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What is the future of travel?

All aboard! After the pandemic upended life and leisure as we know it, travel is roaring back. The industry is set to make a full recovery by the end of 2024, after losing 75 percent of its value in 2020. Much of this has been so-called “revenge travel,” or people embarking on international or bucket list trips that were delayed by the pandemic. But domestic travel is recovering quickly too and is set to represent 70 percent of travel spending by 2030.

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on travel and tourism

Margaux Constantin is a partner in McKinsey’s Dubai office, Matteo Pacca is a senior partner in the Paris office, and Vik Krishnan is a senior partner in the Bay Area office.

We’ve done a deep dive into the latest travel trends and how industry players can adjust accordingly in The state of travel and hospitality 2024 report. Check out the highlights below, as well as McKinsey’s insights on AI in travel, mass tourism, and much more.

Learn more about McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics, and Infrastructure Practice .

Who are today’s travelers, and what do they want?

In February and March 2024, McKinsey surveyed  more than 5,000 people in China, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom, and the United States who had taken at least one leisure trip in the past two years. Here are six highlights from the results of that survey:

• Travel is a top priority, especially for younger generations. Sixty-six percent of travelers we surveyed said they are more interested in travel now than before the COVID-19 pandemic. And millennials and Gen Zers  are traveling more and spending a higher share of their income on travel than their older counterparts.
• Younger travelers are keen to travel abroad. Gen Zers and millennials who responded to our survey are planning nearly an equal number of international and domestic trips in 2024. Older generations are planning to take twice as many domestic trips.
• Baby boomers are willing to spend if they see value. Baby boomers still account for 20 percent of overall travel spending. They are willing to spend on comforts such as nonstop flights. On the other hand, they are more willing to forego experiences to save money while traveling, unlike Gen Zers who will cut all other expense categories before they trim experiences.
• Travel is a collective story, with destinations as the backdrop. Travelers both want to hear other travelers’ stories and share their own. Ninety-two percent of younger travelers were inspired by social media in some shape or form for their last trip.
• What travelers want depends on where they’re from. Sixty-nine percent of Chinese respondents said they plan to visit a famous sight on their next trip, versus the 20 percent of European and North American travelers who said the same. Respondents living in the UAE also favor iconic destinations, as well as shopping and outdoor activities.

Learn more about McKinsey’s  Travel, Logistics, and Infrastructure Practice .

What are the top three travel industry trends today?

Travel is back, but traveler flows are shifting. McKinsey has isolated three major themes for industry stakeholders to consider as they look ahead.

• The bulk of travel spending is close to home. Seventy-five percent of travel spend is domestic. The United States is currently the world’s largest domestic travel market, but China is set to overtake it in the coming years. Stakeholders should make sure they capture the full potential of domestic travelers before turning their attention abroad.
• New markets such as India, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe are growing sources of outbound tourism. Indians’ travel spending is expected to grow 9 percent per year between now and 2030; annual growth projections for Southeast Asians and Eastern Europeans are both around 7 percent.
• Unexpected destinations are finding new ways to lure travelers and establish themselves alongside enduring favorites. Rwanda, for example, has capitalized on sustainable tourism by limiting gorilla trekking permits and directing revenue toward conservation.

Introducing McKinsey Explainers : Direct answers to complex questions

For a more in-depth look at these trends, check out McKinsey’s State of travel and hospitality 2024   report .

How will AI change how people travel?

In the 1950s, the introduction of the jet engine dramatically reduced travel times, changing the way people traveled forever. Now AI is upending the industry  in a similarly fundamental way. Industry players down to individual travelers are using advances in generative AI (gen AI) , machine learning , and deep learning  to reimagine what it means to plan, book, and experience travel. “It’s quite clear,” says McKinsey partner Vik Krishnan , “that gen AI significantly eases  the process of travel discovery.”

For travel companies, the task now is to rethink how they interact with customers, develop products and services, and manage operations in the age of AI. According to estimates by McKinsey Digital, companies that holistically address digital and analytics opportunities have the potential to see an earnings improvement of up to 25 percent .

McKinsey and Skift Research interviewed executives from 17 companies across five types of travel business. Here are three key findings on how travel companies can reckon with emerging technologies, drawn from the resulting report The promise of travel in the age of AI :

• Segmentation. Companies can use AI to create hyperspecific customer segments to guide how they interact with and serve customers. Segmentation can be based on a single macro characteristic (such as business versus leisure), or it can be so specific as to relate to just one customer.
• Surprise and delight. In the travel context, gen AI could take the form of digital assistants that interact with customers throughout their journeys, providing personalized trip itineraries and tailored recommendations and helping to resolve unexpected disruptions.
• Equipping workers better. AI tools can free up frontline workers’ time, allowing them to focus more on personal customer interactions. These tools can also shorten the training time for new hires and quickly upskill  the existing workforce.

AI is important, yes. But, according to Ella Alkalay Schreiber, general manager (GM) of fintech at Hopper, “The actual challenge is to understand the data, ask the right questions, read prediction versus actual, and do this in a timely manner. The actual challenge is the human thinking, the common sense .”

How is mass tourism changing travel?

More people are traveling than ever before. The most visited destinations are experiencing more concentrated flows of tourists ; 80 percent of travelers visit just 10 percent of the world’s tourist destinations. Mass tourism can encumber infrastructure, frustrate locals, and even harm the attractions that visitors came to see in the first place.

Tourism stakeholders can collectively look for better ways to handle visitor flows before they become overwhelming. Destinations should remain alert to early warning signs about high tourism concentration and work to maximize the benefits of tourism, while minimizing its negative impacts.

Destinations should remain alert to early warning signs about high tourism concentration and work to maximize the benefits of tourism, while minimizing its negative impacts.

For one thing, destinations should understand their carrying capacity of tourists—that means the specific number of visitors a destination can accommodate before harm is caused to its physical, economic, or sociocultural environment. Shutting down tourism once the carrying capacity is reached isn’t always possible—or advisable. Rather, destinations should focus on increasing carrying capacity to enable more growth.

Next, destinations should assess their readiness to handle mass tourism and choose funding sources and mechanisms that can address its impacts. Implementing permitting systems for individual attractions can help manage capacity and mitigate harm. Proceeds from tourism can be reinvested into local communities to ensure that residents are not solely responsible for repairing the wear and tear caused by visitors.

After risks and funding sources have been identified, destinations can prepare for growing tourist volumes in the following ways:

• Build and equip a tourism-ready workforce to deliver positive tourism experiences.
• Use data (gathered from governments, businesses, social media platforms, and other sources) to manage visitor flows.
• Be deliberate about which tourist segments to attract (business travelers, sports fans, party groups, et cetera), and tailor offerings and communications accordingly.
• Distribute visitor footfall across different areas, nudging tourists to visit less-trafficked locations, and during different times, promoting off-season travel.
• Be prepared for sudden, unexpected fluctuations triggered by viral social media and cultural trends.
• Preserve cultural and natural heritage. Engage locals, especially indigenous people, to find the balance between preservation and tourism.

How can the travel sector accelerate the net-zero transition?

Global warming is getting worse, and the travel sector contributes up to 11 percent of total carbon emissions. Many consumers are aware that travel is part of the problem, but they’re reticent to give up their trips: travel activity is expected to soar by 85 percent  from 2016 to 2030. Instead, they’re increasing pressure on companies in the travel sector to achieve net zero . It’s a tall order: the range of decarbonization technologies in the market is limited, and what’s available is expensive.

But decarbonization doesn’t have to be a loss-leading proposition. Here are four steps  travel companies can take toward decarbonization that can potentially create value:

• Identify and sequence decarbonization initiatives. Awareness of decarbonization levers is one thing; implementation is quite another. One useful tool to help develop an implementation plan is the marginal abatement cost curve pathway framework, which provides a cost-benefit analysis of individual decarbonization levers and phasing plans.
• Partner to accelerate decarbonization of business travel. Many organizations will reduce their business travel, which accounts for 30 percent of all travel spend. This represents an opportunity for travel companies to partner with corporate clients on decarbonization. Travel companies can support their partners in achieving their decarbonization goals by nudging corporate users to make more sustainable choices, while making reservations and providing data to help partners track their emissions.
• Close the ‘say–do’ gap among leisure travelers. One McKinsey survey indicates that 40 percent of travelers globally say they are willing to pay at least 2 percent more for carbon-neutral flights. But Skift’s latest consumer survey reveals that only 14 percent  of travelers said they actually paid more for sustainable travel options. Travel companies can help close this gap by making sustainable options more visible during booking and using behavioral science to encourage travelers to make sustainable purchases.
• Build new sustainable travel options for the future. The travel sector can proactively pioneer sustainable new products and services. Green business building will require companies to create special initiatives, led by teams empowered to experiment without the pressure of being immediately profitable.

What’s the future of air travel?

Air travel is becoming more seasonal, as leisure travel’s increasing share of the market creates more pronounced summer peaks. Airlines have responded by shifting their schedules to operate more routes at greater frequency during peak periods. But airlines have run into turbulence when adjusting to the new reality. Meeting summer demand means buying more aircraft and hiring more crew; come winter, these resources go unutilized, which lowers productivity . But when airlines don’t run more flights in the summer, they leave a lot of money on the table.

How can airlines respond to seasonality? Here are three approaches :

• Mitigate winter weakness by employing conventional pricing and revenue management techniques, as well as creative pricing approaches (including, for example, monitoring and quickly seizing on sudden travel demand spikes, such as those created by a period of unexpectedly sunny weather).
• Adapt to seasonality by moving crew training sessions to off-peak periods, encouraging employee holiday taking during trough months, and offering workers seasonal contracts. Airlines can also explore outsourcing of crew, aircraft, maintenance, and even insurance.
• Leverage summer strengths, ensuring that commercial contracts reflect summer’s higher margins.

How is the luxury travel space evolving?

Quickly. Luxury travelers are not who you might expect: many are under the age of 60 and not necessarily from Europe or the United States. Perhaps even more surprisingly, they are not all millionaires: 35 percent of luxury-travel spending is by travelers with net worths between $100,000 and $1 million. Members of this group are known as aspirational luxury travelers, and they have their own set of preferences. They might be willing to spend big on one aspect of their trip—a special meal or a single flight upgrade—but not on every travel component. They prefer visibly branded luxury and pay close attention to loyalty program points and benefits .

The luxury-hospitality space is projected to grow faster than any other segment, at 6 percent per year  through 2025. And competition for luxury hotels is intensifying too: customers now have the option of renting luxurious villas with staff, or booking nonluxury hotels with luxury accoutrements such as rainfall showerheads and mattress toppers.

Another critical evolution is that the modern consumer, in the luxury space and elsewhere, values experiences over tangible things (exhibit).

Luxury properties may see more return from investing in a culture of excellence—powered by staff who anticipate customer needs, exceed expectations, create cherished memories, and make it all feel seamless—than in marble floors and gold-plated bath fixtures. Here are a few ways luxury properties can foster a culture of excellence :

• Leaders should assume the role of chief culture officer. GMs of luxury properties should lead by example to help nurture a healthy and happy staff culture and listen and respond to staff concerns.
• Hire for personalities, not resumes. “You can teach someone how to set a table,” said one GM we interviewed, “but you can’t teach a positive disposition.”
• Celebrate and reward employees. Best-in-class service is about treating customers with generosity and care. Leaders in the service sector can model this behavior by treating employees similarly.
• Create a truly distinctive customer experience . McKinsey research has shown that the top factor influencing customer loyalty in the lodging sector is “an experience worth paying more for”—not the product. Train staff to focus on tiny details as well as major needs to deliver true personalization.

What’s the latest in travel loyalty programs?

Loyalty programs are big business . They’ve evolved past being simply ways to boost sales or strengthen customer relationships; now, for many travel companies, they are profit centers in their own right. One major development was that travel companies realized they could sell loyalty points in bulk to corporate partners, who in turn offered the points to their customers as rewards. In 2019, United’s MileagePlus loyalty program sold $3.8 billion worth of miles to third parties, which accounted for 12 percent of the airline’s total revenue for that year. In 2022, American Airlines’ loyalty program brought in $3.1 billion in revenue, and Marriott’s brought in $2.7 billion.

But as this transition has happened, travel players have shifted focus away from the original purpose of these programs. Travel companies are seeing these loyalty programs primarily as revenue generators, rather than ways to improve customer experiences . As a result, loyalty program members have become increasingly disloyal. Recent loyalty surveys conducted by McKinsey revealed a steep decline in the likelihood that a customer would recommend airline, hotel, and cruise line loyalty programs to a friend. The same surveys also found that airline loyalty programs are driving fewer customer behavior changes than they used to.

