling to feel more alive. 76% of Vietnamese travelers feel they are the best version of themselves on vacation, able to shed inhibitions and embrace new aspects of their personalities, and 56% would even pay to rent a nicer car than they drive at home to live their finest lives with confidence. What’s more, 65% of Vietnamese travelers feel ‘main character energy’ on their travels, with these performers empowered to be the stars of their own life. They might also want to use their travels as an extension of aliases and avatars they already use online
2. Cool-cationers
As global temperatures continue to rise, travelers are seeking cooler destinations to escape the heat. Three out of four Vietnamese travelers report that climate change will impact the way they plan their vacation in 2024, with 75% saying that as temperatures soar close to home, they will use their vacation to cool down elsewhere.
Majority of Vietnamese travelers (82%) agree that being close to water instantly makes them feel more relaxed, and are interested in water-centric vacations in 2024. As people dive headfirst into aquatic escapes, mindful water immersion will quickly become the next mainstream version of meditation, where the wild-swimming craze meets the ice-therapy movement. This fresh form of feel-alive wellness travel will see floating yoga, water sound baths and snow meditation surge, as well as a boom in ice therapy retreats, underwater hotels and mermania, with water no longer the backdrop but the main event.
3. Surrender Seekers
Travelers in 2024 are increasingly inclined to embrace spontaneity and adventure. Over half of Vietnamese (62%) are keen to book a surprise trip where everything down to the destination is unknown until arrival. The adventurous traveler of 2024 is wanting to step outside of the homogenized vacation, preferring to venture off the beaten path and seeking to travel with strangers. Nearly 60% of Vietnamese travelers would like to have no plans set in stone prior to traveling so they can go where the wind takes them, while 81% of Vietnamese travelers prefer to travel with loose plans so they can change direction based on what feels good at the moment.
The travel industry is already responding fast with tech-enabled flexible services, giving travelers the option to cancel, change plans, and buy now, pay later at the press of a button. The explosion of AI is going mainstream in 2024: 65% of Vietnamese would trust AI to plan a trip for them in the year ahead.
4. Culinary Excavators
Food plays an important role in the travel experience with nearly 73% Vietnamese travelers more interested in discovering more about a destination’s ‘must-eat’ delicacies than ever before. Culinary excavators are leaning on gastro-tourism to preserve the true craftsmanship of the traditional dishes and embrace the unique history, geography and produce that makes for one-of-a-kind cuisine that awakens the senses .
Most Vietnamese travelers (94%) want to try indigenous cuisines and explore heritage flavors in 2024, unlocking the secrets of cultures which may have been lost or forgotten in other parts of the world. Expect an increase in indigenous experiences that take travelers on trails that tell the story behind the food they serve, bringing pride and income to communities around the globe.
5. Reboot Retreaters
When things are falling apart back home amid global instability and an ever-hectic world, disheveled travelers are booking one-track trips that are focused on self-improvement to bring themselves back to the life they truly want again.
For those who are used to sleeping solo, 62% of Vietnamese travelers would carve out time for a matchmaking holiday to find a spark with a new partner or lover. On the flip side, for those increasingly frazzled parents, they are surprisingly seeking solace on completely solo holidays, with the majority of APAC parents (66%) planning to travel alone in 2024, dropping the kids and their partners to prioritize their vitality.
6. A La Carte Affluencers
Travelers in 2024 are looking to optimize their vacations by seeing value and luxury simultaneously. They want to level up their holiday experience with à la carte’ luxuries’ but are keen to cut costs. These à la carte ‘affluencers’ want to appear wealthy, sweeping away the reality of having to make financial sacrifices, but behind the scenes are obsessed with see-through spending and curating budget-friendly travel itineraries with the help of AI. In fact, 71% of Vietnamese travelers will want insights and tips from AI when on vacation to upgrade experiences with suggested ancillaries and deals, all with a flick of their finger.
Additionally, nearly half (48%) plan to pick destinations in 2024 where the cost of living is less expensive than their hometown, while 54% of Vietnamese travelers want to travel closer to home and will be searching for luxe-for-less copycat vacations to reduce costs in 2024. 66% of Vietnamese travelers will be willing to pay for day passes to use the amenities in a five star hotel rather than actually staying there, with a similar number of parents (60%) planning to take their children out of school to travel outside of peak season to make their money stretch further in 2024.
7. Mindful Aesthetes
Once upon a time, the words sustainable and stylish were not necessarily synonymous, with the words ‘eco-travel’ conjuring up visions of primitive campsites. Design and mindfulness converge in 2024, opening up new and inspiring doors for travelers who have a desire to make more conscious and responsible choices, not just for a short getaway, but as a way of life.
These travelers will hunt down jaw-dropping architecture that has environmental features at its heart, with 73% Vietnamese travelers looking for accommodation that has wow-factor sustainability innovation. 78% want to see sustainability in action, while 83% of Vietnamese travelers say they want to see the outside brought indoors with green spaces and plants in accommodations on vacation. In 2024, in exchange for contributing to conservation efforts, sustainable itineraries will give travelers exclusive access to the places that they are helping preserve, in the most mindful and responsible way.
Varun Grover, Country Head, Vietnam at Booking.com comments: “Our 2024 travel predictions reflect the idea that travel is not a means to escape life, but instead a catalyst to live our best lives. From thrilling adventures in a new destination to feeling the pulse of a new culture and every experience in between, travel allows us to become the best version of ourselves. It is encouraging to see that Vietnamese travelers have been showing their consistent desire to travel more sustainably and respect cultural heritage wherever they set out to visit. At Booking.com, it’s our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world and we believe in the power of travel to inspire, transform and enrich lives and we are committed to empowering extraordinary experiences that resonate with the heartbeat of each and every traveler in 2024 and beyond.”
For more information about Booking.com’s 2024 Travel Predictions please visit: https://globalnews.booking.com/out-of-autopilot-and-into-our-best-life-bookingcom-shares-its-seven-predictions-for-travel-in-2024/.
METHODOLOGY
Travel Predictions 2024 research commissioned by Booking.com and conducted among a sample of adults who plan to travel for business or leisure in the next 12-24 months. In total, 27,730 respondents across 33 countries and territories were polled (including 1008 from Argentina, 1012 from Australia, 505 from Austria, 1001 from Belgium, 1002 from Brazil, 1009 from Canada, 1009 from China, 1002 from Colombia, 508 from Croatia, 504 from Denmark, 1011 from France, 1011 from Germany, 1016 from Hong Kong, 1004 from India, 510 from Ireland, 504 from Israel, 1014 from Italy, 1004 from Japan, 1009 from Mexico, 1014 from The Netherlands, 1015 from New Zealand, 500 from Portugal, 502 from Singapore, 1010 from South Korea, 1009 from Spain, 502 from Sweden, 507 from Switzerland, 504 from Taiwan, 1003 from Thailand, 502 from the UAE, 1007 from the UK, 1005 from the US and 1007 from Vietnam). Respondents completed an online survey in July 2023.
