STUDY: experience outweighs destination in trip planning

STUDY: experience outweighs destination in trip planning
By Alexandra Coulton


Travellers are more likely to book a holiday based on what they want to experience, rather than a specific destination, according to new research.

A survey conducted by Lonely Planet of 7,500 members of its community of travellers from all over the world found that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed think the experience is more important than the destination when planning a holiday.

The research also found that 95 per cent of those surveyed see travel as an “opportunity for positive change” in their lives as well as for the places and communities they visit. 59 per cent went as far as to say they travel as an opportunity for personal growth.

Another driving force singled out in the research was environmental considerations, with 68 per cent saying they now care more about sustainable travel than they used to, but only 35.2 per cent said they factored in sustainability when planning a holiday.

The experiences over destinations sentiment echo Virtuoso’s APAC managing director, Michael Londregan’s comments during an interview with Travel Weekly last year, where he indicated technology is paving the way for a new type of traveller.

“Maybe we have our travel business set up for an old paradigm where all the brochures are about destinations, where really they should be about communities,” he said.

“We generally think of people being segmented by where they want to go but actually they’re becoming segmented by what they’re passionate about.”

“And maybe our brochures should say ‘Food and wine’, ‘Adventure’, ‘Family retreats’, ‘Health and Wellness’ and then within that, there are all the destinations and the product that relates to that segment within those destinations.”

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