CheapOair Announces Predictions for 2017 Travel Trends

Leading Online Travel Agency predicts Millennials will have large impact on 2017 travel trends

 

CheapOair, a leading flights-focused hybrid travel agency, has announced its travel trend predictions for the upcoming year.  By analyzing year-over-year data, and taking factors into consideration such as the economy, demographics of travelers, current events, airline trends and more, CheapOair’s data team is anticipating some fascinating developments for 2017.

 

2017 Travel Trends include:

 

Millennial Travelers: Millennials are transforming the travel space as we know it. Over 80% of Millennials consider online travel reviews important and will shop multiple travel sites before making a purchase. Additionally, 76% seek out the help of friends and family through social media when planning their next getaway. When booking airfare, hotels, and rental cars, Millennials are using their phones or tablets nearly 50% of the time [1]. Consistent with their reliance on social media for planning trips, Millennials post to social media sites about their travel experience with nearly 73% posting at least once a day [2].

 

Business Travel:  In the next 4 years, Millennials will make up more than 50% of global workforce, and they are already the largest segment of business travelers [3].  According to the Global Business Travel Association, on average, business travelers took 6.8 trips last year, a number which is expected to increase to 7.4 next year. In 2016, Millennials were already reportedly taking 7.4 trips compared to 6.4 for Gen Xers and 6.3 for Boomers [4].

 

‘Bleisure’ Travel:  Business people traveling for work who tack on additional leisure travel days are now being labeled as ‘bleisure’ travelers.  Often, a family member or significant other come will along on these business trips so that after the ‘business’ portion of the trip is completed, they can spend a day or two vacationing. While the average age of business travelers is from mid-40s to mid-50s, the biggest increase in ‘bleisure’ travel is due to travelers aged mid-20s to mid-30s. According to a recent survey conducted by Hipmunk, 55% of Millennials said they would extend a business trip into a leisure trip compared to 28% for business travelers aged 35-54 [5].

 

Cuba: U.S. travelers to Cuba rose by 80% during the first 6 months of 2016 [6]. By 2017, ten airlines including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Frontier, Silver Airways, Spirit, Southwest, Sun Country, and United will begin regular daily and/or weekly service to 10 Cuban cities.  The island-nation has the potential to see additional growth in 2017, as long as the political relationship between the U.S. and Cuba remains stable.

 

Air Pricing Forecasts: The cost of airline fuel continues to remain flat, which should help keep airline tickets near record-low prices in 2017. According to the Global Business Travel Association, airfare is expected to increase by an estimated 2.5%, but fares may actually decrease in certain regions.  In recent years, Asia and LATAM (Latin America/Mexico) saw a nearly double-digit increase in capacity, which significantly drove down pricing. This has caused the expected average ticket cost for Asia and LATAM to decrease by 1.1% and 1.9% respectively [7].

 

Ancillary Revenues and Fees: According to a study conducted by IdeaWorksCompany, it is estimated that ancillary fees contributed to 9.1% of airline revenue in 2016, which has nearly doubled in the past six years. In 2017, ancillary products will continue to have an increasing impact, as they could contribute to over 10% of total airline revenue by the end of 2017. Originally, it was low-cost carriers such as Spirit Airlines that capitalized on this model, but it is expected that more airlines and travel companies will be implementing this in the near future [8].

 

Expected Overall Growth: The United States will continue to be the largest single market for domestic passengers, followed by China, which is firmly established in second place. The U.S. is also expected to reclaim the top spot from Germany for contributing the most international passengers [9].

 

By consistently monitoring travel trends, CheapOair’s mission is to educate and aid consumers and travel professionals in both planning their travel accommodations and staying current on the most popular destinations. With a portfolio of products, including rate and schedule information from 450 global airlines, CheapOair is a great way to book the travel that’s right for you.

 

For more information, please visit www.cheapoair.com, www.cheapoair.com/mobile, or our social media pages, facebook.com/cheapoair and twitter.com/cheapoair.

 

About CheapOair

CheapOair is a next generation concierge travel agency (online/traditional) that enables consumers to book travel online, on its award-winning mobile app, by phone or live chat. CheapOair bridges the gap between an online and traditional travel agency with certified agents available to help find deals and offers to destinations worldwide on over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels, and many car rental companies worldwide. Partner airlines benefit from access to CheapOair’s broad customer base that books high yield international travel and add-on ancillaries. Follow CheapOair on Facebook and Twitter to learn how to travel the world for less or go to www.cheapoair.com or call 1-646-738-4820).

 

Sources:

[1] http://www.internetmarketinginc.com/blog/millennial-travel-trends

[2] http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140610006008/en/Millennials-Indulge-Luxury-Hotel-Services-Chase-Marriott

[3] https://www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/content/millennial-business-travel-trends

[4] https://skift.com/2016/10/27/millennials-are-now-the-most-frequent-business-travelers/

[5] https://www.hipmunk.com/tailwind/generation-gap-what-your-age-says-about-how-you-travel-2/

[6] https://skift.com/2016/11/15/cubas-tourism-sector-sees-double-digit-growth-so-far-in-2016-thanks-to-the-u-s/

[7] http://www.gbta.org/foundation/pressreleases/Pages/rls_071416.aspx

[8] http://www.ideaworkscompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Press-Release-115-Global-Estimate.pdf

[9] http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2013-12-10-01.aspx

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