Which Traveller Tribe are you in? Amadeus defines future travellers

Amadeus commissioned a global research study – Traveller Tribes 2033 – which identifies four traveller categories that will develop in the next 10 years and will be future target consumers. It does so by examining the motivations, emerging traveller traits, behaviours and preferences, to understand exactly what it is that travellers will want a decade from now.

Moving beyond the limitations of traditional segmentation, this psychographic approach identifies four key Traveler Tribes likely to be dominant in 2033:

Excited Experientialists – This group has a ‘try it and see’ approach to life and travel. 44% are without children and have a mid- to high-income job with flexible working options, which enables them to readily explore the world. They have a you only live once (YOLO) approach. They are more likely than other travelers to act on instinct, making them 2033s ‘anti-planners’, favoring less predictable and more exciting accommodation experiences. They are also open to technology that helps them ‘speed up’ certain aspects of their journey, with many expecting to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the airport environment.

Memory Makers – This group takes a more simplified approach to travel: to make memories and visit places. 44% are aged 42 and over and are habitual in their travel behaviors. The future can be a daunting prospect for them. They put people first and place less value on technology and sustainability, reassured by existing methods. However, despite their skepticism about technology, they are excited about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) preview tours with the majority expected to use VR tours before purchasing a trip.

Travel Tech-fluencers – This group includes today’s young business travellers with a forward-looking perspective on life. 48% of the group are under the age of 32 and their perspective is symbolized by how much technology they own. However, there is a discord when it comes to what excites and concerns them around the future of technology and travel. While many want to travel sustainably, it seems they are more conscious about sustainability options around their method of travel, rather than where they’ll be staying.

Pioneering Pathfinders – Individuals in this group live a fast-paced life, always looking for their next adventure. Their life is in full swing with 82% between the ages of 23 and 41. They like to plan but are not afraid of risk and are open to new experiences. This group is more willing than others to let sustainability influence their decisions. They will also be very comfortable using all forms of alternative payment methods in 2033, whether via cryptocurrency or within a virtual reality environment.

The global survey was conducted by research firm Northstar Research Partners in July to October 2022 and involved speaking to 22 experts from different fields – inside and outside of travel – then surveyed 10,345 travellers from 15 countries and overall, collected 5.84 million data points.

The traveller tribes will most likely influence travel offerings adapting to the preferences of future consumers. “Whether now or 10 years from now, there will there are these four generations of travellers. You have the baby boomers right up to the Gen Z’s and that will continue. It’s not the end of the packages but a modification or evolution of packages. We’ll have these four generations of travelling and every generation has their own nuances of travelling or idiosyncrasies of travelling and so on and so forth,” says Karun Budhraja, senior vice president, marketing – Asia Pacific, Amadeus.

Ultimate travel tech platform

The report also suggests many travellers will be open to new and emerging technologies and will want to travel in more sustainable ways. But with some travellers concerned about the proliferation of technology and the increasing need for cybersecurity and data privacy, the industry must work together to ensure all travellers benefit from technological advances.

Amadeus is a leader in travel technology and uses artificial intelligence (AI) in their search engine. Amadeus has a strategic partnership with Microsoft to redefine corporate travel making booking business travel faster and easier. Cytric Travel & Expense, the Amadeus online booking and expense management tool, is now embedded in Microsoft 365 – introducing Cytric Easy.  Users can plan trips and share travel details with colleagues without ever leaving their day-to-day applications such as Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Teams.

While Amadeus is not working on a super app for travel, it aims to be the ultimate travel tech platform that connects all the travel suppliers.

“We work with many partners and we would like to offer the components that super players will need from us to power their Super App. We want to be the ultimate travel tech platform for the industry where we provide in and out services,” says Fred Barou, senior vice president, customer success management Asia Pacific, Amadeus.