Travel trends in 2019: What to expect and how to prepare
There are some exciting trends on the horizon in 2019, many of which are likely to make significant and positive changes to the future of tourism. In this blog, we explore trends expected to make waves in the industry during 2019, and more importantly, provide you with resources and tools to prepare your tour operator business or DMC for the changes ahead.
We’ve seen this one coming for the past few years now, and 2019 is predicted to be the year when we see consumers’ demand for more sustainable travel come to a tipping point. Tour operators and DMC’s will have to adapt their practices as sustainable tourism is no longer a trend, it’s an expectation.
This year we have seen an unprecedented interest in the concept of niche travel, and we expect that interest to grow and evolve the travel industry as we know it. The concept of niche is not a new one, however, the way in which it’s being applied in tourism is certainly turning heads.
As travel becomes more accessible the possibility of running a profitable tour operator business targeting a narrow subset of the population is now more realistic than ever before.
Download this free eBook to discover the advantages your business stands to gain from niche travel focus and explore some of the niche markets that are set to take 2019 by storm.
It’s not the most exciting of topics, but it’s a hugely important one. As you come into 2019 we urge you to take some time out to assess your business and find areas where you can strengthen your security.
One update to make in 2019 that requires minimal effort is to ensure your website has a valid SSL certificate (this certificate controls whether or not your website URL can be accessed via the https:// prefix or not). Without an SSL certificate you can expect your website’s ranking on Google to begin to drop throughout the year as the tech juggernaut has announced their continued effort towards cleaning up the internet.
Learn how to check and update your SSL certificate here
In 2019 the travel industry is expected to continue to grow making the value of belonging to a membership organisation even more important. Travel associations, online communities and other membership organisations offer exclusive access to education, networking opportunities and a deeply connected community of like minded travel professionals.
The only downside is that there are so many to choose from that it can be hard to know which membership is right for you. If you’re planning on joining one (or more) of these valuable organisations in 2019 then take a look at this A-to-Z list of travel associations and memberships.
People are working harder than ever, becoming burnt out faster and desiring trips that force them to disconnect from the busy world we live in. The anti-consumerism movement is more relevant than ever and is pushing travellers to seek more authentic, unique, hand-crafted experiences.
Our free eBook on the luxury travel market explores the travellers growing desire for off-the-grid experiences and gives an insight into how you can tailor your tours to suit this growing phenomenon.
2018 was the year of women-only travel, and 2019 is set to see this trend continue to grow as the travel trend moves into ‘social norm’ territory. Travelweekly explains that in 2019, more women will find empowerment in travel.
Many tour operators are sensing the growing need for women-only tours, click here to learn more about how to prepare your travel business.
The world’s biggest update to data privacy laws came into effect in 2018, and many more similar laws are expected to follow. GDPR caused a frenzy across almost every industry in every country, and tourism was certainly not immune to its wrath. One significant impact that is only just starting to play out is the effect more stringent data privacy laws have on the way in which tour operators store any personally identifiable information, especially that of their travellers.
As we move into 2019 it is expected that the travel industry will steadily move away from old, insecure methods of storing and sharing information such as with Microsoft tools like Word and Excel. New laws will continue to favour the privacy and security of the general public, meaning responsible tour operators will need to look to more encrypted systems and tour operator software created with the latest privacy regulations firmly in mind. Click here to learn how to select the best tour operator software solution for your business in 2019.
Dive into the numbers with this round up of travel industry stats on 2018 and beyond
Take a journey back 12 months and see what trends were predicted for 2018
