Not Just Price: Passengers to Prioritize Comfort & Sustainability When Booking Travel This Year
The air travel landscape rapidly evolves, introducing new trends and innovations that reshape our travel experiences. Numerous reports indicate that passengers prioritize comfort and sustainability when booking travel in 2023 and continuing into 2024.
The latest study by ASAP Tickets, seen by the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal (ITIJ), revealed that passengers are willing to pay more for more comfortable flights. In a recent survey on consumer travel habits, 93% of air passengers expressed their willingness to pay for in-flight upgrades that enhance convenience and comfort despite the overall increasing cost of travel. The research was conducted by ASAP Tickets and Skylux travel agency services and involved over 1,000 adult respondents. The research revealed that the most sought-after extra among participants was checked-in luggage.
To read what Alex Weinstein, the founder of ASAP Tickets, says, click here
7 Frugal Travel Habits To Adopt So You Can Vacation More Often
Spring break is right around the corner, summer will be here before you know it and frequent travelers are already locking in their vacation itineraries. It’s no secret that traveling — especially traveling abroad — is no cheap feat.
If expensive travel is not in your budget, you are not alone. There is a multitude of ways to trim costs on getting to your destination without compromising on experience. “Compare prices with several different travel agencies, airlines and search engines to find the best deals that match your itinerary’s needs,” said Maya Kapoor-Miller, travel manager at Dreamport. “If a direct flight is too expensive, look into connecting flights. You may even combine multiple airlines or different modes of transportation. The more flexible you are, the better deals you can score. Monitor your route and set up alerts to see when prices drop.”
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Five Emerging Trends 2024 Has in Store for the Global Travel Industry
Customer engagement will thus be mainly driven by personalization, and travel companies will need to adapt to this demand quicker than ever. With a busy and rather hectic year behind us, 2024 is set to be a pivotal one for the travel industry, as it enters a new post-pandemic phase. The revenge travel rush is now over, and along with that, new trends and technologies have emerged globally that have interesting implications for consumers, businesses, and the whole industry, directly shifting people’s mindset, behavior, and approach to the travel landscape today.
Personalized Solutions and AI-Powered Innovations – one of the main travel trends stealing the spotlight in 2024 is personalization, with more people requesting tailor-made and authentic travel solutions. Today’s holidaymakers want the chance to create interest-specific, individually tailored trips that allow them to fully immerse in the destination’s culture, people, and traditions instead of the regular holiday packages available. Now it’s more about hidden-gem spots and custom-themed activities such as wellness retreats, culinary, art, history or hiking tours, authentic local experiences, cultural trips and long-haul adventures or specific destinations (often inspired by social media and streaming services) that take the vacation to the next level. Customer engagement will thus be mainly driven by personalization, and travel companies will need to adapt to this demand quicker than ever.
Read the complete article here
Travel Dupes & Affordable Luxury: How It Actually Works and What Spots to Look For
When it comes to planning a holiday, many travellers prefer going to some of the most popular tourist destinations around the world to see the pyramids, explore the jungle, surf the ocean, or climb the highest mountains. However, for other holidaymakers, it has become the new trend to find lesser-known spots that are more affordable and not as overcrowded. Despite the rising costs, people are still prioritising travel over other expenses and will therefore look for more ways to save on travel while still getting the same or even better experience out of their trips. Here are my travel expert insights on great hidden-gem destinations that offer an authentic and exclusive vacation experience and can be considered great dupes for some of the most popular tourist places.
First of all, the key to having a premium travel experience for less is choosing the right time and spot for your holiday. Therefore, I suggest exploring off-the-radar places where you can splurge instead of saving. Another piece of advice for those looking to cut their holiday expenses without sacrificing style and comfort is to travel during the off-season. Airfares for flight routes during the holiday months can be up to 50% more expensive than flights booked roughly six months out during off-peak times.
To read what Alonso Marly, a travel expert at Skylux Travel (part of Trevolution Group), says, click here
What 2024 Looks Like for the Global Travel Industry
Peter Vazan, EVP of industry relations of Trevolution Group shares the trends for this year from personalised travel solutions to AI-powered innovations
With a busy and rather hectic year behind us, 2024 is set to be a pivotal one for the travel industry, as it now enters a new post-pandemic phase. As the revenge travel rush is now over, travellers can anticipate more competitive pricing and increased options. Along with that, new trends and technologies have emerged globally that have interesting implications for consumers, businesses, and the whole industry, directly shifting people’s decisions, behaviour and approach to travel in general. This shift in mindset is thus driving some exciting patterns that are directly reshaping the travel landscape today.