So how can travel brands win customers’ loyalty back? Here are three steps to consider:

• Put experience at the core of loyalty programs. According to our 2023 McKinsey Travel Loyalty Survey , American respondents said they feel more loyal to Amazon than to the top six travel players combined, despite the absence of any traditional loyalty program. One of the reasons for Amazon’s success may be the frictionless experience it provides customers. Companies should strive to design loyalty programs around experiential benefits that make travelers feel special and seamlessly integrate customer experiences between desktop, mobile, and physical locations.
• Use data to offer personalization  to members. Travel brands have had access to customer data for a long time. But many have yet to deploy it for maximum value. Companies can use personalization to tailor both experiences and offers for loyalty members; our research has shown that 78 percent  of consumers are more likely to make a repeat purchase when offered a personalized experience.
• Rethink partnerships. Traditionally, travel companies have partnered with banks to offer cobranded credit cards. But many credit card brands now offer their own, self-branded travel rewards ecosystems. These types of partnerships may have diminishing returns in the future. When rethinking partnerships, travel brands should seek to build richer connections with customers, while boosting engagement. Uber’s partnership with Marriott, for example, gives users the option to link the brands’ loyalty programs, tapping into two large customer bases and providing more convenient travel experiences.

In a changing travel ecosystem, travel brands will need to ask themselves some hard questions if they want to earn back their customers’ loyalty.

Learn more about McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics, and Infrastructure Practice . And check out travel-related job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

• “ Updating perceptions about today’s luxury traveler ,” May 29, 2024, Caroline Tufft , Margaux Constantin , Matteo Pacca , and Ryan Mann
• “ The way we travel now ,” May 29, 2024, Caroline Tufft , Margaux Constantin , Matteo Pacca , and Ryan Mann
• “ Destination readiness: Preparing for the tourist flows of tomorrow ,” May 29, 2024, Caroline Tufft , Margaux Constantin , Matteo Pacca , and Ryan Mann
• “ How the world’s best hotels deliver exceptional customer experience ,” March 18, 2024, Ryan Mann , Ellen Scully, Matthew Straus, and Jillian Tellez Holub
• “ How airlines can handle busier summers—and comparatively quiet winters ,” January 8, 2024, Jaap Bouwer, Ludwig Hausmann , Nina Lind , Christophe Verstreken, and Stavros Xanthopoulos
• “ Travel invented loyalty as we know it. Now it’s time for reinvention. ,” November 15, 2023, Lidiya Chapple, Clay Cowan, Ellen Scully, and Jillian Tellez Holub
• “ What AI means for travel—now and in the future ,” November 2, 2023, Alex Cosmas  and Vik Krishnan
• “ The promise of travel in the age of AI ,” September 27, 2023, Susann Almasi, Alex Cosmas , Sam Cowan, and Ben Ellencweig
• “ The future of tourism: Bridging the labor gap enhancing customer experience ,” August 1, 2023, Urs Binggeli, Zi Chen, Steffen Köpke, and Jackey Yu
• “ Hotels in the 2030s: Perspectives from Accor’s C-suite ,” July 27, 2023, Aurélia Bettati
• “ Tourism in the metaverse: Can travel go virtual? ,” May 4, 2023, Margaux Constantin , Giuseppe Genovese, Kashiff Munawar, and Rebecca Stone
• “ Three innovations to solve hotel staffing shortages ,” April 3, 2023, Ryan Mann , Esteban Ramirez, and Matthew Straus
• “ Accelerating the transition to net-zero travel ,” September 20, 2022, Danielle Bozarth , Olivier Cheret, Vik Krishnan , Mackenzie Murphy, and Jules Seeley
• “ The six secrets of profitable airlines ,” June 28, 2022, Jaap Bouwer, Alex Dichter , Vik Krishnan , and Steve Saxon
• “ How to ‘ACE’ hospitality recruitment ,” June 23, 2022, Margaux Constantin , Steffen Köpke, and Joost Krämer
• “ Opportunities for industry leaders as new travelers take to the skies ,” April 5, 2022, Mishal Ahmad, Frederik Franz, Tomas Nauclér, and Daniel Riefer
• “ Rebooting customer experience to bring back the magic of travel ,” September 21, 2021, Vik Krishnan , Kevin Neher, Maurice Obeid , Ellen Scully, and Jules Seeley

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Deloitte’s 2024 travel industry outlook: Unpack the biggest travel trends for the year ahead

After more than two years of consistent year-over-year gains, leisure travel may have tapped all its pent-up demand from the peak pandemic years. Is US travel demand due for a correction? Our 2024 travel industry outlook explores signals of the strength of travel demand.

Even during times of financial anxiety, travel has held a consistent share of Americans’ wallets. Enthusiasm for in-destination activities, growing interest in more diverse destinations, and the return of baby boomers in greater numbers add to the positive indicators for travel. And workplace flexibility appears poised to further buoy demand.

Despite this optimistic outlook, could an economic downturn shift travel behaviors? Travel frequency and certain indulgences may see a decline, but if higher-income groups are relatively insulated from economic headwinds, higher-end travel products could have a better year than budget ones. On the corporate side, many decision-makers in the coming year will seek a delicate balance between conservative budgeting and pursuing the strategic benefits that travel can support.

• Suppliers find ways to touch up the travel experience. High interest rates and elevated costs of some goods can make it difficult to update, let alone upgrade, hotels. And some of airlines’ biggest challenges have stemmed from weather events and staffing matters not entirely in their control. Still, airlines and hospitality providers know they need to improve the experiences they offer or risk losing travelers’ attention.
• The corporate comeback continues, but gains decelerate. While trips to build client relationships and support team collaboration remain key to business success, costs are a significant concern. Amid these efforts at prudent budgeting, US corporate travel spend is still likely to finally pass the pre-pandemic line within the next year.
• More trips or longer trips? Travelers choose their own adventure. One of the most lasting effects of the pandemic has been a shift in how white-collar work gets done. Remote and hybrid arrangements appear to be here to stay, and the share of travelers who plan to work on their longest leisure trips has surged. In addition to adding and extending trips, this laptop lugger behavior also has an impact on travelers’ in-destination needs and preferences.
• Marketing spend shifts to account for changes in platforms and demographics. As travel demand has returned and shown continued resilience to economic anxiety, the industry’s marketing spend has trended up, and travel providers have ridden a wave of pent-up demand. But as travel growth slows, there will be a greater need for more targeted marketing and for travel providers to build new strategies for a changing landscape.
• Gen AI: Behind the scenes and front and center. Gen AI is already influencing travel, with call center efficiencies the most widely reported benefit. In the coming year, expect it to influence the industry in major ways. More visible applications (new options for discovery, shopping, booking) will garner much of the attention, but less visible applications might actually be more influential. Promising use cases for travel providers include advertising strategy, marketing content, and personalization.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.traveldailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2024/01/Deloitte-US-travel-hospitality-industry-outlook-2024.pdf” title=”Deloitte-US travel-hospitality-industry-outlook-2024″]

Vicky Karantzavelou

Vicky  is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the  Editor-in Chief . She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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KLM adds year-round trans-Atlantic service between Portland and Amsterdam

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Braniff Airways Foundation welcomes two new Board of Directors

Pilots take a stand against Single Pilot Flights: “One Means None”, says ECA

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Gulf Air and BAS forge strategic partnership to enhance aircraft maintenance training experience

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Jet2.com: Jerez and Costa de la Luz announced for Summer 2025

Mandarin Oriental opens new properties in Mayfair ad Muscat

Robinson: New club resorts on Zanzibar and Boa Vista

Hyatt acquires the me and all hotels brand

Jet2holidays partners with The Fun Lab

IHG Hotels & Resorts to launch the Holiday Inn Express brand in Egypt

MMGY quarterly travels survey reveals rising U.S. interest international vacations

Hawai’i’s Governor signs landmark Regenerative Tourism Bill into law

Explora I arrives in Piraeus for her maiden call ahead of the Eastern Mediterranean season

Visit SLO CAL Board of Directors appoints new President & Chief Executive Officer

Moxy Hotels expands in Paris with opening of Moxy Paris Clamart

Amsa Hospitality aims to enable a sustainable future with innovative ideas for a greener tomorrow

American Airlines welcomes Fiji Airways to the world of AAdvantage

Opatija welcomes Keight Hotel Opatija, Croatia’s first Curio Collection by Hilton opening

Spanish Government should adopt ecological Commission’s recommendations for SAF production

Writer Relocations and Private Jet Charter join hands to meet growing demand for luxury relocations in the GCC region

Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe appoints Dania Duke as Managing Director

Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association announces 2024 CHIEF and Taste of the Caribbean dates

Planet 9 celebrates six-year anniversary

Delta celebrates 45 years of nonstop service from Germany to the U.S.

Etihad Airways launches international roadshow in major pilot recruitment drive

WTTC: Travel & Tourism in Kenya and Tanzania on a record-high last year

• Top Travel Retail Companies

"We Envision Growth Strategies Most Suited to Your Business"

Increasing Introduction of Duty-free Campaigns to Boost the Market for Top Travel Retail Companies

February 01, 2023 | Consumer Goods

The travel retail industry revolves around cruise ships, airport duty-free shops, and airlines. The industry is made up of four primary channels, each of which is completely unique. Each channel has a different passenger profile, consumer behavior, and business dynamics.

Fortune Business Insights stated that the global market size for travel retail was valued at USD 51.28 billion in 2021. The global market is projected to grow from USD 55.74 billion in 2022 to USD 96.11 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.1% during the forecast period.

Below mentioned are the four types of travel retail platforms:

•   Airport

Airports across the world have stores in the terminals for arrivals and departures, allowing passengers to shop while on the go. In terms of sales and the number of passengers, it is the largest channel in the travel retail sector and the key growth engine for the sector.

•   Aircraft

Pre-ordered or in-flight purchases of goods are possible during flights, and both digital entertainment options and paper catalogs are accessible. It is a channel that commands the full attention of passengers yet necessitates carefully chosen strategic merchandise and meticulous attention to detail to ensure success.

• Cruise Ship

Cruise ship allows for possibilities for shopping at sea while moving between ports globally, allowing passengers to utilize the long transit time to repeatedly explore travel retail offerings. Cruise ships offer the market a rapid growth trajectory, particularly as young passengers have an inclination to become more popular.

• Downtown Duty-free

It offers opportunities for shopping that let visitors from other countries buy tax-free goods right away or reserve them to pick up after customs at the airport. It is a channel that focuses on the rapidly expanding trend of duty-free shopping outside of the typical channels, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

Below mentioned are the top 10 travel retail companies around the world:

1. Lagardère Group

Lagardère Group is an international group headquartered in Paris, France, with operations in more than 40 countries worldwide. The group started functioning in 1852. The company houses Burberry, Gucci, Hermes, and Victoria's Secret products and adopts various strategies such as acquisitions and partnerships to grow its sales.

2. LVMH (DFS Group Ltd)

DFS is a luxury travel retailer established in 1960 and headquartered in Hong Kong. It offers a broad spectrum of product categories, including wines & spirits, perfume & cosmetics, and fashion accessories. These companies target international travelers in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.

The company has around 400 boutiques spread over 13 countries offering high-end products.

3. Dufry AG

Dufry is a Swiss-based travel retail company established in 1865. It operates more than 2,300 duty-paid, duty-free shops and convenience stores in cruise lines, seaports, railway stations, airports, and central tourist areas worldwide. The company is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and employs approximately 36,000 individuals worldwide.

4. King Power International Group 

King Power International Group is a Thai company based in Bangkok and established in 1989. The group has three primary duty-free operations in Thailand. It operates through four business units, travel-retail, hotel, travel and sports-related.

The group provides duty-free beauty & cosmetics, fashion, and electronic products for travelers in its retail stores. It mainly focuses on competitive strategies such as collaborations and joint ventures with various luxury brands to generate higher revenue.

5. DAA (Aer Rianta International)

Aer Rianta International, headquartered in Dublin and established in 1988, is one of the significant players in the global market. The company manages and owns duty-free retail outlets in Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and the Americas.

6. Delhi Duty-Free Services Pvt. Ltd.

Delhi Duty-Free Services Pvt. Ltd is a joint venture between Delhi International Airport Limited, Yalorvin Limited, and GMR Airports Ltd. The company's flagship store is at Delhi International Airport. It also has 11 stores that offer products such as watches & jewelry, toiletries & cosmetics, apparel, liquor, and tobacco products. The group focuses on introducing novel products at its flagship stores.

7. Lotte Duty-Free

Lotte Duty-Free is one of Korea's leading duty-free operators, established in 1980. The brand has its presence in 19 locations across 7 countries. Lotte Duty-Free also has an online presence that is accessible from any place. The company provides 1,613 brands as of 2019 and is expanding globally to reach more travelers worldwide.

