Come next year, travellers are expected to make trip decisions based on screen inspirations, affordable duplicates, concert draws and AI assistance, say Expedia Group’s Unpack ’24 study that involved 20,000 respondents worldwide.
Tour tourism will continue to thrive in 2024, as consumers combine their favourite concerts with destination exploration
Set-jetting
For 2023, Expedia predicted travellers would turn to television sets and movie screens for travel inspiration. They did, and the trend shows no signs of stopping in 2024. More than half of travellers say they have researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or movie, and one in four admit that TV shows and films are even more influential on their travel plans than they were before. In fact, travellers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok and podcasts.
Expedia search data indicates a similar trend. Following the release of Wednesday on Netflix, Expedia saw a 150% increase in travel searches for Romania. Searches to Paris increased 200% after Emily in Paris debuted its previous season.
Given the popularity of this travel trend, Expedia compiled its first-ever Set-jetting Forecast predicting what entertainment-inspired destinations travellers will head to in 2024, based on upcoming show and film releases and travel data from the Expedia Group platform.
Romania inspired by Wednesday season 2
Paris inspired by Emily in Paris season 4
South Korea inspired by Squid Game season 2
Thailand inspired by The White Lotus season 3
Malta inspired by the new Gladiator 2 film
Scottish Highlands inspired by the remaining seasons of Outlander
London, Bath and Windsor, UK inspired by the new season of Bridgerton and The Crown season 6.
Destination dupes
Expedia’s 2024 destinations of the year are destination dupes — places that are a little unexpected, sometimes more affordable, and every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true destinations travellers love.
The 2024 destination dupes all experienced a notable uptick in searches over the past year. In fact, global searches for the Top 5 destinations on the list more than doubled YoY.
Taipei (dupe for Seoul) – 2,785%
Pattaya (dupe for Bangkok) – 250%
Paros (dupe for Santorini) -195%
Curaçao (dupe for St. Martin) – 185%
Perth (dupe for Sydney) – 110%
Liverpool (dupe for London) – 95%
Palermo (dupe for Lisbon) – 90%
Quebec City (dupe for Geneva) – 60%
Sapporo (dupe for Zermatt) – 40%
Memphis (dupe for Nashville) – 15%
Tour tourism
In 2023, the cultural impact of the Eras and Renaissance tours was undeniable, driving ticket sales as well as travel and tourism. Expedia predicts that tour tourism will continue to thrive in 2024. Nearly 70% of survey respondents say they are more likely to travel to a concert outside their own town, with over 40% saying they’d travel for a concert as an excuse to visit a new place. In a new twist to tour tourism, perhaps driven by ticket prices, 30% of travellers say they would travel outside of their home city for a concert because tickets were cheaper elsewhere. Unexpected places on Expedia’s list of top tour tourism destinations are Kuala Lumpur, Edmonton, Canada, and Mexico City.
Gen gen AI
While generative AI tools like ChatGPT took centre stage in 2023, only 6% of travellers used it to plan their trip. In 2024, Expedia predicts the generation of generative AI travellers will come of age and fully embrace this tech throughout their travel journey. In fact, survey data reveals that half of travellers are interested in using generative AI to plan their next trip, and the percentage is even higher among Singaporeans (68%).
What drives this trend is generative AI’s ability to simplify planning and shopping through a conversation. Nearly 40% of travellers say they would use this tech to find the perfect stay, 35% would plan activities and things to do, 33% would compare flight options, and 20% of travellers would change or cancel their travel plans.
Come next year, travellers are expected to make trip decisions based on screen inspirations, affordable duplicates, concert draws and AI assistance, say Expedia Group’s Unpack ’24 study that involved 20,000 respondents worldwide.
Set-jetting
For 2023, Expedia predicted travellers would turn to television sets and movie screens for travel inspiration. They did, and the trend shows no signs of stopping in 2024. More than half of travellers say they have researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or movie, and one in four admit that TV shows and films are even more influential on their travel plans than they were before. In fact, travellers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok and podcasts.
Expedia search data indicates a similar trend. Following the release of Wednesday on Netflix, Expedia saw a 150% increase in travel searches for Romania. Searches to Paris increased 200% after Emily in Paris debuted its previous season.
Given the popularity of this travel trend, Expedia compiled its first-ever Set-jetting Forecast predicting what entertainment-inspired destinations travellers will head to in 2024, based on upcoming show and film releases and travel data from the Expedia Group platform.
Destination dupes
Expedia’s 2024 destinations of the year are destination dupes — places that are a little unexpected, sometimes more affordable, and every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true destinations travellers love.
The 2024 destination dupes all experienced a notable uptick in searches over the past year. In fact, global searches for the Top 5 destinations on the list more than doubled YoY.
Tour tourism
In 2023, the cultural impact of the Eras and Renaissance tours was undeniable, driving ticket sales as well as travel and tourism. Expedia predicts that tour tourism will continue to thrive in 2024. Nearly 70% of survey respondents say they are more likely to travel to a concert outside their own town, with over 40% saying they’d travel for a concert as an excuse to visit a new place. In a new twist to tour tourism, perhaps driven by ticket prices, 30% of travellers say they would travel outside of their home city for a concert because tickets were cheaper elsewhere. Unexpected places on Expedia’s list of top tour tourism destinations are Kuala Lumpur, Edmonton, Canada, and Mexico City.
Gen gen AI
While generative AI tools like ChatGPT took centre stage in 2023, only 6% of travellers used it to plan their trip. In 2024, Expedia predicts the generation of generative AI travellers will come of age and fully embrace this tech throughout their travel journey. In fact, survey data reveals that half of travellers are interested in using generative AI to plan their next trip, and the percentage is even higher among Singaporeans (68%).
What drives this trend is generative AI’s ability to simplify planning and shopping through a conversation. Nearly 40% of travellers say they would use this tech to find the perfect stay, 35% would plan activities and things to do, 33% would compare flight options, and 20% of travellers would change or cancel their travel plans.