Excerpt from PhocusWire
Travel restrictions and outright lockdowns drove many consumers to rethink their priorities over the past two years.
The spotlight was put on serious issues such as ongoing damage to the environment as well as softer challenges including the need for more flexible terms and conditions in travel bookings.
In its Top 10 Global Consumer Trends 2022 report, Euromonitor profiled consumers according to various behaviors the market insight company is seeing.
While not all trends are specific to travel, the changing consumer attitudes will likely have - and are already having - an impact on the industry.
Unsurprisingly, Climate Changers is one of the trends highlighted in the report, which reveals that in 2021 more than a third of consumers, 35%, actively reduced their carbon emissions.
The report says companies need to offer products and services that are “carbon-footprint certified.”
For the travel industry, that’s not as easy as it sounds, as numerous certification schemes across different verticals track different things.
In recent months, various reports have highlighted the challenges for consumers around the lack of access to sustainable travel choices as well as cost.
For travel companies, barriers such as a lack of urgency and resources are flagged as the main issues.
But consumers want more sustainable options from travel brands, according to a Booking.com report, and they maintain they are willing to pay more for them.
Meanwhile, there has already been much talk of digital nomads and the work-from-anywhere trend in the past year, and Euromonitor’s spotlight on the Great Life Refresh further supports that.
The trend feeds into the desire from many to achieve a better work-life balance, improve mental health and live more sustainably.
Startups and more established brands from Selina to Airbnb have targeted this digital nomad traveler group, which expanded from single travelers to couples, families and groups during the pandemic.
With many large corporations now offering employees their choice of where to work, the trend is likely to continue.
The Socialization Paradox, a further trend highlighted in the report, calls for companies to remain flexible with employees and consumers as people find their own comfort level balancing virtual and real-life interactions.
On the one hand consumers are used to online engagement, but many crave more social interaction going forward.
The trends study reveals that in 2021, 76% of global consumers took health and safety precautions when leaving home.
While the travel industry needs customers to come back, it must also cater to various comfort and anxiety levels.
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