8. Gebr Heinemann SE & Co. KG

Gebr Heinemann SE & Co. KG is a German travel retailer established in 1879. The company operates duty-free shops, fashion-label boutiques at international airports along with stores on board cruise ships and border crossings. The group provides perfumes & cosmetics, confectionery, wine & spirits, fashion & accessories, watches & jewelry, and tobacco products.

9. China Duty-Free Group Co. Ltd.

Established in 1984, China Duty-Free Group is a state-owned organization that operates duty-free businesses across China. It works in 90 cities across 30 provinces of China and has over 200 retail stores. The company strongly focuses on launching new stores and introducing innovative products.

In December 2021, the company launched its first flagship store, CDF Macau Grand Lisboa Palace Shop, in Macau, China. The store offers over 170 brands of fashion, watches, accessories, cosmetic products, jewelry, perfumes, culinary delights, wines, and souvenirs.

10. Abu Dhabi Duty-Free

Established in 1984, Abu Dhabi Duty-Free operates and manages retail, food & beverage, and service operations in the airport's facilities. The group offers an array of duty-free products, high-street stores, luxury boutiques, and theme-based dining outlets. Abu Dhabi Duty-Free's product categories include beauty, fragrances, watches, toys, food, and souvenirs. The company aims to open new stores in airports and cruises to promote its brands.

Duty-free Campaigns are Regularly Offered by Retailers to Increase Product Demand

Nowadays, leading businesses use marketing campaigns to entice customers to purchase duty-free goods. For the higher-income airport traveler groups, businesses also consistently offer high-quality, privately labeled goods and services. The product sales at the airport's retail stores are expected to be aided by the above-mentioned factors.

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• News Releases

Tourism is Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels, but Challenges Remain

World Economic Forum, [email protected]

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• High-income economies in Europe and Asia-Pacific continue to lead the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Index, with the United States, Spain and Japan topping the rankings again.
• Despite post-pandemic growth, the global tourism sector still faces complex challenges, with recovery varied by region; only marginal overall score improvements since the 2021 edition.
• Developing economies are making strides – who account for 52 out of 71 economies improving since 2019 – but significant investment is needed to bridge gaps and increase market share.
• Read the report here .

New York, USA, 21 May 2024 – International tourist arrivals and the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to global GDP are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, driven by the lifting of COVID-19-related travel restrictions and strong pent-up demand, as per the new World Economic Forum travel and tourism study, released today.

Topping the 2024 list of economies are the United States, Spain, Japan, France and Australia. The Middle East had the highest recovery rates in international tourist arrivals (20% above the 2019 level), while Europe, Africa and the Americas all showed a strong recovery of around 90% in 2023.

These are some of the top findings of the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024 (TTDI) , a biennial report published in collaboration with the University of Surrey, which analyses the travel and tourism sectors of 119 countries around a range of factors and policies.

“This year marks a turning point for the travel and tourism sector, which we know has the capacity to unlock growth and serve communities through economic and social transformation,” said Francisco Betti, Head of the Global Industries team at the World Economic Forum. “The TTDI offers a forward-looking window into the current and future state of travel and tourism for leaders to navigate the latest trends in this complex sector and sustainably unlock its potential for communities and countries across the world.”

Post-pandemic recovery

The global tourism industry is expected to recover from the lows of the COVID-19 pandemic and surpass the levels seen before the crisis. This is largely being driven by a significant increase in demand worldwide, which has coincided with more available flights, better international openness, and increased interest and investment in natural and cultural attractions.

However, the global recovery has been mixed. While 71 of the 119 ranked economies increased their scores since 2019, the average index score is just 0.7% above pre-pandemic levels.

Although the sector has moved past the shock of the global health crisis, it continues to deal with other external challenges, from growing macroeconomic, geopolitical and environmental risks, to increased scrutiny of its sustainability practices and the impact of new digital technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence. In addition, labour shortages are ongoing, and air route capacity, capital investment, productivity and other sector supply factors have not kept up with the increase in demand. This imbalance, worsened by global inflation, has increased prices and service issues.

TTDI 2024 highlights Out of the top 30 index scorers in 2024, 26 are high-income economies, 19 are based in Europe, seven are in Asia-Pacific, three are in the Americas and one (the United Arab Emirates) is in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). The top 10 countries in the 2024 edition are the United States, Spain, Japan, France, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Italy and Switzerland.

The results highlight that high-income economies generally continue to have more favourable conditions for travel and tourism development. This is helped by conducive business environments, dynamic labour markets, open travel policies, strong transport and tourism infrastructure, and well-developed natural, cultural and non-leisure attractions.

Nevertheless, developing countries have seen some of the greatest improvements in recent years. Among the upper-middle-income economies, China has cemented its ranking in the top 10; major emerging travel and tourism destinations of Indonesia, Brazil and Türkiye have joined China in the top quartile of the rankings. More broadly, low- to upper-middle-income economies account for over 70% of countries that have improved their scores since 2019, while MENA and sub-Saharan Africa are among the most improved regions. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the only high-income economies to rank among the top 10 most improved economies between 2019 and 2024.

Despite these strides, the TTDI warns that significant investment is needed to close gaps in enabling conditions and market share between developing and high-income countries. One possible pathway to help achieve this would be sustainably leveraging natural and cultural assets – which are less correlated with country income level than other factors – and can offer developing economies an opportunity for tourism-led economic development.

“It’s essential to bridge the divide between differing economies’ ability to build a strong environment for their travel and tourism sector to thrive,” said Iis Tussyadiah, Professor and Head of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey. “The sector has big potential to foster prosperity and mitigate global risks, but that potential can only be fully realized through a strategic and inclusive approach.”

Mitigating future global challenges

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks Report, the travel and tourism sector faces various complex risks , including geopolitical uncertainties, economic fluctuations, inflation and extreme weather. Balancing growth with sustainability also remains a major problem, due to high seasonality, overcrowding, and a likely return of pre-pandemic emissions levels. The report also analyses persistent concerns about equity and inclusion. While the tourism sector offers a major source of relatively high-wage jobs, particularly in developing countries, gender parity remains a major issue for regions such as MENA and South Asia.

Despite these challenges, the sector can play a significant role in addressing them. To achieve this, decision-makers should prioritize actions such as leveraging tourism for nature conservation efforts; investing in skilled, inclusive and resilient workforces; strategically managing visitor behaviour and infrastructure development; encouraging cultural exchange between visitors and local communities; and using the sector to bridge the digital divide, among other policies.

If managed strategically, the travel and tourism sector – which has historically represented 10% of global GDP and employment – has the potential to emerge as a key contributor to the well-being and prosperity of communities worldwide.

About the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024

The 2024 edition of the TTDI includes several improvements based on newly available data and recently developed indicators on the environmental and social impact of travel and tourism. The changes made to the 2024 Index limit its comparability to the previously published TTDI 2021. This year's report includes recalculated 2019 and 2021 results, using new adjustments. TTDI 2024 reflects the latest available data at the time of collection – end of 2023. The TTDI is part of the Forum’s broader work with industry communities actively working to build a better future enabled by sustainable, inclusive, and resilient industry ecosystems.

Notes to editors

Read the Forum Agenda also in Spanish | Mandarin | Japanese Learn about the Forum’s impact Check out the Forum’s Strategic Intelligence Platform and Transformation Maps Follow the Forum on social media: @wef | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | TikTok | Weibo | Threads | WhatsApp Watch Forum videos at wef.ch/videos | YouTube Get Forum podcasts at wef.ch/podcasts | YouTube Subscribe to Forum news releases

Travel Industry Maintains Momentum with Steady Growth – Skift Travel Health Index

Saniya Zanpure , Skift

July 1st, 2024 at 10:51 AM EDT

The Skift Travel Health Index reached 103 in May 2024, reflecting a 3% year-over-year increase. Hotels lead the accommodation sector at a 7% growth, while vacation rentals lag 4% behind 2023 performance due to declines in China.

Saniya Zanpure

In May 2024, the travel industry reached 103, marking a 3% rise over last year, according the latest Skift Travel Health Index: May 2024 Highlights . This highlights a transition from the post-pandemic recovery phase to moderate and sustainable growth levels in 2024.

Hotels Lead the Accommodation Sector

The hotel sector is showing robust growth, increasing 7% over May 2023, staying at the forefront of the accommodation sector this year. This surge contrasts with the performance of vacation rentals, which have fallen 4% behind their 2023 levels. While vacation rentals are thriving in most Asia Pacific countries, the sector’s overall performance is dampened by a decline in China.

The latest May 2024 Highlights dive into factors holding back vacation rental growth an shares insights on performance in the coming months.

The Chinese Market: A Preference for Hotels

Skift Research’s 2023 survey of over 1,000 Chinese travelers found that hotels are the most preferred accommodation choice in China. This trend aligns with the current decline in vacation rental performance in China, indicating a strong preference for hotels.

Read our latest report, Skift Travel Health Index: May 2024 Highlights and the Travel Health Index dashboard for further travel insights.

Skift Travel Health Index: May 2024 Highlights

The Skift Travel Health Index reached 103 in May 2024, reflecting a 3% year-over-year increase. This aligns with Skift Research’s travel outlook for 2024, which predicts a transition from recovery to stable, moderate growth for the travel industry.

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Tags: accommodations , chinese tourism , global travel , hotels , skift research , skift travel health index , tourism , Travel Trends , vacation rentals

Hospitality.today™

• Market Data

Deloitte's 2024 travel industry outlook

After more than two years of consistent year-over-year gains, leisure travel may have tapped all its pent-up demand from the peak pandemic years

Despite this optimistic outlook, could an economic downturn shift travel behaviors? Travel frequency and certain indulgences may see a decline, but if higher-income groups are relatively insulated from economic headwinds, higher-end travel products could have a better year than budget ones. On the corporate side, many decision-makers in the coming year will seek a delicate balance between conservative budgeting and pursuing the strategic benefits that travel can support.

Key takeaways

• Suppliers find ways to touch up the travel experience. High interest rates and elevated costs of some goods can make it difficult to update, let alone upgrade, hotels. And some of airlines’ biggest challenges have stemmed from weather events and staffing matters not entirely in their control. Still, airlines and hospitality providers know they need to improve the experiences they offer or risk losing travelers’ attention;
• The corporate comeback continues, but gains decelerate. While trips to build client relationships and support team collaboration remain key to business success, costs are a significant concern. Amid these efforts at prudent budgeting, US corporate travel spend is still likely to finally pass the pre-pandemic line within the next year;
• Marketing spend shifts to account for changes in platforms and demographics. As travel demand has returned and shown continued resilience to economic anxiety, the industry’s marketing spend has trended up, and travel providers have ridden a wave of pent-up demand. But as travel growth slows, there will be a greater need for more targeted marketing and for travel providers to build new strategies for a changing landscape;
• Gen AI: Behind the scenes and front and center. Gen AI is already influencing travel, with call center efficiencies the most widely reported benefit. In the coming year, expect it to influence the industry in major ways. More visible applications (new options for discovery, shopping, booking) will garner much of the attention, but less visible applications might actually be more influential. Promising use cases for travel providers include advertising strategy, marketing content, and personalization.

Get the full report at Deloitte

Related must-reads

U.S. summer travel highlights economic divide - A new New York Times report uses summer travel as a barometer of the widening gap between the economic haves and have-nots in the U.S. economy.

Jul 4, 2024 • Travel

How "shoulder season" became popular with tourists - As people seek to avoid extreme heat and beat the crowds, off-season travel is more popular than ever.

Why it's time to rethink what it means to be a tourist - "Does tourism build up our world or tear it apart? The only answer to both of these questions is 'Yes’,” writes McClanahan in The New Tourist.

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Global Travel Retail Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2031

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Market Size in USD Billion

CAGR :  14.09 %

Major markets players.

Global Travel Retail Market, By Product (Perfume and Cosmetics, Wine and Spirit, Electronics, Luxury Goods, Food, Confectionery, and Catering, Tobacco, and Others), Distribution Channel (Airport, Cruise Liner, Railway Station, and Border, Downtown, and Hotel Shop), Sector (Duty-Free and Duty Paid), End Users (Children (Less Than 18 Years Old), Youth (18-30 Years Old), Middle-Aged (18-59 Years Old), The Elder (Greater Than 60 Years Old)) – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2031.

Travel Retail Market Analysis and Size

Brand presence and visibility are pivotal features of the travel retail market, where leading brands strategically position themselves to capture the attention of travelers. With millions of passengers passing through airports and other transit hubs annually, travel retail offers an unparalleled opportunity for brands to display their products to a diverse global audience. Investing in eye-catching displays, exclusive promotions, and immersive experiences, brands aim to enhance visibility, strengthen brand recognition, and ultimately drive sales. The competitive nature of the travel retail environment compels brands to innovate and differentiate themselves, leading to a dynamic marketplace where brand presence plays a crucial role in influencing consumer purchasing decisions..

