What will travel look like in 2030?

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Ever wondered where you’ll be in 2030?

While most of us struggle to comprehend what the future might hold, others are a bit better at imagining it.

Amadeus has launched its latest future forecast that looks at “understanding tomorrow’s travellers” and identifying the various traveller personalities to look out for.

Titled Future Traveller Tribes 2030, the report states that by 2030 more than 1.8 billion of us will travel internationally every year, and that what motivates us to travel, as well as our behaviours abroad, will also be radically different to today.

By the end of the next decade, some people will be planning and consuming travel experiences based on how shareable they are, or how much ‘capital’ they will generate via social networks.

Another travel cohort will demand total simplicity and freedom from having to arrange their own travel, using third parties almost entirely to organise a trip.

And at the same time, a dedicated group is set to emerge that will harbour a desire for only the most hedonistic and indulgent experiences around.

The research came out of a number of interviews and workshops with industry experts, as well as trend-spotting research with consumers and travel markets such as Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea.

The six distinct traveller personalities to come out of the report include:

1. Social Capital Seekers

This group will structure their holidays almost exclusively with online audiences in mind, relying heavily on reviews and recommendations to validate their travel decisions.

A whole new market could even pop up based on “profile-boosting breaks”, filled with moments designed to entice and attract other social media users.

2. Cultural Purists

These guys will look at holidaymaking as a chance to immerse themselves in a completely alien culture, where enjoyment of the break depends on the authenticity of the experience.

3. Ethical Travellers

Ethical jetsetters will make travel plans based on moral grounds, such as keeping their carbon footprint low, and will often tack on elements of volunteering and community development to their holidays.

4. Simplicity Searchers

The simple travelling folk will prefer bundled offers, with the aim of avoiding the hassle of organising their trip.

Holidays for this tribe focus on pampering themselves, and not worrying about the many elements that go into planning a getaway.

5. Obligation Meeters

This crew will be driven by a specific purpose for travel, whether business or leisure, and will therefore have constraints on both their time and budget.

As a result, they will seek smart technology that will assist them in removing the hassle of travel.

6. Reward Hunters

This tribe puts the luxe in luxury travel, and crave something that is considered a ‘must have’ premium experience.

Amadeus’ Asia Pacific president Angel Gallego said the traveller today has more power than ever, and this will continue into the future.

“By 2030, hyper-customisation will be the default expectation among many customers,” Gallego said.

“With Asia Pacific set to lead global travel growth through to 2030, it is particularly critical for all providers, buyers and sellers of travel in the region to truly understand these emerging ‘traveller tribes’ and make the right investment decisions now to gear towards future traveller preferences.”

And Future Foundation’s director Nick Chiarelli agrees, saying research is showing the way we engage with the travel industry will be vastly different by 2030.

“Over the next 15 years the desire to share travel experiences will be profound, and so too the impact of sharing on inspiration and purchase trends will grow,” he said.

“As consumers in developed markets approach a post-material era we expect a much greater focus on, first of all, experience, and second of all, ethics, both environmental and social, to significantly influence people’s travel choices and behaviours.”

To read more on the report and see which tribe you belong in, check out the Amadeus site.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

2030 amadeus traveller tribes