Based on a survey of 27,000 travelers from 33 countries, online travel agency Booking.com has predicted travel trends for 2024. Here we take a look at the seven trends identified and ask: how sustainable are they? And can we perhaps make them a little bit more sustainable?
Here are the seven travel trends for 2024
In 2022, it was all about the return of the travel market, then in 2023, wanderlust took over and travel went further than ever before – even space tourism was a big (theoretical) topic. In 2024, on the other hand, it is predicted that we will focus more on ourselves again. The focus will be on ourselves and special experiences.
#1: (Re-)Invent yourself
“We Already Live in the Metaverse” was the headline in The Atlantic in March 2023. The thesis: We have added a digital layer to our lives and are constantly thinking about how to turn our daily experiences into online entertainment.
According to the Booking.com trend study, 57% of travelers feel like “main characters” in their own movies. This figure rises to 65% for Italians and 64% for American travelers. Many enjoy the anonymity of travel to reinvent themselves. 37% would even go so far as to tell fictional stories about their lives or rent a fancier car on vacation than they could afford at home (42%).
How sustainable is that?
In our article on overtourism, we described the negative consequences of going on vacation just to boost your Instagram account and check off bucket lists of the world’s most famous sights. As for reinventing yourself… of course, it all depends on how you want to present yourself. Will you be sailing around on a yacht, or are you going to be cleaning up the beach?
By the way, the counter-trend is “digital detox“. At the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu in the German Alps, you can leave your smartphone in the reception’s “radio silence” safe and get it back after your vacation, along with a mountain cheese. That way, you won’t even be tempted to take a selfie. 🙂
#2: Vacation by the water
“75% of travelers find instant relaxation by the water,” according to Booking.com. This is in line with the ongoing wellness trend and the ever-growing number of spas.
It’s worth noting that we are facing a water crisis, which, according to the United Nations, is directly linked to the climate crisis. According to UN-Water, 2.3 billion people already live in “water-stressed” countries. This means that more fresh water is needed than is available. The desert nation of Dubai, of all places, currently holds several swimming pool records (e.g. the “Deep Dive Dubai” is the deepest pool in the world with a depth of 60 meters and 14 million liters of fresh water).
The more sustainable solution is a vacation at natural water sources. The OCÈANO Health Spa Hotel in Tenerife is located directly on the Atlantic Ocean and has several saltwater pools – partly directly on the Atlantic, so you can even feel the waves. Other of our Green PearlsⓇ partners want to give something back for living in water abundance. The Leni Mountain Apartments are located in the Austrian Alps (Ötztal) and receive fresh water directly from a mountain spring. They bottle this water as “Leni Mountain Spring Water” and donate 100% of the proceeds to Water is Right (WIR). The organization works to ensure that people around the world have access to clean drinking water.
#3: AI travel planning
An Expedia Group study of 5,700 people found that the average traveler spends more than five hours planning a trip and clicks through 141 online pages. Artificial intelligence has the potential to shorten this process in the future. According to Booking.com, 48% of people are already interested in such a solution. Of course, the agency is using this as an opportunity to promote its own AI travel planner.
Since 2022, Trip.com, Expedia, eDreams Odigeo, Airbnb, Booking.com, Priceline and Amazon Webservices (first customers are RyanAir and Lonely Planet) have launched an AI travel assistant. However, these services are still in the early or pilot stages. Booking.com’s Trip Planner, for example, is currently only available as an app to U.S. members of its Genius Loyalty Program.
AI travel planning – Self trial
Trip.com, as well as Expedia and Kayak, use a plugin from OpenAI, of which ChatGPT is a part, for their AI travel planning. I asked ChatGPT if it could help me plan a trip. The response:
“Hi, of course I can help you plan a trip. Where do you want to go and what kind of assistance do you need? Information such as destinations, travel dates, budget and personal preferences would help me better serve you”. – ChatGPT
I chatted with the AI for a while, looking for sustainable destinations, of course. I immediately get the recommendation to use public transportation. Good. When it comes to accommodation, I should choose those that carry the “Ecolabel”. I ask the chatbot which hotels have the European Union’s eco-label. Because I know, there aren’t many. In Germany, only 5 hotels have been awarded this label; Two of them are our Green PearlsⓇ partners Hotel Luise in Erlangen and Klosterhof – Alpine Hideaway & Spa in Bayrisch Gmain. The answer was:
“Unfortunately, I don’t have access to real-time data or specific information about individual hotels.” – ChatGPT
The reason for this unsatisfactory answer: ChatGPT uses outdated data. It has no way of knowing which hotels currently have the EU Ecolabel. Nor, of course, whether a room is currently available there.