Global travel retail market size was valued at USD 70.06 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 201.12 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 14.09% during the forecast period of 2024 to 2031. In addition to the market insights such as market value, growth rate, market segments, geographical coverage, market players, and market scenario, the market report curated by the Data Bridge Market Research team includes in-depth expert analysis, import/export analysis, pricing analysis, production consumption analysis, and consumer behaviour.

Report Scope and Market Segmentation

Market Definition

Travel retail encompasses a wide range of products including cosmetics, alcohol, luxury goods, and souvenirs. Travel retail capitalizes on the captive audience of travelers who are often looking for convenient shopping options and exclusive deals while in transit. It offers brands a unique opportunity to reach a diverse global customer base and often features duty-free shopping, making it an attractive shopping destination for international travelers.

Travel Retail Market Dynamics

• Expanding Duty-Free Shopping Incentives Provides Tax Reductions for Travelers on Products

Duty-free shopping incentives serve as a compelling value proposition for consumers, attract them to make purchases while traveling. It offers tax savings through which travel retailers can attract a larger customer base and drive higher sales volumes. This strategy enhances the shopping experience for travelers and stimulates revenue growth for retailers and contributes to the overall expansion of the travel retail market. Consequently, leveraging duty-free shopping incentives has become a strategic imperative for retailers seeking to capitalize on the lucrative opportunities within the duty-free and travel retail sector.

• Rise in Development of New Travel Hubs due to Growing Tourism Industry

As more people travel domestically and internationally for leisure, business, or other purposes, there is an increased demand for retail products at various travel destinations, including airports, train stations, and tourist hotspots. Tourists often seek souvenirs, gifts, and everyday essentials during their trips, driving retail sales. Moreover, the expansion of the tourism industry leads to the development of new travel hubs and infrastructure, providing opportunities for retailers to establish outlets and cater to the needs of travelers. This sustained growth in tourism fuels the continuous expansion and innovation within the travel retail sector, making it a vital component of the global retail landscape.

Opportunities

• Growing Infrastructure Development Facilitates Convenient Travel Experiences For Consumers

Improved transportation hubs, such as airports, train stations, and ports, offer enhanced connectivity and accessibility, making it easier for travelers to reach their destinations. As infrastructure expands, it creates more opportunities for retail outlets within these travel hubs, where consumers can shop for a wide range of products conveniently during their journeys. This increased accessibility leads to higher foot traffic and sales volumes in travel retail outlets, driving growth in the market. Modernized infrastructure often accompanies enhancements in amenities and services, further enhancing the overall shopping experience for travelers and incentivizing spending.

• Expanding Consumer Base with Rising Disposable Income

As people have more money to spend, they are inclined to indulge in travel experiences and luxury purchases during their journeys. This trend particularly benefits travel retail outlets located in airports, train stations, and other transit hubs, where travelers have time and inclination to shop. Additionally, higher disposable incomes often correlate with increased international travel, further boosting sales in duty-free and travel retail environments. Capitalizing on this trend allows travel retailers to cater to a growing demographic of affluent consumers seeking convenience and luxury while on the move.

Restraints/Challenges

• Growing Infrastructure Limitations Hinders the Physical Space for Retail Operations

Limited retail space and capacity bottlenecks can restrict the expansion of retail outlets, leading to fierce competition for prime locations. This constraint impedes retailers' ability to meet the evolving demands of travelers and offer a diverse range of products and services. Infrastructure constraints may hinder the implementation of innovative retail concepts and the provision of seamless shopping experiences, thereby affecting revenue potential and customer satisfaction in the travel retail sector..

• Travel Retailers Experiencing Intense Competition from Online Retail

As consumers increasingly turn to e-commerce for convenience and a wider product selection, traditional travel retailers face challenges in capturing sales within physical travel hubs. Online platforms offer 24/7 accessibility, competitive pricing, and personalized shopping experiences, drawing customers away from brick-and-mortar stores in airports and other transit locations. The ease of comparing prices and products online makes it harder for travel retailers to differentiate themselves and attract customers.

This market report provides details of new recent developments, trade regulations, import-export analysis, production analysis, value chain optimization, market share, impact of domestic and localized market players, analyses opportunities in terms of emerging revenue pockets, changes in market regulations, strategic market growth analysis, market size, category market growths, application niches and dominance, product approvals, product launches, geographic expansions, technological innovations in the market. To gain more info on the market contact Data Bridge Market Research for an Analyst Brief, our team will help you take an informed market decision to achieve market growth.

Recent Developments

• In January 2023, Lotte Duty Free's collaboartion with South Korean beauty brand, nonfiction, exemplifies the travel retail industry's trend towards diversifying product offerings. It introduces renowned local brands, Lotte Duty Free enhances its appeal to travelers seeking authentic experiences and premium beauty products
• In June 2021, LVMH's collaboration with environmental nonprofit Canopy underscores the increasing focus on sustainability in the travel retail market. Such initiatives demonstrate a commitment to eco-conscious practices, aligning with the growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly products and experiences while traveling
• In February 2021, Hudson Group's launch of the Hudson Nonstop store at Dallas Love Field Airport, utilizing Amazon's Just Walk Out technology, illustrates the integration of innovative retail solutions in travel environments. This advancement enhances convenience for travelers by streamlining the shopping experience, reflecting the industry's adaptation to evolving consumer preferences and technological advancements
• In February 2021, DFS's joint venture with Shenzhen Duty Free Group to establish a duty-free shopping center in Haikou Mission Mills, Hainan, highlights the expansion strategies employed by travel retailers to capitalize on emerging markets and popular travel destinations. Strategically locating duty-free outlets in high-traffic areas, such as downtown centers and tourist destinations, retailers can reach to the growing demand for duty-free shopping experiences among travelers

Travel Retail Market Scope

The market is segmented on the product, sector, distribution channel and end users.  The growth amongst these segments will help you analyze meagre growth segments in the industries and provide the users with a valuable market overview and market insights to help them make strategic decisions for identifying core market applications.

• Perfume and Cosmetics
• Wine and Spirit
• Electronics
• Luxury Goods
• Confectionery and Catering

Distribution channel

• Cruise Liner
• Railway Station
• Children (less than 18 years old)
• Youth (18-30 years old)
• Middle-aged (18-59 years old)
• The Elder (greater than 60 years old)

Travel Retail Market Regional Analysis/Insights

The market is analysed and market size insights and trends are provided by product, distribution channel, sector and end users as referenced above.

The countries covered in the market report are U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, U.K., Italy, France, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, rest of Europe, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, rest of South America, South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel and rest of Middle East and Africa.

The Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the market due to its rapid infrastructure development and the booming travel and tourism industry, particularly in China and India. This growth is further propelled by increasing per capita income and improved standards of living across the region. As disposable incomes rise, consumers are increasingly inclined towards travel and leisure activities, contributing to the expansion of the market. This favorable economic landscape creates a conducive environment for sustained growth and investment opportunities in various sectors within the Asia-Pacific.

The country section of the report also provides individual market impacting factors and changes in market regulation that impact the current and future trends of the market. Data points such as down-stream and upstream value chain analysis, technical trends and porter's five forces analysis, case studies are some of the pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, the presence and availability of global brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, impact of domestic tariffs and trade routes are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.

Competitive Landscape and Travel Retail Market Share Analysis

The market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, North America presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, and application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to the market.

Some of the major players operating in the market are:

• King Power Group (Thailand)
• Aer Rianta International (Ireland)
• DFS Group Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• Dubai Duty Free. (U.A.E.)
• China tourism group (China)
• Gebr. Heinemann SE & Co. KG (Germany)
• Duty Free Americas, Inc. (U.S.)
• Flemingo. (India)
• Qatar Duty Free (Qatar)
• 3Sixty Duty Free (U.S.)
• Dufry (Switzerland)
• Lagardère (France)

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Retailers in travel: the power of shopping tourism

• February 26, 2020

The experience economy has driven changes across all economic sectors in recent years, and retail has experienced some of the most radical, yet interesting ones, opening new paths for business by interacting with other industries such as travel. Shopping tourism is showing its power as a business driver and, at the same time, it is pushing a deep transformation of the industry that will guarantee growth and development in the short and long run.

By Otto Ambagtsheer

As experienced retailers, there is a clear trend we are observing worldwide, aligned with the social changes that technology has brought: the increasing demand for unique and personalized experiences–a movement that has been called “the experience economy”. In the midst of it, e-commerce, with its competitive prices and fast delivery, is rewriting the rules of consumption; industries and sectors interact in a competitive race to be original and relevant in a market full of stimulant proposals, and this requires more collaborative initiatives to ensure traditional business models are able to successfully transition to an ultra-connected economy. A good example of these synergies is amalgamation of shopping and tourism, a segment that is growing exponentially around the world.

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), shopping is among the top deciding factors when travellers choose a destination, showing its relevance beyond that of a mere ancillary service. As 2019 data from UNWTO shows, more than 1.5 billion people traveled around the world in 2019, four percent more than in 2018 despite the travel industry turmoil following the collapse of Thomas Cook and several other low-cost airlines in Europe, and this entity foresees an increase between three and four percent in international tourist arrivals worldwide. Moreover, tourism spending in 2019 has remained strong against a backdrop of global economic slowdown. It continued to grow most notably amongst the world’s top ten spending markets surpassing the previous year’s staggering 1,500,000,000,000 dollars (one trillion five hundred billion dollars).

Range of special activities

These figures paint an interesting picture for travel retail, as the number of travellers grows every year, as does the total spend. Tax-free shopping helps to quantify the dimension of shopping tourism from markets outside Europe, especially when it comes to outlets, as the price factor is particularly appealing. Shopping is of course not confined to airports or malls and has become a key part of the travel experience.

VIA Outlets is in a good position to capitalize on this dynamic and expanding market segment with its eleven outlet centers, which are strategically located at the gateway of many of Europe’s most exciting destinations. Apart from getting the basics of a great shopping experience right–offering a wide range of high-quality brands, an extensive food and beverage offering, leisure areas for children and adults and aesthetics that inspire as well as encourage exploration of the retail offer–VIA Outlets undertakes a range of activities specifically targeted at tourists. For example, we continuously add facilities that purposely cater to tourists’ needs, such as shuttle bus services from and to city centers, as well as added-value services such as tax refund facitlies for guests from overseas and lounges for VIPs.

Shopping, like travel, is all about creating an experience that is unique and unrepeatable from place to place. Real integration of shopping in the travel experience means making retail accessible, locally relevant and convenient. To this end, our vision is to recreate, in an appealing way, each center’s regional architecture, decor, culture and history to differentiate our shopping destinations from our competitors’, and make it available, vivid and present throughout the travel journey–all with the aim of capturing the experience economy. We call this a “beautifully local” experience.

Beyond the mere act of buying

Broadly speaking, shopping tourism is undoubtedly an economic engine that drives direct and indirect employment, revenue and benefits for destinations. The mere concept is a combination of two global industries able to mobilize billions of euros. As we see it, shopping tourism is a transversal segment that interacts with other sectors, products and services, both in travel and retail as well as a number of other industries.

Fashion, just like travel, resonates with consumers’ aspirations and lifestyles, and this is the quintessence of the experience economy. The travel industry has experienced this transformation, from location to experience, long before retail; in fact, travellers’ choices have a deep, relevant, aspirational element, tied to emotions, that shopping also provides. That is why we see shopping tourism as a powerful combination, able to increase revenue for retailers, as well as boost longer stays, higher spending and loyalty ratios for destinations.

Moreover, shopping tourism goes beyond the mere act of buying: it starts at the very moment a traveller picks a certain destination, continues throughout their trip in different contexts, and even evokes that experience once they return home. Interestingly, according to the latest Duty Free World Council (DFWC) KPI Monitor, 75 percent of shoppers plan their purchases prior to their travels, and while the majority–52 percent–of shoppers who plan their purchases do so with a general idea of what they will buy, the remaining 23 percent plan their purchases with a specific product or brand in mind. So, being in the forefront of the traveller’s mind right from the inspiration and planning process is vital for all parties involved in this segment.

A diversification engine

What these figures demonstrate is that to really harness shopping tourism potential, travel and retail should work together. Shopping tourism is the result of the development, growth and evolution of the travel industry and travellers, who are eager to enjoy destinations from a local perspective. It is a global economic driver for both emerging and well-established destinations, that involves and requires the collaboration of players in both the travel and retail industry, as well as other economic sectors and public entities. Working together, we can create a compelling concept that truly reflects what makes a destination unique and appealing to travellers around the world.

Besides becoming one of the key motivators for travellers when choosing a place to visit, shopping tourism is also a strong, sustainable development force for destinations, which is able to contribute to local employment, businesses and the wider economy. It is a diversification engine for both retail or travel. For retail players, travellers revitalize demand and their visits to malls, urban shopping areas and outlets force innovation in products and services to really make a difference in our value proposition, helping to align our shopping experience with the idiosyncrasies of each location and providing a wide range of guest services, adapted to both locals’ and travellers’ needs and expectations.

