It’s been a while since I’ve posted! And after officially being in the travel business for a few months now, I can report back on what trends I am seeing, in an effort to help you plan your next best travel adventure!
Here are the overall travel trends we’re seeing for 2023:
- Booking trips well in advance - cruises booking into 2024 and 2025!
- Booking 2-3 trips per year
- Booking longer trips - avg 10-14 days, combining business and leisure since many can work remotely
- Luxury Travel is up - 43% of travelers have increased their budget in 2023
- International Travel is up from pent-up demand after the pandemic
The most common types of travel booked are:
- Bucket List trips and once-in-a-lifetime experiences
- Foodie trips - experiencing other cultures and cuisines
- R&R escapes - All-Inclusive and Cruise (smaller ships) vacations
Personally I’ve seen a lot of interest in International destinations. I’ve recently booked travel to Greece, Portugal, Spain, and UK. Along with US destinations of Washington DC, Florida and Colorado.
I can say that airfare is also a key factor. With fuel prices remaining high, and prices predicted to continue to stay at or even go higher in the coming months, booking air is an important consideration right now. My recommendations for air travel are…
- Follow specific flights or timeframes for free with Google Flights. This will allow to see trends, and you can also be notified if the fare changes for the routes you are following. If a fare dips on a particular day, jump on it! Generally speaking, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days for air travel – both in busyness and cost – so if you can travel those days you can save some $$ that you could then spend on experiences at your destination.
- BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THE AIRLINE. DO NOT use third party booking sites, such as Booking.com, Priceline, Expedia, etc. These sites may offer a slight discount, but trust me, when a problem arises – flight delay, cancellation, lost luggage – they are of no help to you.
- BOOK A MAJOR AIRLINE. Again, I cannot stress this enough. The discount airlines of Frontier, Spirit, etc have ZERO customer support. They cancel flights all. the. time. and do not notify or help you in any way. The old saying “you get what you pay for” is 1000% applicable here. And beware – their low cost ticket does not allow you to pick your seat, bring a carry-on or a checked bag. Once you add those options, you will be paying the same amount as a major airline.
NOW is the time to book your summer vacations. Because “Revenge Travel” (travelling to make up for lost time during the pandemic) is at an all-time high, destinations and flights are filling up quickly. There are also deals to be found and amazing experience opportunities still available, but they also will be snatched up soon. Contact me today to discuss your next amazing destination and how we can get you there!
