Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market overview
- Top takeaways
- Impact of COVID-19 on experiential travel
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- Figure 1: Short, medium and longer term impact of COVID-19 on experiential travel, June 2020
- How travelers view experiences
- Half of travelers are “experiential,” but a divide exists
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- Figure 2: Experiential traveler segments, February 2020
- Getaways are for getting away
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- Figure 3: Travel goals, February 2020
- What travelers want from experiential travel
- Room for travel experiences across categories
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- Figure 4: Most desired experiences, February 2020
- Exclusivity can yield new revenue streams
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- Figure 5: Desired upgrades, February 2020
- A personal interest in being personally interesting
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- Figure 6: Attitudes toward sharing experiences, February 2020
- What’s next
The Impact of COVID-19 on Experiential Travel
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- Figure 7: Short, medium and longer term impact of COVID-19 on experiential travel, June 2020
- Opportunities and threats
- Short-term threats
- Short-term opportunities
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- Figure 8: Aer Lingus customer email, April 2020
- Figure 9: Visit Colorado “Waiting to CO!” campaign, May 2020
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- Figure 10: Visit Faroe Islands Instagram post, April 15, 2020
- Medium-term threats
- Medium-term opportunities
- Long-term threats
- Long-term opportunities
- How the crisis will affect key consumer segments in travel
- Impact of COVID-19 on travel behaviors
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- Figure 11: Concern about changing travel plans, April 16 – June 4, 2020
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- Figure 12: Change in spending priorities, April 16 – June 4, 2020
- How a COVID-19 recession will reshape travel experiences
- How 2020 will compare to 2009 for travel spending
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- Figure 13: Consumer spending on air transport, monthly, 2006-10
- Figure 14: Consumer spending on hotels and motels, monthly, 2006-10
- Americans will put family first
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- Figure 15: Most-anticipated post-quarantine activities, June 2020
- Financial optimism is timidly increasing, but recession creates uncertainty
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- Figure 16: Financial situation self-assessment, May 2020
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- Figure 17: Prediction of own personal finances, May 2020
- COVID-19: US context
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The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Travel experiences face a tough road in the face of pandemic
- Who are experiential travelers?
- Engaging marketing can make travel experiences as important as the destination
- The economy is bad, and relief is a long time coming
Target Market: Experiential Travelers
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- Factors
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- Figure 18: Experiential Traveler segments, February 2020
- Experiential Traveler segments
- Eager Experiencers – 23%
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- Figure 19: Eager Experiencer segment demographics, February 2020
- Local Lookers – 30%
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- Figure 20: Local Looker segment demographics, February 2020
- Regardless Rovers – 21%
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- Figure 21: Regardless Rover segment demographics, February 2020
- Twilight Tourists – 25%
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- Figure 22: Twilight Tourist segment demographics, February 2020
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- Figure 23: Segment attitudes toward experiential travel, February 2020
Market Perspective
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- Activities carry less weight than the destination
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- Figure 24: Importance of activities, by age group, February 2020
- Tours are the go-to experience
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- Figure 25: Types of tours taken, February 2020
- The activity discovery landscape is changing to be more engaging
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- Figure 26: Source of discovery for activities, by age group, February 2020
Market Factors
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- Unemployment will lead to cautious spending
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- Figure 27: Initial unemployment claims, weekly, seasonally adjusted, 2000-20
- Delay in further stimulus will delay travel industry recovery
Key Trends – What You Need to Know
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- Food can be a momentous occasion
- Hotels and homeshares fight for locality cred
- Experiences can make the destination
- A look into experiential travel’s future
What’s Happening
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- SecretEATS provides moment-in-time food experiences
- Airbnb Experiences shows strength in locality
- Hotels pivot to localized, niche services
- Experiences ladder up to creating a destination
What to Watch
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- The future of experiential travel
- Driver: Wellbeing
- 2025
- 2030
- Driver: Surroundings
- 2025
- 2030
- Driver: Technology
- 2025
- 2030
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Travelers are escapists
- Poor communication and hospitality can ruin an experience
- The way to a traveler’s heart is through their stomach
- Experiential travelers seek either well-known, or little-known experiences
- Travelers will shell out for access
