Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the alliance of independent hotel brands, has revealed the leading destinations for 2024 and what motivates travelers to travel to these places.
Japan and Thailand have emerged as the most popular destinations, followed by Spain, Canada and Hawaii, according to a survey of its GHA Discovery loyalty program.
The desire to explore new destinations and experiences was the main driver behind travel decisions, the survey found.
Among the regions, Europe was the most preferred region to visit in 2024, while staycations have been booming in Asia, followed by members in China who plan to go on more than five such vacations. This was followed by Thailand and Malaysia, with more than four trips.
Similar to the 2022 study, leisure was the primary driver for travel among GHA Discovery members. Across regions, the majority of participants said they intended to plan one business trip on average and two to four trips for leisure.
The robust rebound of Asian outbound travel has been clear and led by China. Members in China plan to take six to seven leisure trips (an average of 6.8) in 2024, followed by Hong Kong (6.7), Thailand (6.4) and Germany (6.1). Travelers in the Middle East and Africa plan almost the same number of business and leisure trips (4.9 compared to 4).
“Travel is back on all fronts with every region thriving, and despite disruptions in certain markets, we are optimistic for another strong year in 2024,” said Kristi Gole, GHA’s executive vice president of strategy. “Travellers are still willing to pay premium prices to get where they want and to stay in the best hotels, but they now expect the product and service levels to match and want loyalty programs to add value and enhance each stay.”
Destination preferences by region include:
Asia: Traveler’s intent to visit and book trips to Japan, China and Thailand remained the same as in 2023, revealing travelers’ interest in exploring intra-regional destinations.
Europe: Travelers preferred Japan and Thailand for the second consecutive year but replaced their 2023 hotspot of the U.S. with plans to dive deeper into their own region. Spain and Italy emerged as the leading destinations.
Australia and New Zealand: Travelers have been opting for Singapore and the U.K. to travel in 2024, with Sydney emerging as a city hotspot for a staycation. In Europe, travelers preferred Portugal.
North America: Travelers continue to show their preferences to travel to Japan, which was a favorite in 2023 as well. However, China was replaced with getaways in Hawaii, Spain and Thailand. This market has the least interest in staycations, with an average of more than two planned.
Middle East and North Africa: Japan remained a favorite in 2024 as well, but Canada and Oman emerged as the new most preferred destinations in these regions, compared to Italy and Singapore in 2023.
Motivations and inspirations for traveling included:
- Social media: This was the leading source of inspiration, with 75% of participants saying they travel to new places after seeing images on their acquaintances’ posts. Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Oceania led this trend. In Europe and North Africa, travel magazines are still an important source, but recommendations from friends and family were more influential.
- Family and foodie breaks: In an indication of ‘normal’ demand patterns, following the post-COVID ‘revenge travel’ phase, members seem to be opting to travel with their partners and intimate family trips instead of solo trips or mega vacations with extended family. The trend of foodie breaks has been increasing and has overtaken wellness getaways as the most desired travel experience.
- Influence by loyalty programs: Loyalty program websites and apps are currently the leading choice for travel research and booking across all regions, increasing sharply from 2023. This was followed by online travel agent sites and dedicated review portals, all preferred to brand and hotel sites. This reveals that travelers search from a range of options in one place to save time and effort. When deciding on hotels, the quality of accommodation and the benefits of its loyalty program were the most significant factors, marking a change from 2023 when location, area and price were prioritized.
- Upgrades in demand: Special rates and hotel benefits were the most crucial in-hotel loyalty benefits by members of loyalty programs worldwide. The biggest change was observed in Europe, where discounts were the top pick in 2023, but in 2024, benefits like room upgrades, early check-in and late checkout were valued much more. Across all regions, 70% of elite GHA Discovery members place room upgrades at the top of their preferences, advocating for more availability of this benefit.