Boosting the local economy

For destinations, hotels and travel agents, it poses an opportunity to recreate new experiences that are able to drive business and stays, attract alternative and more profitable inbound markets and ensure recurring visitations; but also to reorganize saturated urban destinations and boost the local economy from a long-term perspective. The stronger the shopping destination appeal of a location, region or country, the more visitors will come, and the less the area will be exposed to seasonality.

The most important challenge we face as travel and retail players, is that we have to ensure that travellers and their experiences are at the center of any strategy. Shopping tourism involves a wide range of companies, institutions and public bodies that need to understand each other’s goals, needs and dynamics to really develop shopping tourism to its full potential.

At VIA Outlets, we assumed such a commitment implies working hand-in-hand with the travel industry to develop shopping tourism destinations–as we are currently doing from Mallorca to Gothenburg, from Lisbon to Prague, from Zweibrücken to Landquart–and create industry standards that contribute to achieving this goal. We foster collaborative agreements with hotel companies as well as national and local accommodation associations through our tourism department to leverage natural synergies between travel and retail sectors, right across the travel value chain that have proven successful for all parties. In 2019, we further enhanced our capabilities in this field by hiring dedicated sales representatives in some of our largest non-European customer markets, notably China, the Middle East and Brazil. Our efforts proved successful as we saw a significant increase in tax free sales, amounting to a total increase of 17 percent. The figures were even stronger in especially strong tourist destinations such as Amsterdam and Lisbon, with figures at Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet and Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet seeing increases in this metric by 21 and 29 percent respectively.

One thing is certain: shopping is definitively becoming more important in travel spends, a trend that, combined with the outlet sector’s highly commercial force, offers a myriad of opportunities for destinations, investors, retailers, tourists and local guests alike.

Giorgio Armani Opens New Boutique In Vienna, Austria

Head Of Primark Germany To Join Dutch Discounter Action

ShoppingCity Seiersberg In Austria Welcomes New Flagship Stores

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Business travel market report 2024-2032: increasing digitization in tourism and corporate sectors fueling expansions.

Business Travel Market

Dublin, July 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Business Travel Market Report by Type, Purpose Type, Expenditure, Age Group, Service Type, Travel Type, End-User, and Region 2024-2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global business travel market size reached US$ 1.1 Trillion in 2023. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 1.9 Trillion by 2032, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% during 2023-2032. In recent years, the rapidly globalizing world has accelerated the trend of business travel, which collectively includes client meetings, brand and product promotion, business expansion, and employee training and incentives.

The global market is primarily being influenced by the increasing digitization in the tourism and corporate sectors. In line with this, growing penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled both the travelers and the travel operators to get things done swiftly and with ease. Along with this, the virtual reality (VR) technology also provides better, efficient and personalized customer experiences, thus bolstering the market growth.

Apart from this, the rising trend of Bleisure travel, which incorporates business with pleasure elements and offers leisure or recreational activities to relieve stress and improve work efficiency, has provided a positive thrust to the market. Large-scale developments in the travel and tourism sector, an increase in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and fast-paced globalization has led to a rise in the number of business travelers. This, along with tie-ups of several corporate organizations with the leading business travel companies to provide customized collaborative spaces and team-building exercises, is acting as another major growth-inducing factor.

Key Questions Answered in This Report

What was the size of the global business travel market in 2023?

What is the expected growth rate of the global business travel market during 2024-2032?

What are the key factors driving the global business travel market?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global business travel market?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the type?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the purpose type?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the expenditure?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the age group?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the service type?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the travel type?

What is the breakup of the global business travel market based on the end-user?

What are the key regions in the global business travel market?

Who are the key companies/players in the global business travel market?

Key Attributes:

Competitive Landscape:

Airbnb Inc.

American Express Company

Booking Holdings Inc.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel Inc.

Expedia Group Inc.

Fareportal Inc.

Flight Centre Travel Group

Hogg Robinson Group

Travel Leaders Group LLC

Key Market Segmentation: Breakup by Type:

Managed Business Travel

Unmanaged Business Travel

Breakup by Purpose Type:

Internal Meetings

Trade Shows

Product Launch

Breakup by Expenditure:

Travel Fare

Breakup by Age Group:

Travelers Below 40 Years

Travelers Above 40 Years

Breakup by Service Type:

Transportation

Food and Lodging

Recreational Activities

Breakup by Travel Type:

Group Travel

Solo Travel

Breakup by End-User:

Breakup by Region:

North America

United States

Asia Pacific

South Korea

United Kingdom

Latin America

Middle East and Africa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jlg2vl

About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

4 Key Trends Influencing Travel Retail

As the world begins opening up for travel, the market for travel retail is booming as brands double down their efforts to make up for lost sales during the pandemic.

It is no surprise that the industry expects to grow, and according to business consulting firm Allied Market Research , it will reach $123B by 2023. Travel retail suffered a significant impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing lockdowns in various world regions.

Consumers are undoubtedly anxious to make up for trips lost during the global COVID-19 pandemic, with leisure travel reduced to almost zero and business travel substituted by Zoom meetings. However, the travel retail market is still full of challenges. 

Travel retail is a term that commonly refers to sales made in travel requirements. Duty-free and travel retail encompasses the sale of goods to international travelers.

Duty-free shops are exempt from paying certain local or national taxes and duties requiring travelers to take their purchases out of the country. Duty-free sales occur in highly regulated retail environments like airports, ports, ferries, cruise ships, and national customs authorities govern their operations. 

Unlike traditional retail environments, airport timetables dictate customers’ shopping habits

Clarity Business Partners reported that in 2013, the average amount of time spent in an airport globally was 150 minutes; this dropped to 133 minutes in 2016 and has continued to decrease in recent years. The average time spent shopping in an airport is 29 minutes–not much time to draw someone in and browse the stores. 

In addition to time constraints, there are ongoing issues around baggage allowances and product restrictions.

Often, customers can’t carry everything they might like to buy, forcing them to make difficult choices. These and other external challenges can make it hard to innovate in travel retail. But there are some innovative ways to overcome these travel constraints and present better buying experiences. 

Duty-free and travel retail generates vital revenues for national aviation, travel, and tourism industries.

Airports, in particular, incredibly rely on commercial revenues to fund the development of their infrastructure and help them keep fees as low as possible. At airports across the world, retail is now the most significant contributor to non-aeronautical income. 

Travel retailers can look forward to growing sales over the next few years

Global duty-free retail will grow 8.5% in 2021, with the number of international passengers increases as the world enters into the “new normal” following the pandemic, according to Technavio , a global market research firm.

However, retailers face challenges getting travels into the stores and enticing them to spend. Only 5-10% of travelers visit duty-free retail stores in the terminal.

Retailers in airports, ferry terminals, and train stations need ways to attract and engage passengers and deliver a unique and convenient shopping experience – no matter what currency their customers use or what language they speak.

Retailers have realized that travel retail provides them with tremendous opportunities to create visibility for their products, increases customer loyalty, and recruit new customers in different countries.

As consumers gear up for long-awaited travel adventures, here are four trends retailers can harness to improve their sales. 

Use tech for passenger convenience

Airports, airlines, and ferry terminals are hubs for passenger data because of the multiple digital touchpoints that enable efficient check-in and boarding. Retailers who embrace the desire for digital can provide a seamless shopping experience that entices passengers in the store and engages them before during, and after their trip.

• Partnering with travel operators can unlock access to the travel information needed to create personalized offers and recommendations, starting when a passager books their ticket and checks in for their trip.
• Using data collected from the moment passenger books their ticket to when they check-in for their trip can provide insights into ways to customers with social media. Placing targeted ads and tailored offered is an effective way to create tailored offers that encourage in-store buying. 
• Retailers can create loyalty programs with targeted offers that travelers can access easily on mobile devices, encouraging repeat customers and additional in-store buying.   

Embrace travelers’ changing shopping habits

Millennials now travel more than any other generation, and it is essential to recognize their different shopping habits.

According to data measurement firm Nielsen , 44 percent of millennials are motivated to buy gifts at the airport, 30 percent shop to treat themselves, and 28 percent make impulse purchases. 

The millennial travel shopper is unpredictable, and retailers need to understand their habits to deliver experiences that match their moods, interests, and personalities. Consider these tactics for connecting with the travel generation.

• Connect to travels using their chosen channels, from mobile apps and social media to digitized displays in stores.
• Personalized and location-based deals and recommendations tailed to their interest.
• Use flight info and airport timetables to tailor offers to the travel experience, including passengers’ destination at the time left before they embark. 

Checkout should be as fast as check-in

Travelers of all ages value a quick and easy check-in, baggage, and boarding processes, and they will expect the same when paying for their purchases.

There is a need to support different languages and currencies and the regulatory requirements of various destinations, and this can bring complexity and delays to the travel retail checkout.

It is vital that checkout is smooth and efficient, or it could turn customers away. Pay attention to these tactics that can encourage a seamless shopping experience.

• Provide a range of checkout options, including mobile apps, online, self-service kiosks, or mobile POS.
• Travels should be able to check prices in pay in any currency or combination of currencies they choose.
• Use digital tools to support as many languages as possible both throughout the store and at checkout. 

Leverage data to optimize inventory

Stocking a retail store with products that match travels tastes is a balancing act. There is limited time to capture customers’ interest, and retailers can’t afford to miss a sale by running out of stock.

The challenge is that there isn’t much room for excessive inventory in a busy terminal or on a ferry. It is for retailers to know what sells well to passengers in various locations to make intelligent decisions on inventory.

• To optimize inventory, use business intelligence tools to see where sales occur and understand shopping patterns. These tools can also provide insight into how passengers in different locations respond to promotions.
• The use of apps and loyalty programs combined with info gathered from customers’ online interactions can provide important insight into travelers’ tastes and interests.
• Integrate retail and supply chain systems for efficient orders and insights into supply and demand.  

As travel retail grows, retailers can make their stores part of a seamless travel experience by engaging with passengers with digital and physical channels.

Stay relevant to customers’ needs and interests while providing convenient experiences wherever travelers want to go offers ambitious retailers a profitable opportunity to be a part of customers’ next great adventure.  

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The travel industry is back and stronger than before the pandemic

Read more https://www.kxan.com/news/the-travel-industry-is-back-and-stronger-than-before-the-pandemic/ In the last two days, more than 71,000 people have flown out of Austin’s airport, as Texans travel exceeds pre-pandemic numbers.

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Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Global tourism industry - statistics & facts

What are the leading global tourism destinations, digitalization of the global tourism industry, how important is sustainable tourism, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP worldwide 2019-2034

Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 1950-2023

Global leisure travel spend 2019-2022

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Leading global travel markets by travel and tourism contribution to GDP 2019-2022

Travel and tourism employment worldwide 2019-2034

Further recommended statistics

• Basic Statistic Total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP worldwide 2019-2034
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism: share of global GDP 2019-2034
• Basic Statistic Leading global travel markets by travel and tourism contribution to GDP 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Global leisure travel spend 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Global business travel spending 2001-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 1950-2023
• Basic Statistic Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 2005-2023, by region
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism employment worldwide 2019-2034

Total contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) worldwide in 2019 and 2023, with a forecast for 2024 and 2034 (in trillion U.S. dollars)

Travel and tourism: share of global GDP 2019-2034

Share of travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP worldwide in 2019 and 2023, with a forecast for 2024 and 2034

Total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in leading travel markets worldwide in 2019 and 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Leisure tourism spending worldwide from 2019 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Global business travel spending 2001-2022

Expenditure of business tourists worldwide from 2001 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide from 1950 to 2023 (in millions)

Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide 2005-2023, by region

Number of international tourist arrivals worldwide from 2005 to 2023, by region (in millions)

Number of travel and tourism jobs worldwide from 2019 to 2023, with a forecast for 2024 and 2034 (in millions)

• Premium Statistic Global hotel and resort industry market size worldwide 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic Most valuable hotel brands worldwide 2023, by brand value
• Basic Statistic Leading hotel companies worldwide 2023, by number of properties
• Premium Statistic Number of hotels in the construction pipeline worldwide 2024
• Premium Statistic Number of hotel rooms in the construction pipeline worldwide 2024
• Premium Statistic Countries with the most hotel construction projects in the pipeline worldwide 2024

Global hotel and resort industry market size worldwide 2022-2023

Market size of the hotel and resort industry worldwide in 2022 and 2023 (in trillion U.S. dollars)

Most valuable hotel brands worldwide 2023, by brand value

Leading hotel brands based on brand value worldwide in 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Leading hotel companies worldwide 2023, by number of properties

