New Holiday Travel Trends

Not only are travelers looking to indulge in new travel experiences, they are also treating themselves to an extra special holiday season this year with 76 percent of travel agents reporting that travelers are booking more luxury vacations this season than ever before. Sixty-eight percent of Travel agents are seeing an increase in five-star hotel bookings and 54 percent are seeing an increase in first-class and business-class travel bookings.

Agents revealed that luxury travel this holiday season has increased the most among couples (48 percent) and families (48 percent); followed by mature travelers (31 percent), and singles (10 percent). The poll also revealed that 24 percent of agents are booking more holiday travel overall this year than last, with the majority (43 percent) saying that holiday vacation budgets are exceeding $2,000 per person.

Home based travel agents say that beach/resort, cruise, and ski/mountain vacations top the list as favorite getaways. Fifty-eight percent say that families with children are booking the most holiday travel this year, followed by couples (18 percent), and relatives traveling together (14 percent). The top reasons for taking a holiday vacation instead of staying home are that kids are off from school (48 percent), people are able to take time off (43 percent), a desire to relax and get away from it all (35 percent), an interest in experiencing a new culture or country (27 percent), and the desire to celebrate the season in a new way (26 percent).