Here’s What Travel Will Look Like In 2030
A new report titled Future Traveller Tribes 2030: Understanding Tomorrow’s Traveller, released by Amadeus and the Future Foundation, has predicted 2030’s six distinct types of travellers. The findings are based on both qualitative and quantitative data from interviews with leading futurologists, travel industry experts and travellers from across the globe. Experts predict that 1.8 billion people will be travelling internationally by 2030 and our behaviour will be vastly different to how it is today, shaped by the changes in the demographic as well as the economic, consumer and technological landscape.
Here are their six predicted traveller types of tomorrow – recognise yourself in any of these?
#1 Social Capital Seekers
Always viewing your destination with the lens of your smart phone in mind? Then the Social Capital Seeker might be you. This traveller type relies heavily on social media and structures their holiday almost exclusively with their online audience in mind. They’re constantly seeking “feed-friendly” moments and “profile-boosting breaks”, as well as using peer reviews via digital media to enrich and inform their experiences.
#3 Simplicity Searchers
Simplicity Seekers want their holiday to be nothing more than a break and a chance to reset. They will focus on safety, convenience and bundled offers for a sense of enjoyment. Rather than managing every little detail themselves they will want as much as possible to be done remotely or by third-parties so they can truly pamper themselves without the challenges. They may want nothing more than escape, rest and rejuvenation to forget home life and its worries, but without sacrificing their trusted home comforts.
#3 Cultural Purists
Cultural Purists will aim to immerse themselves in entirely different – and at times uncomfortable – cultures when they travel. Enjoyment of their holiday will rely entirely on authentic experience. There’s a need to eat where the locals eat and do what the locals do to sincerely engage with a different way of living. They might be hostile to pre-planning and review-based booking.
#4 Ethical Travellers
This traveller group will make plans based on morality and sustainability, like improving the lives of locals or decreasing their carbon footprint. They will often add some element of volunteering, community development or eco-sustainable activity to their holidays. They will cut down on luxury and try to make their individual impacts on the world, political and environmental, as close to “neutral” as possible.
#5 Obligation Meeters
Obligation Meeters might have particular constraints on their time or budgets, or a particular purpose for travelling (e.g. business seminars, a destination wedding, a major sporting event) and as such they will seek smart algorithm-based technology that is able to remove the hassle of travel and meet their particular needs. They’ll want their routes to be as short as possible and their dates of travel might be inflexible.
#6 Reward Hunters
Reward Hunters love healthy hedonism, constantly seeking indulgent travel experiences or “must have” premium experiences to reflect a return on their hard-earned investment of time and energy in their working lives. It could be wellness driven, like spa experiences, or it could be experiencing the best food and hospitality the world has to offer. They look to transcend their everyday routine with a focus on relaxation and self-improvement.
