Leading luxury tour operator Elegant Resorts launched its annual Luxury Travel Trends Report after conducting two client surveys in the months of June and November 2021, to determine future travel plans and the trends defining travel in 2022.
The survey revealed significant changes to people’s outlooks, lifestyles and travel preferences. The luxury traveller in 2022 is more conscious of the environment, plans more meaningful experiences, is happy to spend more, to stay longer and spend quality time with loved ones. They are booking holidays with a short lead time and prefer to book using the expertise of a travel specialist that offers flexibility and financial protection.
Travel Trends
A Genuine Desire to Travel
Clients’ thirst for travel has been clear from the start of the pandemic with 76% of respondent saying that their budgets had remained the same and 16% stating that they intended to spend more. The average booking value for 2022 has increased by 46% compared to 2019, while the duration of their stay is 25% longer than before. Lead times are increasingly shorter with 49% of January 2022 bookings being for departures in quarter one.
The survey revealed that 91% of respondents are keen to create more meaningful experiences and 94% want to spend more time with family and friends, having spent so much time apart over the past two years. As a result, the average party size has increased by 20% versus 2019, while interest in villa holidays rose by 30% and family breaks by 29%.
Expertise, flexibility and protection are three key expectations as clients plan their holidays in 2022. The research confirmed that 97% of clients who participated value a specialist’s expert knowledge when it comes to organising a holiday, while 98% want flexible terms and conditions to amend their bookings without charge. Elegant Resorts has also experienced an uplift in clients returning to book with them having booked direct for many years.
Key Destinations for 2022
The pandemic has had a big impact on people’s travel plans with 43% confirming that their bucket list had changed. Booking patterns and trends are different in 2022, with fewer bookings for more adventurous tailor-made itineraries, and more popularity for single centre beach holidays, as people are keen to relax and rejuvenate (94%). City breaks are also proving to be popular with 80% confirming that they would like to take a city break in the next 6 months.
Following the launch of the UK and Ireland collection in 2020 Elegant Resorts experienced a rise in interest for staycations with 58% of clients interested in booking holidays on home soil. However, the Caribbean (42%), Europe (27%) and the Indian Ocean (14%) remain firm favourites.
Top 5 destinations for 2022:
- Barbados
- Maldives
- Spain
- Greece
- Italy
Top 5 destinations booked since 1 January 2022
- Barbados
- Spain
- Dubai
- Maldives
- Antigua
Top 5 emerging destinations booked since 1 January 2022
- Canada
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Anguilla
- Portugal
- Oman
The Rise of the Responsible Luxury Traveller
Elegant Resorts’ research revealed that there has been an increase in the importance of certain factors when booking a holiday. Travelling more sustainably has become key when planning a trip as 99% of those who responded are more conscious of the environment (29% increase versus 2020). 90% have also said that they want to avoid overdeveloped areas and give back to communities, 85% want to stay in hotels that have a strong responsible tourism policy, and 73% want to fly with a company that has lower carbon emissions.
Commenting on the findings, Managing Director at Elegant Resorts, Lisa Fitzell said: “While 2020 and 2021 have been very challenging years, our clients have remained incredibly resilient and are keen to travel the world again to create long lasting memories with their loved ones.
“This pandemic has changed us, as a business we have learnt to be more flexible and agile to adapt to all the complex rules and changes that have come our way. Our clients have changed too, their priorities have evolved, spending time with loved ones has taken centre stage. They are more conscious of their impact the environment and more cautious when it comes to booking holidays with the expertise of travel specialists who can offer guidance and financial protection has become their top priority.
She added: “2022 has started very well for us, and we are full of optimism. Let’s hope we are now over the biggest hurdle and that our beloved travel industry can slowly resume to some kind of normality.”
