Amadeus identifies future of 'traveller tribes'

A new report has identified six types of traveller that are expected to emerge by the end of the next decade.

In its latest study, travel technology company Amadeus defines the six “traveller tribes” that it expects will segment the industry by 2030.

Written by The Future Foundation, the report asserts that as the type of travel experience evolves over the next 15 years, so will the way travellers buy and engage with the industry.

Nick Chiarelli, director of the Future Foundation, said the travel industry should expect to see the much greater focus on cultural authenticity and morality, as well as on social media interaction.

“Over the next 15 years the desire to share travel experiences will be profound, and so too the impact of sharing on inspiration and purchase trends will grow,” Chiarelli said.  “As consumers in developed markets approach a post-material era we expect a much greater focus on, first of all, experience, and second of all, ethics, both environmental and social, to significantly influence people’s travel choices and behaviours.”

The six traveller types defined by the report include ‘Social Capital Seekers’, which structure their holidays based on the response of online audiences, ‘Cultural Purists’, who seek authenticity, and ‘Ethical Travellers’, who make travel plans based on moral or environmental grounds.

Then there are ‘Simplicity Searchers’, who will prefer bundled offers, ‘Obligation Meeters’, driven by a specific travel purpose, and finally ‘Reward Hunters’, who are only interested in indulgent luxury travel.

“Looking back 15 years it is hard to underestimate how far the travel industry has come in terms of innovation, cost and choice for travellers. And yet now, as we look forward 15 years to 2030 it is clear that change will only accelerate,” said Julia Sattel, Amadeus’ senior vice president of airline IT.

“With this in mind, understanding the emerging ‘traveller tribes’ will be vital to all providers, buyers and sellers of travel in the coming years, in order to ensure the right investment decisions are made now, and to help facilitate and cater to the clear trend and demand in the industry for far greater personalisation than ever before across the entire travel chain.”

By 2030, more than 1.8 billion people will travel internationally every year, up from 1.1bn last year.
Source: Travel Daily