Six travel trends emerging from the pandemic
As Canadians start travelling again, it’s interesting to see just how much their travel patterns and behaviours have been shaped by the past 19 months. To get a better sense of what the future of travel holds for Canadian travellers, Travel Courier spoke with Paul Melhus, CEO and co-founder of ToursByLocals; Amir Eylon, President & CEO of Longwoods International; Julie Kyse, VP, Global Air Partnerships with Expedia Group and Gus Gardner, Associate Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData. Here’s a look at some notable changes and travel trends that have emerged from the pandemic:
“Domestic and international travel closer to home is a trend that has become more common as a result of the pandemic. Domestic vacations offer the easiest travel options as the familiarity of the destination and knowledge of local COVID-19 restrictions give travellers peace of mind. Traveling to destinations closer to home allows travellers to opt for perceivably safer travel options including utilizing a private car, especially for travel to the US for the more risk-adverse traveler. Furthermore, staying closer to home means travelling back in the event of a change in restrictions or quarantine requirements is simpler and quicker.”
—Gus Gardner, Associate Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData
“Flexibility is an undeniable trend when it comes to 2022 bookings, as navigating restrictions is crucial to traveling again. Therefore, it’s not surprising that 32% of ToursByLocals travellers are taking advantage of the option to customize their tour (one of the brand’s key differentiators).
Cruisers are a loyal community to their mode of travel, and are already eagerly booking 2022 experiences, with 33% of all 2022 tours booked so far being shore excursions.
—Paul Melhus, CEO and co-founder of ToursByLocals
“Booking windows are very bi-polar now… They are either very short or very long. Folks are engaging in more spontaneous travel than before or are planning bucket list trips they have put off for too long. We are also seeing larger travel party sizes as folks seek to gather with friends and family members that they have not seen in a long time due to the pandemic.
—Amir Eylon, President & CEO, Longwoods International
“Born out of the pandemic, we launched virtual tours for the first time in April 2020. Interestingly, we’re seeing a continued desire for these virtual tours in the last few months as travellers remain confused about COVID travel guidelines and are hesitant to fully move forward with bookings. We think virtual tours are here to stay. Additionally, we think that demand for private, outdoor excursions will be a new norm in the travel industry – a demand that bounced back especially quickly after the pandemic was the desire for outdoor experiences, especially those in National Parks and other remote areas (perfect for social distancing). We saw a huge demand for those experiences in the summer of both 2020 and 2021.”
—Paul Melhus, CEO and co-founder of ToursByLocals
“The Wave 48 update of our ongoing American Travel Sentiment tracking study that we have been conducting since March of 2020 shows a sudden and strong improvement in overall Travel Sentiment. As the reports grow of the delta variant’s decrease in cases, its impact on key Travel Sentiment Indicators is fading, taking them close to levels not seen since earlier in the summer. Only 27% of travellers report the pandemic would greatly affect their travel in the next six months, down from 36% in early September. 67% now feel safe travelling outside their communities.”
—Amir Eylon, President & CEO, Longwoods International
“Our findings, in partnership with ARC’s global airline sales data, have uncovered some interesting Canadian booking behaviours. For example, it is nearly 25% less expensive to fly internationally in January compared to August, which is the most expensive month to fly internationally. And while 2021 full year data is not yet available, the data to date is tracking in the same direction with January proving to be less expensive overall than the summer months.
Another insight that we’ve found is that premium flight pricing is not rebounding as quickly as economy flight pricing. In 2021, premium tickets were 193% more expensive than economy tickets, but compared to 2020 where they were 246% more expensive and 260% more expensive in 2019, it looks like 2021 could be the year for premium air travel for more Canadians!”
—Julie Kyse, VP, Global Air Partnerships, Expedia Group