Leading hotel companies worldwide as of June 2023, by number of properties

Number of hotels in the construction pipeline worldwide 2024

Number of hotels in the construction pipeline worldwide as of the first quarter of 2024

Number of hotel rooms in the construction pipeline worldwide 2024

Number of hotel rooms in the construction pipeline worldwide as of the first quarter of 2024

Countries with the most hotel construction projects in the pipeline worldwide 2024

Countries with the highest number of hotel construction projects in the pipeline worldwide as of the first quarter of 2024

• Premium Statistic Airports with the most international air passenger traffic worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Market value of selected airlines worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Global passenger rail users forecast 2017-2028
• Premium Statistic Daily ridership of bus rapid transit systems worldwide by region 2023
• Premium Statistic Number of users of car rentals worldwide 2019-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users in selected countries in the Car Rentals market in 2023
• Premium Statistic Carbon footprint of international tourism transport worldwide 2005-2030, by type

Airports with the most international air passenger traffic worldwide 2023

Leading airports for international air passenger traffic in 2023 (in million international passengers)

Market value of selected airlines worldwide 2023

Market value of selected airlines worldwide as of May 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Global passenger rail users forecast 2017-2028

Worldwide number of passenger rail users from 2017 to 2023, with a forecast through 2028 (in billion users)

Daily ridership of bus rapid transit systems worldwide by region 2023

Number of daily passengers using bus rapid transit (BRT) systems as of April 2023, by region

Number of users of car rentals worldwide 2019-2028

Number of users of car rentals worldwide from 2019 to 2028 (in millions)

Number of users in selected countries in the Car Rentals market in 2023

Number of users in selected countries in the Car Rentals market in 2023 (in million)

Carbon footprint of international tourism transport worldwide 2005-2030, by type

Transport-related emissions from international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2005 and 2016, with a forecast for 2030, by mode of transport (in million metric tons of carbon dioxide)

Attractions

• Premium Statistic Leading museums by highest attendance worldwide 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Most visited amusement and theme parks worldwide 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Monuments on the UNESCO world heritage list 2023, by type
• Basic Statistic Selected countries with the most Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide 2023

Leading museums by highest attendance worldwide 2019-2022

Most visited museums worldwide from 2019 to 2022 (in millions)

Most visited amusement and theme parks worldwide 2019-2022

Leading amusement and theme parks worldwide from 2019 to 2022, by attendance (in millions)

Monuments on the UNESCO world heritage list 2023, by type

Number of monuments on the UNESCO world heritage list as of September 2023, by type

Selected countries with the most Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide 2023

Number of Michelin-starred restaurants in selected countries and territories worldwide as of July 2023

Online travel market

• Premium Statistic Online travel market size worldwide 2017-2028
• Premium Statistic Estimated desktop vs. mobile revenue of leading OTAs worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Number of aggregated downloads of leading online travel agency apps worldwide 2023
• Basic Statistic Market cap of leading online travel companies worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Estimated EV/Revenue ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment
• Premium Statistic Estimated EV/EBITDA ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment

Online travel market size worldwide 2017-2028

Online travel market size worldwide from 2017 to 2023, with a forecast until 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Estimated desktop vs. mobile revenue of leading OTAs worldwide 2023

Estimated desktop vs. mobile revenue of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide in 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Number of aggregated downloads of leading online travel agency apps worldwide 2023

Number of aggregated downloads of selected leading online travel agency apps worldwide in 2023 (in millions)

Market cap of leading online travel companies worldwide 2023

Market cap of leading online travel companies worldwide as of September 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)

Estimated EV/Revenue ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment

Estimated enterprise value to revenue (EV/Revenue) ratio in the online travel market worldwide as of April 2024, by segment

Estimated EV/EBITDA ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment

Estimated enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio in the online travel market worldwide as of April 2024, by segment

Selected trends

• Premium Statistic Global travelers who believe in the importance of green travel 2023
• Premium Statistic Sustainable initiatives travelers would adopt worldwide 2022, by region
• Premium Statistic Airbnb revenue worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb nights and experiences booked worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Technologies global hotels plan to implement in the next three years 2022
• Premium Statistic Hotel technologies global consumers think would improve their future stay 2022

Global travelers who believe in the importance of green travel 2023

Share of travelers that believe sustainable travel is important worldwide in 2023

Sustainable initiatives travelers would adopt worldwide 2022, by region

Main sustainable initiatives travelers are willing to adopt worldwide in 2022, by region

Airbnb revenue worldwide 2017-2023

Revenue of Airbnb worldwide from 2017 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Airbnb nights and experiences booked worldwide 2017-2023

Nights and experiences booked with Airbnb from 2017 to 2023 (in millions)

Technologies global hotels plan to implement in the next three years 2022

Technologies hotels are most likely to implement in the next three years worldwide as of 2022

Hotel technologies global consumers think would improve their future stay 2022

Must-have hotel technologies to create a more amazing stay in the future among travelers worldwide as of 2022

• Premium Statistic Travel and tourism revenue worldwide 2019-2028, by segment
• Premium Statistic Distribution of sales channels in the travel and tourism market worldwide 2018-2028
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourism visitor growth worldwide 2020-2025, by region
• Premium Statistic Outbound tourism visitor growth worldwide 2020-2025, by region

Travel and tourism revenue worldwide 2019-2028, by segment

Revenue of the travel and tourism market worldwide from 2019 to 2028, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)

Distribution of sales channels in the travel and tourism market worldwide 2018-2028

Revenue share of sales channels of the travel and tourism market worldwide from 2018 to 2028

Inbound tourism visitor growth worldwide 2020-2025, by region

Inbound tourism visitor growth worldwide from 2020 to 2022, with a forecast until 2025, by region

Outbound tourism visitor growth worldwide 2020-2025, by region

Outbound tourism visitor growth worldwide from 2020 to 2022, with a forecast until 2025, by region

Further reports

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4 reasons why travel retail is booming

Why this expansion?

1. more people travel, 2. travelers are more prone to shop while en route.

• The open-plan setup: Airports are a democratic shopping spaces – much more so than malls and high streets. In airports the differentiation between luxury and casual brands becomes blurred. Travelers just need to enter the open-plan stores (as airport shops have no doors) to access brands and items they may not have visited in a more traditional setting.
• Free time to browse and buy: Long waits and demands to show up in advance provide passengers with a lot of time to spare in airports. As airports are constructed as shopping spaces, which encourage passengers to leisurely walk around and shop during their wait.
• Holiday atmosphere: After having passed check-ins and security controls, passengers traveling for leisure are left in the right condition to buy items – whether to indulge themselves, to start off or cap off their trip.

3. Retailers can use data insights to better cater for customers

4. products get even more visibility.

Retailers have realized that travel retail provides them with tremendous opportunities to create visibility for their products, increase customer loyalty and recruit new customers in different countries. Airports have become an area where brands test their possible success in new markets, basing on customers’ nationalities and flight destinations. Many brands also offer “travel retail exclusive”, special products which are only available to travelers to entice shoppers to buy appealing to their desire for exclusive items.   Travel retail is, in many ways, different from traditional retail spaces. Brands have managed to capitalize on the differences to tap into a very lucrative market. As travel retail is expected to grow steadily in the next few years, brands count on some of their success in airports to trickle down to their traditional stores, and possibly help open new, profitable markets.  

Don’t buy retail management software until you read this

• / Industry Reports
• Shopping Tourism Market Analysis

SHOPPING TOURISM MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2024-2031)

Shopping tourism market, by product type (fashion & accessories, beauty & cosmetics, electronics, food & beverage, others), by end user (men, women, others), by purpose of trip (leisure, medical , business, education), by geography (north america, latin america, europe, asia pacific, middle east & africa).

• Published In : May 2024
• Code : CMI6968
• Pages : 125
• Formats :   Excel and PDF
• Industry : Consumer Goods
• Market Size and Trends

The Global Shopping Tourism Market is estimated to be valued at USD 267.21 Bn in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 497.97 Bn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3% from 2024 to 2031.

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Shopping tourism has seen significant growth over the past decade driven by rising global incomes and expanding middle class populations in emerging markets. Several new destinations have emerged as popular for duty-free shopping and exploring local boutiques. While major cities like Dubai, London, New York, and Paris remain top shopping destinations, smaller cities in Europe and Asia are witnessing sharp rise in foreign tourists who include shopping as part of their itineraries. Consumers are now increasingly interested in unique shopping experiences that are fused with local culture and cuisine. This has encouraged many local businesses and smaller retailers to better promote their products to international visitors.

Global Travel Trends Driving Rising Popularity

The global tourism industry has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, fueled by rising incomes, lower travel costs, and an increasing desire among people to see the world. More and more consumers now view travel not just as a vacation but as a means for learning about new cultures and experiencing new places. This trend of tourism becoming more of a priority is evident in consumer surveys which regularly cite travel and new experiences as important life goals. Major global events like UEFA Euro Cup or FIFA World Cup also encourage tourism with many fans traveling to host cities and countries to attend matches. This growing passion for travel experiences has led to remarkable interest in combining vacation with shopping. Tourists now eagerly seek destinations not just for beaches and landmarks but also to visit buzzing markets, modern shopping malls, and quaint boutique stores. They wish to return home with unique finds and souvenirs that reflect local culture and craft. As tourists gain more exposure to global fashion, food and design through internet and social media, their appetites grow for indulging in these internationally. Cities and regions have recognized the potential of converting tourist arrivals into retail revenues by promoting their distinctive shopping scenes. Carefully planned shopping districts and zones make it easy for visitors to lose themselves in exploration and purchases.

• Market Concentration and Competitive Landscape

Globalization has significantly increased the movement of people across borders. With international travel becoming more accessible, people are now exposed to different cultures, cuisines and lifestyles. This widespread cultural interaction and exposure is fueling cosmopolitan tastes among global consumers. They are seeking unique experiences and vibrant multiculturalism beyond what is available locally. This globalization of tastes is a major driver for the growth of global shopping tourism. As consumers travel more, they seek local authentic products that connect them with culture and heritage of their travel destinations. Their shopping excursions have evolved from being a by-product of travel to becoming an experience in itself. Many travel plans are now influenced by the reputation of shopping destinations rather than just attractions or sights. This trend is helping relatively smaller cities and specialist shopping clusters to come up on the global tourism map. For example, medieval towns across Europe known for specialized crafts like glass-making now attract significant tourist shoppers who hunt for distinct regional goods.  With the ease of online research, tourists are well informed about unique shopping experiences worldwide before planning their travel. The demand is leading to rapid changes within the retail industries globally as well. Destinations are promoting specialized shopping districts, organizing one-of-kind retail events and craft experiences to make their cities memorable shopping enclaves. Mall developers are increasingly integrating international boutiques, artisanal markets and mixed-use entertainment precincts to appeal varied tourist profiles.

The global shopping tourism market is facing significant restraints in its growth trajectory owing to the widespread economic uncertainty and rising inflation plaguing many economies worldwide. As international travel has resumed post pandemic lockdowns, consumers are growing increasingly cautious in their discretionary spending habits. The conflict in Ukraine and rising energy prices have further exacerbated pre-existing inflationary pressures globally. According to data from the World Bank, consumer price inflation rose to a 40-year high of 8.3% in advanced economies and 9.8% in emerging markets in 2022, reducing consumers' real spending power.  Higher costs of living are leaving tourists with diminished budgets to spend on luxury and experiential purchases while traveling. Hefty price increases across all categories from retail goods to international airfares and accommodation are also diminishing the appeal of shopping tourism. Moreover, the uncertain geopolitical environment and risk of recession in major economies have made consumers more cautious about making big ticket purchases. Uncertainty around jobs, incomes and the wider economic outlook have turned shoppers away from non-essential spending. Weaker consumer confidence as a result of high inflation and gloomy economic projections are expected to continue restraining the global shopping tourism industry's growth over the short to medium term. Tourists are prioritizing essential travel and experiences over dedicated shopping trips till macroeconomic conditions stabilize. This will limit opportunities for destinations banking on tourism revenues to revive fully.

Opportunities: Emerging Markets in Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa

The emerging markets in Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa regions provide tremendous opportunities to drive growth in the global shopping tourism market going forward. These regions are seeing significant economic and social development which is translating to a burgeoning middle class with higher disposable incomes. International travel from these markets has been on a steady rise according to United Nations World Tourism Organization data. Countries like China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, etc. have shown strong outbound travel growth from 2014-2019, exceeding global averages. This presents a huge customer base for shopping tourism. As incomes rise, so does the aspiration to travel overseas and make prestigious purchases. Major destinations around the world are ramping up their appeal to these emerging market travelers with targeted visa policies, luxury retail showcasing local crafts and culture, multi-lingual promotions etc. Shopping centers in these regions are also dedicating more space to high-end brands. For instance, Dubai attracts over 20 million visitors annually through its duty-free ports attracting Chinese and Indian customers. Likewise, Bali is working towards becoming a preferred luxury shopping hub in Southeast Asia leveraging its cultural heritage.