The bottom line: What doesn’t work can’t be a trend. As with space travel, it’s all about what’s conceivable in the (near) future. In the future, chatbots probably can not only recommend suitable trips and provide information but also make direct inquiries at hotels, book the right train connection, etc.
Is AI sustainable?
That depends on how it is used and for what purpose. There are many initiatives, such as “Green AI” by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), which aim to make AI more environmentally friendly. Such a tool could also be used to travel more sustainably… but as I said, it is not fully developed yet. In addition, with all the fun around AI travel planning, one should not forget that, similar to every search query, energy is consumed with every chat (e.g. by the servers etc.)
#4: (Sustainable) Culinary Journeys
According to the study, 81% of travelers (93% of Italians) consider it important to taste the country’s typical cuisine. In addition, 61% are “more interested than ever” in learning about the origins of food. We now see this as a sustainable development and, together with the sustainable hotels, are delighted at the (perhaps also your?) interest in and awareness of local producers.
Regional cuisine with seasonal organic ingredients is one of the main features of the Green PearlsⓇ accommodations – be it the down-to-earth cuisine based on grandma’s recipes at Okelmann’s in Lower Saxony or the sophisticated cuisine at Birkenhof ***** Spa & Genussresort with the 2-star restaurant “Eisvogel” in the Upper Palatinate Lake District.
Cooking Courses at Lake Weissensee in Austria
If you are also interested in the origin and creation of food, the Genießerhotel Die Forelle might be of interest to you. The hotel is located directly on Lake Weissensee (so you are also vacationing by the water), the highest bathing lake in the Alps. Owner and award-winning chef Hannes Müller focuses on “imported self-sufficiency” and enjoys sharing his passion for cooking with his guests. For example, he personally fishes for wild fish in the lake.
Check out the hotel’s website for cooking classes in 2024.
#5: Solo travel is still trending
59% of the 27,000 respondents plan to travel alone in 2024. This is a trend that Green PearlsⓇ partners are also reporting to us, and many are even offering special deals for solo travelers.
At the eco-luxury resort Gili Lankanfushi in the Maldives, women traveling alone will feel right at home. With the Gili Solo Experience, you get a program to pamper yourself: Each morning begins with a sunrise yoga session, and the package includes a spa treatment, a private photo session, a snorkeling class, a sunset sailing trip, a Maldivian cooking class, a dine-in-the-dark dinner, and a night under the stars. There are plenty of opportunities to meet like-minded people and have some private time to yourself.
#6: Traveling in low season
According to the survey, the increased cost of living is a factor for many (62%) when planning their travel for 2024. To balance luxury and budget, the low season is of interest to many, maybe to you as well. A full 47% are even considering taking their children out of school to travel during the low season.
Not only can you save money by traveling off-season, but you can also earn some sustainability points. For example, you help local people increase their income, and make them more season-independent. Furthermore, the environment is less polluted when tourism is spread out over the year.
Check out our blog post on low season travel for more good reasons and to learn more about what low season has to offer. During the rainy season, for example, Thailand is extra green and still offers nice warm water temperatures for snorkeling and diving, such as at Zeavola on the island of Koh Phi Phi. The low season on Koh Phi Phi is from May to October.
#7: Sustainability
Only in 7th place, but still one of the top travel predictions for 2024: travelers want to pay more attention to sustainability.
“More than half (53%) of travelers are looking for accommodations that combine comfort with innovative sustainability.” – Booking.com
Our Talk! At Green PearlsⓇ we have been focused on promoting sustainable accommodation for over 10 years. For us, sustainability is not just a trend that has just popped up, but the only possible future for travel. Want to browse? We don’t offer AI (yet) on Greenpearls.com though, but we do offer sustainable and unique hotels and vacation homes. They are right on trend for 2024 – and not because it’s trendy, but because they are genuinely concerned about creating a future worth living and preserving the earth.
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Sustainability in travel is more important than ever. This breakdown of 2024 trends is informative and encouraging. It’s great to see more eco-conscious initiatives gaining momentum. A must-read for travelers looking to reduce their footprint!