Experiencing Europe: Unveiling new travel motivations and trending destinations for 2024

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Mabrian, a prominent travel intelligence company, has unveiled its latest examination of the evolving travel motivations for 2024, focusing particularly on shifting trends in European travel and the destinations showing the most promise for the year ahead. Employing advanced methodologies, including sentiment analysis of traveler discussions on social media and transactional data regarding future air connectivity, the study provides valuable insights into changing patterns of tourist interest in Europe and identifies destinations strategically positioned to capitalize on emerging trends.

Mabrian’s analysis highlights a global surge in experiential travel, particularly evident in Europe, with a specific emphasis on active and natural tourism. Leading this transformation are Northern European countries, positioning themselves as prime beneficiaries of this evolving demand. Italy emerges as the top potential trending destination for 2024, followed by France and Germany. Noteworthy regions such as Piedmont in Italy, New Aquitaine in France, and the East of England stand out as top destinations, showcasing a blend of cultural, natural, and gastronomic attractions, complemented by robust air connectivity.

Key Conclusions for 2024:

1. Shift Towards Experiential Travel: Mabrian’s analysis indicates a global trend towards more experiential and less conventional travel motivations, with an 8% increase in experiential travel since 2019. Experiential tourism encompasses activities such as active, natural, gastronomic, and wellness experiences.
2. European Trends Reflecting Global Change: Europe has experienced an 8% growth in experiential activities from 2019 to 2023, reducing the prominence of conventional motivations. Active and nature tourism emerge as the fastest-growing, gaining 5 and 3 percentage points, respectively.
3. Countries Best Positioned for Experiential Tourism: Northern European countries, including Iceland, Norway, Finland, Slovenia, and Switzerland, are better positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for experiential activities, holding a share of over 60% in visitor interest.
4. Potential Trending Destinations for 2024: Italy leads with the most potential destinations (four), followed by France and Germany with two each. The top 10 trending regions for 2024 also include the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Top 3 Trending Destinations:

1. Piedmont Region, Italy: Notable for destinations like Turin, Stresa, and Alba, Piedmont stands out with a balance of cultural and natural offerings, featuring prominently in gastronomic experiences and benefiting from positive trends in flight accessibility.
2. New Aquitaine, France: Featuring destinations such as Bordeaux, Biarritz, and Limoges, this region stands out for its oenological and gastronomic products alongside active tourism, enjoying good and stable air connectivity.
3. East of England, United Kingdom: Encompassing Cambridge, Essex, and Norfolk, this region achieves a balance between cultural and natural offerings, positioning it as a growing destination with solid and stable connectivity.

To complete the top 10 trending destinations, notable mentions include Occitania (France), Campania (Italy), North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), Lombardy (Italy), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), the province of Hamburg (Germany), and the province of Lisbon (Portugal).

The study analyzed over 380 million tourist mentions online from January to October of the current year, comparing them with the four previous years. Utilizing Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing on big data from social media, the analysis interprets spontaneous conversations related to travel. Additionally, transactional data on future air connectivity has been employed to identify destinations potentially trending in the coming months.

In conclusion, Mabrian’s 2024 trend analysis unveils a dynamic shift towards experiential travel globally, with a specific focus on Europe, where Italy, France, and Germany emerge as key players in the upcoming travel trends for 2024.

Carlos Cendra, CMO of Mabrian, comments, “While it is challenging to generalize trends today, given the disparity of segments and interests, it is crucial to identify the global and structural shift in travel motivations, especially among the new generations. Each destination possesses unique characteristics and a distinct tourism offering, but all must pay attention to the evolution of traveler motivations and strive to adapt their offerings as agilely as possible, given the competition is global and increasing.”

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