As with so many things in life, the travel industry is guided by money. More wealthy (read Business and First Class Travelers) tend to set the trends and their preferences have historically determined which destinations are hot. Understanding these emerging travel patterns helps us all when we plan, book and live travel experiences.
And hey we’re starting a new year so it’s time to start thinking about bucket list travel experiences and planning your adventures for the year ahead.
The travel agency network Virtuoso conducted a study of what they called sophisticated travelers to find out where they plan on traveling to and our editorial Team at Going Global thought some of the responses were pretty interesting so we poured through the data to bring you this summary. OK we had an unpaid Intern working 18 hours a day while the Editors drank champagne in our private jet but that’s just how we roll. We wish!
The survey of over 8,000 respondents identified five distinct travel personalities based on travel styles. It’s a good look into the psychology of those who travel and why.
The Go-Getter (23% of respondents)
The Go-Getter is active, adventurous, and wants to see and do it all on their vacations
Trips of a Lifetime: Taking a world cruise, photographing the “big five” on an African safari, calling on all seven continents
Dream Destinations: Australia, Italy, New Zealand
The Connoisseur (23%)
The Connoisseur likes the best of the best and will indulge in food, wine, art, and architecture while traveling
Trips of a Lifetime: Taking a world cruise, renting a European villa, dining at Paris’ starred restaurants
Dream Destinations: Italy, Australia, New Zealand
The Classic Traveler (20%)
The Classic Travelers are loyal to the places they love and will return multiple times to their favorite destinations
Trips of a Lifetime: Taking a world cruise, touring Italy’s Amalfi Coast, riding the Orient-Express
Dream Destinations: Italy, Australia, Ireland
The Relaxationist (17%)
The Relaxationist travels to get away from it all – to relax, restore, and rejuvenate
Trips of a Lifetime: Renting a private island in the Caribbean, taking a world cruise, sailing the Mediterranean on a private yacht.
Dream Destinations: Italy, Australia, the Caribbean
The Trendsetter (17%)
The Trendsetter is all about what’s new and next, and is an early adopter of emerging destinations
Trips of a Lifetime: Taking a world cruise, going on safari, calling on all seven continents
Dream Destinations: Australia, South Africa, Italy
So what does all this marketing-speak really mean? Well here’s what the survey results revealed about what locations and experiences were most coveted.
Top Trips of a Lifetime
Taking a world cruise
Renting a European villa
Photographing the “big five” on African Safari
Renting a private island in the Caribbean
Calling on all seven continents
Galapagos Islands expedition
Staying in Europe’s top hotel suites
Antarctic cruise
Cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage
Chartering a private jet
Top 10 Dream Destinations
Australia
Italy
New Zealand
Ireland
France
South Africa
The Caribbean
Greece
England
French Polynesia
Fantasy Islands
Greek Islands
Hawaiian Islands
Fiji
The Caribbean
Galapagos Islands
Where to Make Dinner Reservations
Paris
Rome
Florence
New York City
New Orleans
Cities That Excite
Paris
Rome
London
Sydney
Barcelona
Best Trips For Two
Mediterranean cruise
Paris in April
Caribbean resort stay
Roman holiday
California wine country
Where to Set Sail
European river/canal
The Mediterranean
Alaska
Australia/New Zealand
World cruise
Ultimately there’s not too many surprises here but we still think it’s worthwhile understanding what destinations are hot and which ones are not. Knowing how and why travelers want to have experiences helps all of us who are passionate about traveling to focus on how the industry will evolve in the next year or so. When you’re on the road 50% of the time, this is good information to have.
The post Where Do You Want to Go? Survey of Sophisticated Travelers appeared first on Going Global TV.