Travel trends (based on a study) to help you get value for your next holiday

Travelport’s Global Digital Traveller Research 2019 has found that travellers across the world are increasingly prioritising value over cost, with only 18% booking flights based on costs only.

The study was carried out online through Toluna Research in August 2019 and covered 20 countries and surveyed people who had taken at least two round trip flights in the last year. In total, there were 23,000 respondents.

Travellers across all age groups, led by baby boomers at 91%, book a flight based on value. Over four out of five (86%) travellers prioritised value, with just one in five (18%) now booking solely on cost.

To find offers of value, they “nearly always” use travel review sites like TripAdvisor, price comparison sites like Kayak.com, recommendation sites, and have conversations with travel consultants.

The study also found that when booking flights, most travellers across all age groups wanted to personalise their experience through add-ons like extra legroom, additional baggage allowance, and meal upgrades, with only 24% sticking to branded offers.

This, however, has its disadvantages as, according to Travelport’s Global Digital Traveller Research 2019, a growing number of travellers were getting frustrated by companies regularly not remembering their preferences.

Nearly 71% of travellers considered it important whether an airline offered a good digital experience when booking a flight, with over 58% also considering this when choosing accommodation.

“When researching a trip, three quarters (77%) of travellers have reviewed videos and photos posted by travel brands on social media, up 2% on 2018. One third (36%) of Gen Y travellers today ‘nearly always’ do this in the research phase. Facebook is considered the most influential social media platform by all age groups except for Gen Z, which puts Instagram marginally ahead,” the study found.

To avoid disappointment, nearly 45% of travellers also want to access their booking information round-the-clock on mobile devices, though 42% still found not being able to speak to a human frustrating.

Travelport’s chief customer and marketing officer Fiona Shanley said: “Travellers are consumers too and they want an experience from travel providers and travel agents that is as simple and engaging as the best retailers. Travelport’s latest global research shows that technology is key to this – from serving relevant and personalised offers to providing attractive propositions from trusted sources. With increasing adoption of emerging technologies and use of new industry standards, this is precisely where the industry is heading.”

(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.