Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel platform, has weighed in with its forecast for the recovery of travel in 2021, notably predicting that rising consumer confidence will lead to an increase in international trips in the second half of the year. And to that end, the company urges travel providers to “act now” or risk losing out to those who do.
Based on a new research culled from first-party search data across six major global markets, the report reveals how consumers are planning to travel in 2021 and what impact the ongoing pandemic has had on their trip planning habits.
Among the takeaways is consumers’ increasing confidence that they will travel abroad in 2021, particularly in the second half of the year. In fact, Tripadvisor says the majority of hotel clicks on its site are already shifting to international destinations for May trips onwards (as opposed to domestic destinations, which dominated 2020).
“Consumer appetite for travel is as strong as it has been since the start of the pandemic and, as our data shows, many people are already actively planning their next big trip – even for trips more than four months out,” says Shibani Walia, senior research analyst at Tripadvisor.
“For destinations, brands, and tourism operators, it is so important that they act now to attract this early booking demand, or else they risk missing out to the competition.
“Despite the fact that many countries around the world are still grappling with high infection rates of COVID-19, many travellers are feeling optimistic that they will be able to vacation abroad this year, particularly coinciding with the roll-out of a vaccine,” she adds.
The report, entitled “The Year of the Travel Rebound: 5 Traveller Trends to Watch Out for in 2021,” offers the following insights:
1. Travellers are planning to travel abroad in the second half of the year, but won’t wait to make plans:
• Nearly half (47%) of travellers surveyed globally say they are planning to travel internationally in 2021.
• One in 10 (11%) global respondents have already booked an international trip for 2021.
• The most eager to venture abroad are German and UK travellers – in the first week of January, 85% of hotel clickers on Tripadvisor in either country were planning international breaks for later this year.
2. Vaccinations will be a game-changer for traveller confidence:
• The widespread roll-out of vaccines won’t just impact travellers’ confidence to travel, it will have a major influence on where leisure travellers are prepared to go too.
• Globally, more than three quarters (77%) of travellers surveyed say they will be more likely to travel internationally if they receive the vaccine, rising to 86% for travel domestically.
• More than a quarter (26%) of respondents globally say that they would only travel to destinations that required visitors to be vaccinated before travel, with Australian (32%) and US (30%) travellers the most likely to expect destinations to adopt this safety measure.
3. Domestic vacations remain high on travellers’ wish list for 2021:
• While international tourism looks to be getting a boost this year following a shutdown for much of 2020, domestic travel isn’t necessarily going to take a back seat in 2021. In the first week of January, nearly 70% of hotel clickers on Tripadvisor were booking future domestic trips, while further out, May through August are still proving the most popular months for domestic vacations.
• Globally, three quarters (74%) of travellers surveyed plan to take at least one overnight domestic leisure trip in 2021 – and an enthusiastic 80% in the US. In the US, just over a third of respondents (34%) are planning at least three domestic trips this year, compared to 31% of Australians surveyed and 24% of British travellers.
4. The joy of vacation planning will be stronger than ever as travellers spend more time researching 2021 trips:
• With travel plans dashed in early 2020, many people have been dreaming about their next big vacation for more than 10 months, so it’s no surprise that travellers are extra conscious of getting it just right.
• Three quarters (74%) of travellers surveyed globally say they will spend more time choosing a destination this year. In the US, 64% of travellers will spend more time reading reviews, 63% will spend more time selecting their accommodation, and 70% will spend more time finding things to do.
5. Consumers can’t wait to dine out again, but their taste for takeout will still endure:
• Nearly half (47%) of respondents globally say they plan to dine in-person at restaurants more often in 2021 than they did in 2020 and a quarter of respondents (27%) say they plan to order more takeout meals this year.