What you need to know

“Experience” and “authenticity” are buzzwords within the travel industry, but finding ways to meet these demands is elusive. Nearly two thirds (62%) of travelers take trips in order to escape their everyday lives and the idea of “experience” is to augment this element of escape. Authenticity, meanwhile, serves to validate an experience and increase enjoyment of a trip. Importantly, travelers are willing to pay an upcharge for increased access to an experience, particularly if it means having a story to tell later. The COVID-19 pandemic’s shutdown of travel is unlikely to countermand these underlying drives, though it might extend the research period for people interested in traveling but unable to do so while nonessential travel is limited.

Key issues covered in this Report

  • The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and experiential travel.

  • The shutdown of the travel industry due to the pandemic, and the challenges and bright spots therein.

  • A definition of what goes into making a memorable travel “experience.”

  • An analysis of consumer segments that can be considered “experiential travelers,” and how they differ from each other.

This Report was written April 15-May 13, 2020. Consumer data included in this Report was fielded in February 2020, before the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. As such, responses capture consumers’ typical travel behaviors, not their sentiment amidst the pandemic.

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