In terms of Product Type, Fashion & Accessories is estimated to hold 35.7% share in 2024 of the global shopping tourism market owing to people's innate desire to express themselves through what they wear and carry. The fashion industry has always centered on shifting trends that inspire consumers to continually update their wardrobes. Major fashion hubs like Paris, Milan, London and New York influence global styles and beckon tourists seeking the latest looks. Retail meccas stocked full of designer brands fuel people's passion for fashion. Flagship stores become destinations in themselves, pulling in visitors who long to experience the atmosphere of exclusive boutiques. Popular items like handbags, sneakers, jeans and at leisure encourage impulse buys. Tourist’s view shopping as a form of cultural immersion and bringing home coveted accessories feels like a souvenir of taste and status. Celebrity endorsers amplify hype around new collections, driving fashion fanatics to shop where their idols shop. Social media proliferates photos from runway shows and street style, sparking envy and a desire for similar pieces. Influencers with vast followers showcase outfits from trendy neighborhoods, motivating fans to replicate looks on personal trips. The lure of prestige labels and one-of-a-kind boutiques entices spending in this highly image-conscious segment.

Insights, by End User: Shopping Sheroes

In terms of End Users, Women is estimated to hold 52.6% share in 2024 of the global shopping tourism market due to viewing shopping more as a leisure activity and a way to relax. Women tend to be more excited by the browsing and discovery aspects of shopping versus just making practical purchases. They also drive significant spending on beauty, fashion, and home goods. Part of the appeal for women traveling to shop is indulging without everyday responsibilities like family and work. Vacation provides dedicated time for extended shopping excursions with friends in exciting destinations. Women also feel less financial constraints while on shopping trips compared to normal life budgets. This liberates splurging on treats and investment pieces normally too expensive. A girls' getaway centered on shopping creates memorable bonding experiences and photo ops to share. Destination malls and high-end stores cater specifically to women by hosting events, classes and complimentary services. Many tourism boards now even offer "Ladies Who Shop" itineraries and package deals. The social and leisure elements of shopping trips particularly resonate with women.

Insights, by Purpose of Trip: Leisure is the True Driver

Leisure is estimated to hold 35.7% share in 2024, due to people's innate desire to relax and be entertained on vacations. Shopping serves as both a fun activity and souvenir from trips. Unlike business or education travel which involve strict schedules, leisure provides flexibility for impromptu browsing sessions. Many destinations skillfully market themselves as excellent places to simply wander quaint streets and pop in/out of charming boutiques. Cultural attractions that double as opportunities to peruse markets entice free-spirited exploration. Souvenir shops appealingly display local handicrafts and edibles too unique to pass up. Even theme park shareholders understand the value of strategically placed retail zones. For leisure travelers, shopping breaks up boredom between planned activities like sightseeing. Spending a relaxing afternoon sampling cafes and window shopping feels like a mini getaway within a vacation. Stumbling upon a landmark store that becomes a must-visit adds memorable layers to the experience. Shopping preserves treasured moments through keepsakes and inside jokes between travel companions. Ultimately, leisure shopping stimulates both pleasure and nostalgia for trips well spent.

• Regional Insights

North America has established itself as the dominant region in the global shopping tourism industry with 36.8% share in 2024. With the U.S. being home to some of the largest retail markets in the world, including iconic shopping destinations like New York City and Los Angeles, it attracts millions of domestic and international shoppers each year. American brands like Nike, Coach and Apple have a strong global presence and appeal to shoppers abroad who seek out authentic American products. Major cities across the U.S. and Canada have capitalized on this demand by developing world-class shopping districts and centers that offer visitors an extensive selection of goods at competitive prices. Several shopping centers in the United States such as Mall of America in Minnesota also incorporate entertainment facilities to enhance the overall shopping experience for visitors. Another vital factor contributing to North America's prominence is a robust logistics network that ensures wide product availability and quick delivery times globally. This allows retailers in the region to better cater to shopper demands on an international level. Thus, established retail infrastructure combined with high-profile American brands have made North America the clear leader in the global shopping tourism sector for several years.

Meanwhile, Asia Pacific has emerged as the fastest growing regional market. Countries like Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia have seen double-digit annual growth in international visitor arrivals for shopping over the past five years. This growth can be attributed to lower costs of goods compared to other developed markets. The region is an attractive destination for shoppers seeking quality products at affordable budget-friendly prices. Additionally, Southeast Asian countries have invested heavily in developing ultra-modern shopping complexes that rival global standards while also reflecting the diverse cultural styles within the region. Free trade zones also allow for easier import and export of goods, improving inventory mixes for retailers. These factors have propelled Southeast Asia to becoming the new bright spot in the global shopping tourism industry.

• Market Report Scope

Shopping Tourism Market Report Coverage

• Key Developments
• In February 2024, MakeMyTrip and Goa Government Collaborate for Tourism Revival
• In March 2024, Tourism Authority of Thailand announces inaugural collaboration with Tourism Cares
• In 2023, Risposte Turismo and Enit Join Forces to Promote Shopping Tourism In Italy
• In 2023, Singapore Tourism Board positions itself as shopping destination; three brands feature at Nykaaland

*Definition: The Global Shopping Tourism Market consists of consumers who travel internationally specifically for the purpose of shopping. These shoppers seek out destinations around the world known for their lowest prices on items like clothing, electronics, luxury goods, and more. Countries and cities actively promote themselves as shopping destinations to attract these tourists, who contribute significant revenues to local economies through their spending on retail purchases as well as local amenities like accommodation, dining, entertainment and transportation during their visit.

• Market Segmentation
• Fashion & Accessories
• Beauty & Cosmetics
• Electronics
• Food & Beverage
• Rest of Latin America
• Rest of Europe
• South Korea
• Rest of Asia Pacific
• GCC Countries
• Rest of Middle East & Africa
• Japan Deluxe Tours
• Trafalgar Tours
• EF Educational Tours
• The Shopping Sherpa
• Luxury Escapes
• Costco Travel
• AAA Vacations
• Travel + Leisure
• Context Travel
• Intrepid Travel
• Tauck Tours
• Country Walkers
• G Adventures
• World Expeditions
• AdventureSmith Explorations
• Esquire Travel
• Abercrombie & Kent

Shopping Tourism Market Report Snapshots

• Shopping Tourism Market Size and Trends
• Shopping Tourism Companies
• Shopping Tourism Market Regional Analysis
• Shopping Tourism Market Challenges And Opportunities
• Shopping Tourism Market News

Frequently Asked Questions

What will be the CAGR of the global shopping tourism market?

What are the major factors driving the global shopping tourism market growth, what are the key factors hampering growth of the global shopping tourism market, which is the leading product type in the global shopping tourism market, which are the major players operating in the global shopping tourism market, which region will lead the global shopping tourism market.

Jump to Content

• Key Takeaways from Lead Analyst
• Insights, by Product Type
• Insights, by End User
• Insights, by Purpose of Trip

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More From Forbes

How one company is changing luxury travel.

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The luxury travel industry is experiencing a noticeable transformation to provide consistently comfortable stays while incorporating the newest technology and numerous high-touch amenities. Here is how one industry leader is adapting to today’s demands to provide memorable vacation home stays that an influx of travelers expect for work or leisure.

Luxury property on Wander.com

How the Luxury Travel Industry is Changing

High-quality accommodations are a cornerstone of luxury travel. Five-star hotels and resorts dominate the landscape where guests expect a consistent experience across a brand’s portfolio. While each location may have its unique traits, certain “creature comforts” like rainfall showerheads, fireplaces, or comfortable bedding are uniform.

The coronavirus pandemic is a catalyst for the industry’s rapid changes. Specifically, many travelers started staying at vacation homes for extra privacy and personal amenities. However, the lack of hotel-grade amenities at many properties detracts from the guest’s experience.

Experiencing the imminent need for better stays himself, John Andrew Entwistle founded Wander in May 2021 to provide luxury vacation home experiences without sacrificing the quality of luxury hotels.

Entwistle’s timing is impeccable. He had just stepped down from running his last company and was using this getaway to reflect on his future. Specifically, his Colorado rental cabin with uncomfortable beds, unreliable internet, and no dedicated workspace inspired him to mesh the quality of luxury hotels with the comfort of private vacation homes.

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Currently, Wander embraces his dream by owning and operating more than 90 locations in desirable destinations across the United States, including Big Sur, Yosemite, Malibu, Vail, Telluride, the Atlantic Coast, and the New England countryside.

Each property includes the following core amenities:

• AI-assisted services
• Smart bed technology
• Modern workstations
• Wellness features (i.e., pools, saunas, and hot tubs)
• 24/7 concierge service

“With an industry-leading 93%+ guest satisfaction rate, we’re the first end-to-end travel platform for trips, experiences, and concierge service,” says Entwistle who is currently Wander’s CEO and previously a Forbes 30 under 30 and Thiel Fellow.

Entwistle continues, “In a world where expectations are high and disappointments are plenty, where so much of the infrastructure to experience the world is broken, Wander stands as a

beacon of what the future of luxury travel can be: consistent, beautiful, and

unforgettable.“

Luxury Travel Growth Trends

Luxury hospitality is the fastest-growing travel segment with 6% anticipated annual growth through 2025, reports McKinsey in its The State of Travel and Hospitality 2024 report.

McKinsey finds the rapid increase stems from several factors:

• Younger generations prefer experiences, thereby allocating more for travel than previous generations at a similar age.
• 66% of surveyed travelers are more interested in travel now than pre-pandemic.
• 35% of travelers have a net worth between $100,000 and $1 million. The advent of aspiring luxury travelers who splurge on select trip components—lodging, special meals, or flight upgrades—debunks the notion that luxury travel is only for millionaires.
• Luxury travel is no longer almost exclusively for travelers from the United States or Europe, as more international residents have increased purchasing power.
• An increasing number of modern travelers prefer branded luxury and loyalty programs to independent operators while seeking personalizable itineraries and experiences.

The burgeoning interest in the upscale travel segment is increasing competition among operators of luxury hotels and vacation homes, which are adapting to today’s travel needs.

Guests Want Standardization in Luxury Travel

As the industry pivots to a growing audience and more diverse traveler behaviors, McKinsey recommends digging deeply and segmenting by age, nationality, and net worth to serve the needs of their primary guest with a standardized experience.

Recognizing the industry-wide changes and learning from personal travel experiences, Wander has had over 17,000 guests experience its modern, white-glove amenities so far.

Unlike most vacation rental platforms, which simply list properties from a broad swath of individual hosts and agencies, with vastly different amenities and minimum property standards, Wander fully operates each home on its platform. This practice allows the company to provide a uniform experience across its portfolio.

Further, implementing the latest technology available is one of Wander CEO John Andrew Entwistle’s priorities to provide a personal touch from booking until checkout. Embracing technology is second nature as Entwistle was previously the co-founder of Coder.com before launching Wander.

Instead of just browsing listings by destination at the beginning of the booking process, aspiring guests receive AI-assisted property recommendations to find the ideal destination. Further, each listing includes virtual house tours, local attraction guides, and guest testimonials to get an in-depth grasp of the stay experience and panorama before arrival.

Economic Challenges Facing Luxury Travel Providers

While the increased demand for premium travel experiences is a net positive for travel hosts, financial obstacles lie beneath the surface that can impact the profitability of high-end short-term rental properties.

Specifically, in 2023, short-term rental owners experienced a double whammy of inflation and an overall decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR). Thankfully, the industry forecasts modest improvements in the average daily rate and revenue so hosts can continue offering services that affluent and high-income travelers expect.

Wander is leaning into the industry’s changes through the following strategies :

• Authentic experiences: Focus on differentiation and make customer experiences the core emphasis instead of offering a cookie-cutter solution for all guest backgrounds.
• Portfolio diversification: Be rigorously selective when choosing homes and locations. Inspiring destinations are one research factor, but choosing the right spot is crucial.
• Top 1% of vacation rentals: Data points indicate the top 1% of properties earn 35% of all short-term vacation rental revenue. Wander prides itself on only owning top-tier properties resulting in strongly positive guest reviews for a win-win situation.
• Ignore the hype: Many temporary distractions—especially advancing travel demand—make it harder to achieve the cardinal goal of building a stable and durable business.

Entwistle’s vision is to be a resilient smart vacation home platform for the foreseeable future while remaining receptive and adaptable to guests' needs for a top-notch experience. Guests can expect a level of consistency across Wander’s portfolio at their favorite destinations and new adventure spots to spend more time exploring instead of adjusting to a property’s shortcomings.

Recent studies indicate that 77% of travelers care more about the best-fitting travel experience than about the cost of the trip, according to the 2024 Global Travel Trends Report from American Express Travel .

