5 Key Trends in Travel Experiences
Photo Credit: A traveler holding a "free tour" umbrella. Pixabay
Skift Take
Spending on tours and activities may hit $300 billion by 2025. Expect to see more consolidation pressures, growth in demographic targeting, adoption of AI, and attempts to react to climate change.
"Experiences" are becoming a growth engine for the travel sector. An expanding segment of travelers are demanding immersive, cultural interactions at destinations as an alternative to checklist visits of famous sights.
The tours and activities sector was valued at $239 billion in 2019 and is forecast to hit nearly $300 billion by 2025.
“The biggest trend that affects all of travel — so hotels, destinations, transportation — is the rise of experiences as the driver of the trip,” said Douglas Quinby, the co-founder and CEO of Arival, an events and research business.
“This is especially noticeable among millennials, which is the largest segment of the traveling population right now," Quinby said.
As experiences boom, executives told Skift they're watching five key themes emerge. The sector faces consolidation pressures, but fragmentation and specialization provide opportunities. Demographic targeting is on the rise. AI and climate ch
