6 Unique Groups of Travelers
1.3 billion lucky people today enjoy the amazing benefits of enriched travel experiences.
The quality, access and variety of travel options possible is creating a different view of traveler’s personalities, wants, and buying behavior. Because very unique experiences are available to everyone of any age, background, or sex — matched perfectly to their travel dream.
And that change means travelers appear differently to travel agencies, hotels and tour companies. To understand them, deeper customer profiles are being developed. Which is why they’re hungry to track everything you do online.
Seeking the Right Experience for Me
Each traveler’s travel quest is to create their own unique, journey that satisfies their own personal longings. Yes, they want to be involved today, verifying the perfect itinerary. The demand for cliche packaged vacations is fading. And as travel agencies, tour companies and DMOs actually are selling “the joy of travel” it’s important for them to have a broad understanding of travel customer profiles.
And with advanced analytics, travel companies do know more about you and what you prefer. Everything’s working in your favor for even better travel experiences ahead.
Travel peak experiences are possible, because there’s less disappointment, better timing, more variety, with the right kind of booking tools, real time help, affordable accommodations and amenities for them.
Why You Should Get the Exact Travel Dream You Envision
Today, travel destinations, options, services have literally exploded. And as AI assisted scheduling is adopted, the logistical challenge finally disappears. As one of these lucky modern travelers, do you expect to be understood and have your ultimate dream travel itinerary experience ready to purchase?
If it’s not available, then travel companies may not be doing all they can to keep you happy.
Being well understood is good for you as a travel shopper because the travel company is focused on creating the exact, perfect experience you need. And those companies who respond to this are going to become better travel management companies.
Today’s travelers don’t fit the narrow straightjacket of boring cliche tourist types. That’s wonderful because it makes travel marketing that much more interesting and fun.
You might be shopping for hotel room in a touristy spot in Italy, booking food tours online as you go, then transition to an Airbnb in Switzerland where you’ll hike, ride cable cars, sample Authentic Swiss food, and mountain bike for a week, then venture over to Spain for quiet time in the sun for some Spanish cultural, history and cuisine immersion.
And today, with all the digital analytics tools available, travel companies should get this right and appreciate specifically what travelers want. One of the most important tasks of any startup travel company is to understand this sophisticated customer base.
To understand why you like to travel (your joy of travel) and why you make your travel choices, we need to take a different angle — based on what you want out of travel.
Traveler Intent, Motivation and Goals are the New Travel Demographic
This categorization I’m presenting to you here looks at travelers as a liquid pool of people of any race, color, religious ideology, income level, country, or marital status. Which school of fish do you want to belong to? It’s certain one will stand out as most desirable.
Travel companies too want to drill down to understand what are travelers core drivers (a concept I presented in another blog post).
Here’s 6 Traveler Types to Know
- The Experience Seeker: This adventurous traveler prioritizes unique and immersive experiences. This could be excursions to unknown places where they learn about human life from the eyes of others who are not part of their own culture. They seek cultural connections, off-the-beaten-path destinations, and activities that push their own boundaries of comfort and habit, to help transform their thinking, values and behaviors. Their core drivers are personal growth, challenge, emotion stimulating experiences and memories to cherish. They may be discontented with themselves and their lives and expect to rise up to become more worldly so they feel they’re in the life-experienced crowd. The experience seeker may be a romantic too, traveling with friends or a special someone, and see travel as a path to love or connection.
- The Relaxation Chaser: This traveler type craves rest and rejuvenation. Some seek luxurious accommodations, all-inclusive resorts, and stress-free itineraries focused on pampering and relaxation. Some look for modestly priced accommodations just to linger in another land for an extended period to let their worries, stress and exhausted minds and bodies heal. They may seek spas, wellness clinics, and beaches where they do nothing but rejuvenate themselves. They realize their health is important and they are learning to be true to themselves, something they have lost.
- The Budget Backpacker: These travelers can be young/old, male/female who want more vacation for less with less commitment and more flexibility. They’re often cost-conscious and seek flexible itineraries that access affordable flights/transit, hotel accommodations, discounted deals, cheap food, and good mobile accessibility. They could be seeking relaxation, transformation, excitement and more. Their core driver is a great vacation for an affordable cost. However, they are likely traveling and exploring for a purpose. Maybe to find themselves or find a lifestyle that fits them. Whatever it is, they want the freedom to pursue it creatively and flexibly on their own timeline.
- The Foodie Explorer: These are people are passionate about food and culture and they believe food/drink is the best way to experience life, friendship and joy. They seek destinations with renowned cuisines, cooking classes, and opportunities to sample local delicacies. They enjoy wine too and destinations such as Italy, Greece, Japan, Thailand, and Latin America will be high on their list.
- The Luxury Connoisseur: This group of wealthy, discerning traveler values high-end experiences and exclusive access where they avoid friction with the common crowds. They seek high end accommodations with the best hotels, private guided tours with perks, and trouble free VIP experiences, often focusing on iconic global destinations. They view themselves as unique, enabled, and that these elevated travel experiences are important to their status or a sophisticated personal identity.
- The Social Shutterbug: This type of traveler enjoys sharing their travels with family and friends back home and with the whole world often on Instagram and Facebook. They hunt for epic points in locations to capture stunning photos and videos for social media, often seeking trendy destinations and Instagramable visual experiences. They hunger for social acceptance, self-esteem, and freedom from boredom into places that they believe are epic experiences with very unique viewpoints. They may be social influencers or perhaps those who want to bring home the spirit of an uplifting experience to their friends and family. Their photos and videos help them express their personalities and values in a world that makes people feel invisible.
Did you find yourself among these types of travelers? It’s likely, you’re a combination of several of them. People are unique and seek a variety of benefits from their vacations or trips.
For travel management companies, OTAs, tour companies, or hotels, it’s vital to know traveler’s core drivers and motivators. Those who put together itineraries to match these types will see more bookings and customer loyalty.
Wanting to reach more travelers, grow bookings, and build your agency brand? Contact Gord at 416 998 6246.