For instance, Wander’s ambitions include establishing a global footprint while expanding its United States portfolio simultaneously. As the company grows, it plans to seamlessly integrate other travel booking options, such as flights and additional services, that the next generation of travelers is seeking. Premier guest stays remain its core focal point, though, assures Entwistle.

Final Thoughts

Leisure and business travelers flocked to luxury vacation rentals during the pandemic. While many enjoy the coziness and extra living space, the lack of hotel-grade amenities and cleanliness leaves something to be desired. Wander is addressing these shortcomings through vacation homes meeting the travel needs of the 21st century to work or rest.

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Gap Between Upper And Lower Income Americans Growing In Summer Travel Industry

The New York Time reports:

“The travel industry is in the midst of another hot summer as Americans hit the road and make for the airport to take advantage of slightly cheaper flights and gas. But the 2024 vacation outlook isn’t all sunny: Like the rest of the American consumer experience this year, it is sharply divided.

Many richer consumers — always the lifeblood of the travel industry — are feeling good this year as a strong stock market and rising home values boost their wealth. While they have felt the bite of rapid inflation over the last few years, they are likely to have more wiggle room in their budgets and more options to ease the pain by trading down from name brands to generic, or Whole Foods to Walmart.

Poorer families have had less room to maneuver to avoid the brunt of high prices. Although the job market is strong, with low unemployment and wages that have risen especially rapidly at the bottom of the income scale in recent years, some signs of economic strain have been surfacing among lower-income Americans. Credit card delinquencies  have risen , many lower earners  report feeling less confident  in their own household finances, and companies that serve lower-income groups report that they are under stress.

The gulf between higher- and lower-income consumers has been widening for years, but it is expected to show up especially clearly in travel this summer. Surveys show that richer households are more optimistic about their ability to take trips, and services that they are more likely to use — like full-service hotels — are flourishing. Budget hotel chains, by contrast, are expected to report a pullback.

‘If you go to upscale, you’re actually seeing growth there,’ said Adam Sacks, the president of tourism economics at Oxford Economics. ‘A lot of that has to do with the different financial situations of different income groups.'”

For the rest of the story, visit The New York Times here.

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Luxury air travel is on the rise. Experts say you don't have to be rich to experience it.

• Luxury air travel is on the rise, including the use of private jets and premium tickets.
• The pandemic's 'revenge travel' trend has people spending more on luxury air experiences.
• Semi-private jets and premium-class options offer accessible luxury for budget-conscious travelers.

It's official: 2024 is the year of luxury air travel.

Travel experts told Business Insider they had noticed an uptick in clients opting for luxury air travel experiences, from private jets to first-class and premium-class plane tickets.

Oliver Bell, cofounder of luxury travel company Oliver's Travels, said this trend could be partly attributed to "revenge travel," where people are "willing to spend more for incredible experiences" in the aftermath of the pandemic.

According to a Forbes Advisor survey of 1,000 Americans in January of this year, 39% of people say their travel budget in 2024 will be higher than the previous year. (That's down from 45% of people surveyed in 2023.)

But you don't have to be flushed with cash to experience luxury air travel. You just have to do your research.

Semi-private jets are often overlooked

Private jets are one of the most obvious ways to travel in luxury, but according to Bell, they are often overlooked because people assume they are too expensive.

"A lot of people assume that flying private is only for the rich and famous, the Elon Musk's of the world," Bell said.

"Of course, it's by no means a 'cheap' way to fly as it still will typically be more expensive than flying commercial, but it is much more accessible than people think, which could be why we're seeing an increase now that people are becoming more aware," he added.

As BI's Alesandra Dubin previously reported, June 2022 had the most private flights in the US since October 2007.

Dubin recommended booking a publicly available seat on a "hop on" semi-private jet flight to save money. Numerous private regional airlines, such as JSX, offer this option.

JSX offers various routes from private terminals across the West Coast and Texas. Passengers don't have to worry about crowds or security lines, and with a maximum of 30 passengers on each flight, you can get the feeling of flying private without actually hiring your own jet.

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In June 2021, Dubin wrote about her experience traveling from LA to Vegas on a JSX flight for $99 . Her ticket included a free checked bag, snacks, and drinks, including alcohol.

Alternatively, some private jet companies offer subscription services where you get full access for a set fee every month. For example, Surf Air is an LA-based private jet company that offers unlimited private flying memberships for $295 per month or $3,540 annually.

"Instead of having to wait in long queues with limits on baggage or extra payments required, you can arrive as little as 15 minutes before your flight, board directly, and enjoy complete comfort and privacy," Bell said.

Affordable or 'middle-of-the-road' luxury

Some passengers can travel in first or business class for less using credit cards or airline reward points.

But for less frequent flyers or those who don't have the points, there are alternative options.

David Guthrie, founder of safari company Tent with a View, said he has noticed an increase in clients opting for "middle-of-the-road luxury" options, such as premium-class plane tickets.

He said it's become common for airlines to offer a "more elevated experience compared to standard economy," but these options are "not nearly as plush or pricey as first-class or private charters."

Airlines, including KLM, Delta, and United, offer premium or comfort-class tickets.

Each airline offers different perks. With United Airlines' Premium Plus package, passengers will get bigger seats, more legroom, and an amenity kit with skincare products from TheraFace, including eye serum, facial spray, hand cream, and lip balm.

It also includes free alcohol, upgraded meal cutlery, and noise-canceling headphones on board, as well as larger TV screens, priority check-in and boarding, exclusive security lanes, and priority bag handling.

According to Martina Coogan, head of United Airline's corporate sales in the UK and Ireland, fares start at around $1,077.

Coogan told BI that Premium Plus is "gaining in popularity with both leisure and corporate travelers, and we expect this trend to continue."

He said it's an especially popular option for passengers traveling on long-haul flights from the US to the UK.

Meanwhile, with KLM's premium comfort package , passengers are seated in a "quiet cabin" with up to 28 seats with 17cm more legroom and 7.5cm more recline than an economy seat. Guthrie said this package is popular among his clients, who appear to spend double the amount on premium comfort tickets compared to economy.

Similarly, Delta's Comfort Plus package offers more legroom (though it's not clear by how much), early boarding, dedicated overhead bin space, and complimentary snacks on flights over 900 miles and drinks on flights over 251 miles.

Watch: Why flying is so terrible even though airlines spend billions

• Main content

Do I need travel insurance for my summer vacation? It's complicated.

• Travel insurance can be complicated, but it's worth it if you have travel expenses that insurance would cover.
• You might not need travel insurance if you're taking a driving vacation and staying in a place where lodging is free.
• If you're leaving the country, you'll likely need travel insurance.

Get more news like this delivered to your inbox by signing up for our Travel newsletter here .

If you're planning to travel somewhere this summer, you're probably thinking of buying travel insurance.

Kingsley Hopkins is. He's headed to Portugal and Iceland with his girlfriend, and he wants to make sure he's covered for things like medical emergencies or trip disruptions, "or if a volcano erupts," he said.

Check out   Elliott Confidential , the newsletter the travel industry doesn't want you to read. Each issue is filled with breaking news, deep insights, and exclusive strategies for becoming a better traveler. But don't tell anyone!

But getting the right travel insurance can be complicated. There's no one-size-fits-all policy, and Hopkins, an assistant editor at a book publishing company in New York, has been spending a lot of time thinking about how to protect his summer vacation.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Chances are, so have you.

Why finding the right travel insurance is so hard

Most surveys suggest this will be a record summer for travel. How much of a record? Demand is so high that some airlines are afraid they will run out of planes. Now that's busy.

At the same time, danger and uncertainty are lurking everywhere – wars in Europe and in the Middle East, the usual slate of natural disasters like hurricanes and maybe a volcano or two. It's no wonder people are giving some serious thought to insurance. 

Older travelers are particularly worried. And they should be, said PK Rao, CEO of INF Visitor Care . Claims by travelers over age 50 spike during the summer months.

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"According to our claim data, medical emergencies tend to uptick during the summer, especially for those going on trips that involve outdoor activities," he said.

But there are so many choices out there, including credit card coverage, medical evacuation membership programs and standalone travel insurance. What should you get?

You need peace of mind 

But don't just reflexively start shopping for a travel insurance policy this summer. Instead, look for peace of mind – knowing that if something goes wrong, you'll be taken care of.

"Knowing you're protected from unforeseen travel mishaps – like delays, lost baggage and even medical emergencies – can make the trip that much more enjoyable,” said Daniel Durazo, a spokesman for Allianz Partners USA .

As it turns out, there are several ways to get the peace of mind you need. And there are times when you can safely skip travel insurance.

This is when you don't need insurance

Here's when you can skip travel insurance, according to experts:

• If you already have coverage. "You may already have travel coverage through your benefits at work, your credit card, or through group benefits with an organization," said Jiten Puri, CEO of PolicyAdvisor.com. If you do, there's no need to buy more coverage. You're all set.
• If you're not traveling far. If you're taking a driving vacation and staying in a place where lodging is free, like a relative's sofa, then there's not much to insure. "If you already have health insurance, it may cover you for a domestic trip, so you don't need to think about health insurance coverage," said Joe Cronin, CEO of International Citizens Insurance .
• If your trip isn't insurable. Traditional travel insurance covers conventional trips with prepaid, nonrefundable components like airline tickets and hotel stays. You might find that you either already have coverage through your medical insurance, or the trip is essentially uninsurable.

So think twice before saying "yes" to optional travel insurance that your online travel agency may offer you when you're booking a trip. You might not need it.

Here's when you need travel insurance

But most travelers should consider some kind of travel insurance coverage this summer. Here's when you need the extra coverage:

• If you have travel expenses that insurance would cover. "If you have many prepaid, nonrefundable expenses, it's best to take out travel insurance," said Lauren Gumport, a spokeswoman for Faye Travel Insurance ."This includes things like flights, hotel rooms, tickets and activities." The more conventional your vacation, the likelier travel insurance is to cover almost every aspect of your summer vacation.
• If you're leaving the country. "Your regular medical insurance might not extend coverage beyond your home borders," said John Rose, chief risk and security officer at ALTOUR . Also, many countries require travel insurance for entrance. They include Bermuda, Qatar, Sri Lanka, and some European countries.
• If you can't afford to lose your trip. "When considering travel insurance for your summer trip, evaluate whether you can afford to lose your vacation investment due to unforeseen circumstances like illness, weather disruptions or emergencies," explained Robert Gallagher, president of the US Travel Insurance Association (USTIA). "Can you afford the financial risk if you miss your cruise departure because of covered flight delays? What if you have to cut your trip short because of illness?"  

One of the most common mistakes travelers make is assuming their credit card will cover them. For example, I found that my credit card only covered my rental car as secondary insurance, which made it completely useless when I rented a car in Tampa recently. I had to buy a standalone policy from Allianz to cover the vehicle.

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How one traveler insured his summer vacation

So, how did Hopkins handle his travel insurance needs? Well, as I mentioned – it's complicated.

Hopkins said he always buys some travel insurance before he takes a trip, "but how much, and what I cover, varies," he explained.

He decided that his path to peace of mind in this case was to spend a few extra dollars: He made fully refundable flight and hotel reservations, just in case something went wrong. That would eliminate a lengthy claim with his travel insurance company or credit card.

But he still needed at least $50,000 in medical coverage with emergency evacuation because of his active schedule.

"We’re going to be doing a lot of hiking in Iceland," he said. "And you just never know." 

At the beginning of the year, he decided to buy an annual Medjet Horizon plan, a membership that would get him from a hospital in Portugal or Iceland to a hospital at home, in case something happened. 

For insurance, Hopkins checked TravelInsurance.com to find an affordable travel insurance policy. He found coverage through Trawick International that pays up to $50,000 in medical expenses and up to $200,000 for an evacuation.

"I’ve heard good things about them," he said. "Hopefully, we won’t need any of it."

How do I insure my trips?

I'm on the road about 360 days a year, so I'm always thinking about peace of mind. I currently use a Wells Fargo credit card with lots of travel benefits, and I have long-term policies through Faye and Cigna, which have worked fairly well. I also am a long-time Medjet Horizon member. If I rent a car, I turn to Allianz for my primary coverage.

I know – that's a lot of peace of mind. 

But I've also run into trouble and had to use many of those benefits. Medjet got me back home during the pandemic. Cigna covered me after a serious ski accident in Switzerland. My old Allianz policy took care of my medical expenses when I had to see a doctor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a few years ago.

Like I always say, when it comes to having enough insurance, better safe than sorry.

Christopher Elliott  is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded  Elliott Advocacy , a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes  Elliott Confidential , a travel newsletter, and the  Elliott Report , a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can  reach him here  or email him at  [email protected] .

The Key Points at the top of this article were created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reviewed by a journalist before publication. No other parts of the article were generated using AI. Learn more .

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