One of the main travel trends that is expected to steal the spotlight in 2024 is personalisation, with more vacationers requesting tailor-made and authentic travel solutions. Today’s holidaymakers want the chance to create interest-specific, individually tailored trips that allow one to fully immerse in the destination’s culture, people, and traditions instead of the regular holiday packages so readily available.
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Expert Predictions For Sustainability In 2024
2024 marks a turning point in the global quest for sustainability, as environmental challenges become increasingly intertwined with economic and social factors.
This piece delves into a series of expert predictions, highlighting what the future of sustainability could look like, and how we are set to redefine our approach to preserving the planet for future generations.
Alonso Marly of Skylux Travel states: “Sustainable travel has been one of the hottest topics in recent years as travelers seek ways to explore the world more responsibly. This shift in mindset is driving new trends and reshaping the travel landscape.”
“For years, aviation has received a lot of blame for its impact on the environment; however, the industry has also made tremendous progress – over the last decade alone, aircraft fuel efficiency has improved by 2% each year, according to ATAG. Increased sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is the key to introducing positive changes in the future, as it has the potential to reduce emissions by up to 80%.
Read the complete article here
Travellers Happy to Pay Extra for Comfort
A survey by ASAP Tickets suggests that air passengers are willing to pay more for a comfortable flight
ASAP Tickets found that 93 per cent of air passengers in its recent consumer travel habits survey were willing to pay for in-flight upgrades that add more convenience and comfort to their travel experience. This is in spite of the overall rising cost of travel.
The research, which surveyed over 1,000 adult respondents using the ASAP Tickets and Skylux travel agency services, also found that the most popular extra among those surveyed was checked-in luggage. Almost a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents were willing to pay for that add-on.
Other top add-ons included flight travel insurance (20 per cent) to cover unexpected disruptions to flights; seat selection (18 per cent); extra luggage (10 per cent); extra leg room (8.6 per cent); Wi-Fi services (six per cent); and in-flight meals (4.9 per cent).
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How To Find the Cheapest Last-Minute Flights This Holiday Season
Few things are as stressful as knowing you need to book a last-minute flight during the holiday season and struggling to find trips with less-than-astronomical price tags. Knowing the clock is ticking before the flight is sold out, what should you do if you find yourself in this situation? Where should you turn to find cheap flights?
GOBankingRates spoke to several travel experts to uncover what bargain hunters need to know about searching for affordable flights during a holiday time crunch. Here’s what they had to say about booking cheap last-minute flights.
Read what Mercedes Zach, travel expert at ASAP tickets, says here
Sri Lanka and Sharjah Are Top Destinations For Indian Families: India Report
Trevolution Group, a company focused on agency sales of airline tickets and travel services, has announced India as the top-performing market for its new travel platform Dreamport.
Introduced in India in April of this year, Dreamport’s purpose is to support and bring together independent travel managers. In the first seven months since Dreamport’s launch, more than 51,000 freelancers from various parts of the country have registered to use the platform for their daily earnings. The main cities where travel agents come from are Delhi, Mumbai, Muzaffarnagar, Hoshiarpur, and Bhadrak. As for international travel, Dreamport customers from around the world prefer flying to the United States, Nigeria, the Philippines, and India.
India and Uzbekistan were strategically chosen as the first launch markets for the platform, and since September, it is also available across Moldova, with more than 56,000 unique applications up to date. Over 30% of travel agents have also passed the assessment process.
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Most Travellers Go Abroad to Visit Friends and Relatives
Asaptickets has released new market research, revealing the main reasons for travel in 2023. 63% of air travellers say they go abroad to visit friends and relatives. Over one-half (60%) do it once or twice a year, and the majority (55%) prefer to travel together with one or several family members.
When it comes to the main reasons for traveling, the survey shows that visiting friends and relatives is the most popular response for 62.92% of customers. 10.06% prefer exploring new cities and sightseeing (9.27%), but 6.71% say they fly abroad for business arrangements or to enjoy a beach vacation (5.13%). Male travellers visit foreign countries for work purposes more often (7.64%) than women (5.63%), while female passengers typically prefer leisure trips. Almost one-third, or 27.7% of female travellers, fly overseas to explore new cities, do sightseeing and indulge in beach vacations. Among men, only 22.57% or roughly one in every five respondents travel for a leisure vacation.
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