Experiential Travel on the Rise Compared to Conventional Tourism, New Report Shows

21-08-23

Recent data provided by Mabrian has revealed a notable ten percentage point rise in experiential activities of travellers, including Wellness, Active and Lifestyle, Nature and Food and Cuisine, over the past four years, surpassing traditional ones – Arts and Culture, Sunbathing, Family, Shopping and Nightlife.

According to the same source, as of June 2023, the proportion of experiential motivations has nearly reached a balanced 50/50 distribution which is a remarkable change from June 2019 when only Arts & Culture and Sunbathing accounted for 41 per cent of travel motivations, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

In this regard, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at Mabrian Carlos Cendra pointed out that the dynamics of travel are in a continuous state of transformation.

According to her, there is a shift towards seeking disconnection and immersing in experiences that prioritise a profound connection with both our surroundings and our inner selves.

“There’s an obvious impact of the pandemic and the effect of being locked down that made us realise how important it is to enjoy the outdoors and feel well and healthy during our free time, which has stuck in travellers’ motivations,” she also noted.

The report also shows that among the different activities, those that have experienced the most significant growth during these years, reaching high levels of interest, include Active & Lifestyle, Nature and Wellness.

In particular, regarding the first two, there is an apparent turning point since 2021, in line with the impact of the pandemic on these travel motives. In addition, Welfare has shown steady growth since 2019.

On the other hand, traditional activities that have witnessed a significant decline in their importance include Art and Culture and Sunbathing, which currently only account for 34 per cent of travel motivations. Based on the report, this marks a loss of seven percentage points since 2019.

Moreover, Mabrian stated that it conducted this report using Social Listening, which observed behaviours and instinctive tendencies of global travellers. As the authority explains, this approach controls harnesses the power of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, particularly Natural Language Processing techniques, to analyse and interpret over 400 million interactions on tourism-related social media platforms.

“The results of this study were presented during the webinar organised by AVIAREPS titled Changing traveller behaviour and trends, where besides from Mabrian’s study, Marriot International and Qatar Tourism presented their insights on this matter,” the report reads.

At the same time, it added that this comprehensive analysis spanned the observed time frame from the first half of 2019 to the opening half of 2023.