Ahead of Berlin’s upcoming Arival 360 – the global conference for the tours, activities and experiences sector – Arival has revealed to European tour operators that U.S. travelers visiting the region this year are likely to take more tours than ever before, and younger travelers are less interested in sightseeing.
Arival’s 2024 U.S. Tour Taker Report reveals that today’s U.S. travelers are also taking more types of tours – including shopping, culinary, adventure, eco tours and specialty themed tours. Almost all of these tour categories saw an increase in uptake from U.S. travelers.
The report, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. travelers, is the newest report within Arival’s 2024 U.S. Experiences Traveler research series. The collection of reports delves into the emerging traits of today’s tour taker – who they are, what they want, and how they choose, book and share their experiences.
Notably, the report indicated a shift among younger U.S. travelers away from traditional sightseeing, instead moving towards other more experiential types of tours. Sightseeing tours remain popular overall, but this is driven largely by older travelers (55+), who are twice as likely to do sightseeing tours than 18-34-year-olds.
Younger travelers – in particular Gen-Z and Millennials – want more immersive, experiential tours. They are twice as likely (or more) as older travelers to do food tours, adventure and wellness, and special interest tours (these are tours focused on an area of industry such as photography or a specific theme in history, culture or art).
“These trends reflect the extraordinary shifts underway in how today’s travelers want a new type of tour – one that more deeply connects a visitor to a place and people and immerses them in an experiential activity,” said Douglas Quinby, co-founder and CEO of Arival. “International travel from the U.S. is increasing – and the way these consumers are traveling now is different. European tour operators should take note and act with intent – new, younger travelers from this region are looking for once-in-a-lifetime experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.”
Gen-Z traveler trends will be a hot topic at this year’s Arival 360 event, which is expected to attract hundreds of representatives from companies across the tours, activities, attractions and experiences sectors. Secured speakers include leaders from GetYourGuide, GlobalTix, Hotelbeds, Game of Thrones Studio, Holiday Extras… and many more.
The Arival 360 Conference will take place at the Estrel Berlin, one of the largest convention hotels in Berlin, from March 2-4.
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