- Destinations matter when it comes to experiences
- Travelers see themselves as considerate…
- …but want to be seen as worldly
Travel Goals
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- Vacations are meant to make travelers forget
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- Figure 28: Travel goals, February 2020
- Consumer thoughts on travel goals
- Locality appeals to high-income travelers
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- Figure 29: Travel goals, by HHI, February 2020
- Local Lookers are more local, Eager Experiencers more lonesome
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- Figure 30: Travel goals, by segment, February 2020
- Vacations are a “me time” escape for women under 45
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- Figure 31: Travel goals, by age and gender, February 2020
- Urban dwellers show more tolerance for crowds
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- Figure 32: Travel goals, by area, February 2020
Barriers to Enjoying Experiences
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- Transparency and communication are paramount
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- Figure 33: Factors that prevent enjoyment of travel experiences, February 2020
- Service matters to experiential travelers
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- Figure 34: Factors that prevent enjoyment of travel experiences, by segment, February 2020
- Higher-income travelers are less forgiving of poor service
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- Figure 35: Hotel and airline response’s effect on travel, by HHI, February 2020
- Older, wealthier men appear to be the most sensitive to activity quality
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- Figure 36: Disappointing experience’s effect on enjoyment, by age and gender, by age and HHI, February 2020
Compelling Experiences
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- Food and festivals are the entry points to local culture
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- Figure 37: Most desired experiences, February 2020
- Experiential segments tend toward fame or obscurity
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- Figure 38: Most desired experiences, by segment, February 2020
- Famous routes can do more to drum up youth interest
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- Figure 39: Appeal of traveling famous routes, by age group, February 2020
- Travelers may be more conscious about animal treatment in the future
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- Figure 40: Desire to interact with wild animals and streaming service adoption, by age group, April 2019-February 2020
Desired Upgrades
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- Access is worth paying for
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- Figure 41: Desired upgrades, February 2020
- Millennials are all about access
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- Figure 42: Upgrades worth paying for, by generation, February 2020
- Eager Experiencers can’t put a price on experiences
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- Figure 43: Upgrades worth paying for, by segment, February 2020
- Line-skipping can attract high-income tourists
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- Figure 44: Upgrades worth paying for, by HHI, February 2020
Making Memories
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- The setting tells the story
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- Figure 45: Contributors to memorable travel experiences, February 2020
- Young travelers go where the people are
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- Figure 46: Public spaces as memorable experiences, by age group, February 2020
- The airport-as-destination idea may never take off
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- Figure 47: Transit hubs as memorable experiences, by age group and age of child, February 2020
Attitudes toward Finding Experiences
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- Travelers see themselves as mindful
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- Figure 48: Experience deal-breakers, February 2020
- Young travelers and men are more thrill-seeking
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- Figure 49: Attitudes toward dangerous experiences, by age and gender, February 2020
- Uniqueness is what you make of it
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- Figure 50: Attitudes about unique experiences, February 2020
- The “Experience Generation” has trouble finding unique experiences
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- Figure 51: Attitudes about unique experiences, by generation, February 2020
- Experience-hunting services can find a market among mid- to high- income travelers
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- Figure 52: Attitudes about unique experiences, by HHI, February 2020
Attitudes toward Sharing Experiences
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- Experiences are about personal fulfillment
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- Figure 53: Attitudes toward sharing experiences, February 2020
- Make young people more interesting
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- Figure 54: Attitudes toward experienced people, by age group, February 2020
- Young men do it for the ’gram
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- Figure 55: Importance of social media in experience choice, by gender and age, February 2020
- Younger travelers prefer taking experiences slowly
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- Figure 56: Attitudes toward the experiential lifestyle, by age group, February 2020
- Consumer thoughts on exploring destinations
- Gifting attitudes can be a bright spot in economic downturn
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- Figure 57: Gifting attitudes, by age, by parental status, February 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations
- Abbreviations
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