Three Travel Trends to Watch in 2022

The pandemic has changed how we travel, both present and future. The fall of 2021 brought an anticipated revival to the industry with the U.S. reopening to vaccinated travelers and some key destinations easing restrictions.

At trivago, we’ve been reporting on emerging travel trends since the start of the pandemic. We have seen changes in where people want to travel, how long they want to stay, how they are dealing with restrictions and even what consumers would give up in exchange for being able to travel freely again (you might be surprised, see here). Today with more travelers on the go than we’ve witnessed in many months, travel philosophies and plans have continued to sway. Consumers have broader needs than before the pandemic, including safety, value and the overall travel experience. Travelers still want to know that if they can travel, they’ll be able to return home and not get stuck due to changing lockdowns and quarantines.

As we look toward 2022, here are important travel trends on our radar.

• Big plans in the big city: After COVID-19 hit, we saw a shift towards beach and nature destinations. Consumers were looking to get away from crowds, visit the great outdoors and, most important, relax. More recently, as we see some restrictions lift, we foresee the return of travel to cities such as London, Amsterdam, Singapore, New York and Chicago, to a name a few.
• Staycations are here to stay: A major trend the pandemic spotlighted is that some of us really like to stay home…or at least near home. Consumers learned to love their surroundings even more during lockdowns, and in turn, gravitated toward shorter trips closer to home. For many travelers, the further away from home they go travel, the more uncertain they might feel. Staycations bring the same energy of travel to consumers, with the added safety of being able to quickly bug out if necessary.
• Business travel will continue to lag: The rise in COVID-19 cases in the summer of 2021 caused many businesses to rethink office reopening plans, mostly halting the return of business-travel. We expect the ongoing shift toward remote work and improving solutions such as videoconferencing for sales and marketing to continue to depress business travel continue. Look for a small uptick next year, especially to city hubs like New York and London, but a full return to business travel looks further off.

The year 2022 will be a pivotal time for the travel industry overall. Armed with the right information and insights, we can all be better prepared to overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities as they emerge.