New Traveler Insights Report from Expedia Group Media Solutions reveals sustained traveler enthusiasm and rising leisure and business travel intent
SEATTLE, Nov. 8, 2022 – Expedia Group™ Media Solutions, the global travel advertising platform connecting marketers with millions of travelers across the Expedia Group brands, today released its Q4 2022 Traveler Insights Report. The quarterly report combines Expedia Group first-party data from the third quarter of 2022 and the latest custom research with actionable insights and industry best practices to support travel marketers during continued rebuilding.
“The strong momentum we saw in the first half of this year is holding steady, with growth in some areas around the world, and traveler enthusiasm remains for trips now as well as into next year,” said Jennifer Andre, Global Vice President, Media Solutions. “Rising searches for holiday and 2023 travel, sustained interest in family travel and increased business and leisure travel intent are just a few of the trends we saw in Q3, indicating a strong end to 2022 and a positive outlook for 2023.”
Key findings from the Q4 2022 Traveler Insights Report include:
Sustained Traveler Interest
After multiple quarters of search growth globally, Q3 2022 search volumes across Expedia Group branded sites were flat quarter-over-quarter, following a similar pattern seen in Q2 2022. Despite some fluctuations throughout the quarter, positive trends emerged for some regions, notably APAC (Asia Pacific), as travel restrictions eased in the region.
Search volumes for 2022 to-date suggest that traveler interest and enthusiasm for travel remain consistent, and recent consumer insights underscore this further. According to the new Traveler Value Index 2023 study, 46% of consumers said travel is more important to them now compared to pre-pandemic.
Travelers Open to Planning Further Out
Most travelers are still planning trips in the near term, with global share of searches in the 0- to 90-day window holding steady quarter-over-quarter. Globally, the 0- to 21-day search window saw the largest growth, with a 10% increase in search share quarter-over-quarter. However, a historical comparison shows that Q3 2022 search share in the 91- to 180-day window is up 10% compared to Q3 2019, indicating that travelers are planning further out than even pre-pandemic.
The majority of global domestic searches in Q3 fell within the 0- to 30-day window. Meanwhile, the share of travelers globally searching for international destinations in the 180+ day window increased more than 10% quarter-over-quarter.
Holiday Travel & Beyond
This year, travelers planned ahead for the upcoming holiday season – a trend we also saw in Q3 2021. Globally, Q3 searches for travel during the holiday season (November and December) were up more than 60% year-over-year. This demand was particularly strong in APAC, where Q3 searches for the holiday season were up triple-digits year-over-year, indicating pent-up demand for holiday season travel and an optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2022.
Early searching for travel next year is also up year-over-year. When comparing next year searches made in Q3 2022 to next year searches made in Q3 2021, there was an almost 65% year-over-year increase, pointing to travelers’ confidence for planning trips further ahead. Furthermore, international family travel saw continued recovery in Q3, with international family travel demand up nearly 90% year-over-year.
City Breaks Grow in Popularity
Major cities and beach destinations—including New York, London, and Cancun—made the global top 10 list of booked destinations in Q3, but were again joined by city break destinations, including Chicago and newcomer, Boston. New York and London made the top 10 list of booked destinations by travelers across all regions, while Paris again made the top 10 lists for travelers from APAC, EMEA, and LATAM.
The rising appeal of city break destinations also occurred on regional top 10 lists of booked destinations, including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Istanbul, and a new addition, Berlin, in EMEA and Chicago and Boston, as well as newcomer Miami, in NORAM. In APAC, Bangkok entered the top 10, following the lifting of travel restrictions in Thailand on July 1.
Evolving Business Travel Outlook
While business travel volume is still down compared to 2019, the industry and consumer outlook on business travel is making gains. During Q3, there was a 10% year-over-year uplift in demand from travelers with a business travel profile, defined as a single adult with an average length of stay less than 4 days, and a trip start day on a weekday other than Thursday or Friday.
The Traveler Value Index 2023 study found that 32% of consumers plan to take a business trip in the next 12 months. Among those taking business trips, 76% plan to take a bleisure trip and 71% plan to take a flexcation, demonstrating the blurring lines between work and leisure travel. As traveler decisions may soon be more budget driven as a result of current economic conditions, bleisure travel represents a strategic opportunity for travel marketers to promote deals around extended stays.
More Traveler Insights
For more data and insights from more than 70 petabytes of exclusive global Expedia Group travel intent and demand data, download the full Q4 2022 Traveler Insights Report here. Subscribe to the Media Solutions blog and connect on Twitter and LinkedIn for more traveler trends and regional insights for marketers.
About Expedia Group Media Solutions
Expedia Group™ Media Solutions, the advertising organization of Expedia Group, offers industry expertise and digital marketing solutions that allow brands to reach, engage and influence its qualified audience of travelers around the world. Through its vast network of leading travel brands and global points of sale, Expedia Group Media Solutions provides marketing partners with proprietary data-driven insights about traveler behaviors during every stage of the purchase journey, along with dynamic advertising solutions, to deliver strategic campaigns and measurable results. For more information, visit www.advertising.expedia.com.
© 2022 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners. CST: 2029030-50