What travel trends are set to dominate in 2024?

After years marked by an unprecedented health crisis, 2023 saw a return to a certain normality in the world of tourism. What’s next?

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Rising prices and the need to make choices

Inflation is falling, but is this reflected in our trip prices? Every traveller has noticed that from plane tickets to hotel nights, prices have soared for structural reasons (energy and labour costs) or more opportunistic reasons (strong desire to travel, demand outstripping capacity, etc.). Train ticket prices are set to rise in 2024. Admittedly, it is a moderate increase, but it is already making people cringe. In 2023, destinations as popular as Corsica bore the brunt of inflationary policies in summer.

How do travellers make their choices now?

Inflation has little impact on the number of departures. The desire to go away remains so strong that travellers keep their leisure budgets within bounds. Retired people, whose pensions have just been increased, are less penalised by inflation.

Nevertheless, holidaymakers may make sacrifices once at their destination, for example, by going out less or cutting their stay by one night.
There is a risk that hotels will become increasingly unaffordable for some travellers. Private rentals and furnished tourist accommodations should appeal even more to families as they align with their budget and household size.

Asia’s comeback in our travel plans

What if 2024 was the perfect year to return to Asia? Heavily affected by Covid, which was the epicentre, the continent has not had much chance to get back on its feet. Starting with an unexpected guest: China.

On November 24, the Middle Kingdom announced a one-year visa waiver for travellers from six countries, including Great Britain. Since then, applications have soared.

And France is not the only country to liberalise its entry policy: Mongolia has decided to extend its visa exemption for tourists until 2025, while Indonesia is expected to make it official in the coming weeks.

Since January 1, Cambodia has required only an electronic travel authorisation (instead of entry, health and customs declaration forms). Vietnam now allows visa-free travel for up to 45 days – compared with 15 previously.

More anticipation for the Olympic Games

Hotels are at astronomical prices, and public transport fares are doubled… With seven months to go until the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Parisians and travellers are already observing some of the (harmful) effects of the sporting competition.

A recent study condemned the exorbitant rates charged by several Paris hotels during the event, with some going so far as to quintuple their rates. This situation was one that many travellers had anticipated or even over-anticipated.

Also, we’ve never seen bookings so far in advance. We received the first bookings as early as March 2023, even though the Olympic Games are scheduled for July 2024. This phenomenon is visible in all the major host cities (Paris, Lille, Marseille, etc.) and the surrounding areas, such as Reims (50 min by TGV from Paris).
As well as being better anticipated, the summer 2024 holidays will likely be longer. Some travellers may be tempted to stay longer at their holiday resort or second home, while some companies already encourage their employees to telework during the Olympics.

The countryside, ever more “in.”

Since the COVID crisis, the French have become increasingly inclined to go green, to the point where it has become a holiday option in its own right. Already last year, the Expedia group noted the need for nature as one of the major travel trends. The phenomenon is growing stronger as the accommodation on offer becomes more structured. A good example is the number of summer nights spent in rural areas, which increased by more than a million in 2023.

Industrial tourism could also benefit from this boom as more factories and production sites open their doors to visitors. Some regions, often considered to be the underdogs, are doing very well, such as the Ruhr. Germany’s bastion of heavy industry has become a cultural centre in just a few years, with 1,000 listed industrial monuments, 200 museums, and 120 theatres.

The discreet charm of the “dupes”, those second-rate destinations

Instead of Mont Saint Michel in France, why not visit St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall?

Stretch out your towel on the Côte Bleue rather than crowd into the creeks of Marseille, discovering the very British St Michael’s Mount to avoid the queues at Mont Saint-Michel (2.8 million visitors by 2022)… When travelling, the temptation to take the low road is nothing new. It’s common sense to avoid the crowds by opting for a lesser-known equivalent of the great classics.

But the trend has undoubtedly increased since the end of the pandemic, as prices soar, mass tourism is the subject of government plans, and awareness of the fragility of ecosystems encourages more remarkable restraint.

In 2023, social networks and, in their wake, communications agencies and tourist offices have seized on this (old) idea to turn it into a concept: the ‘dupes’. In other words, doubles, twins or, in a more pejorative sense, counterfeits. Take two places that look the same, put their photos together on Instagram or TikTok and ask your followers to recognise the original and the copy. The answer? Never the one you think, of course! In December, a study by the Expedia platform estimated that one in three French people had already succumbed to the discreet charm of “dupes” – most often to escape tourists (48%).

Taipei (instead of Seoul) was the second most popular destination in 2023, with 2800% more searches, and Paros (instead of Santorini) had 193% more inquiries.