5 tourism trends of 2019 and how to adapt to them

Many articles have collected these days which will be the three, five or ten trends that will determine next year and will change the reasons why our guest will choose one destination or another. At AvaiBook, we do not want you to miss any of them, but we would also like to recommend you how you can adapt to them, so that you do not fall behind when facing these new movements and, of course, benefit from them.

 

Increased taste for the local things, especially the food

Many tourists last year declared that their favorite places to travel are those that provide them with personal enrichment or personal development. Moreover, they agreed about those new experiences are better when they are related to a social or cultural aspect. Travelers prefer to feel locals rather than tourists, so they appreciate initiatives that involve them in the day-to-day life and culture of the destination.

Do not sell beds but experiences. Assure them that their stay will bring them a personal benefit: organize activities that allow them to interact with the local community, provide them information about exhibitions by local artists, talks or events about your culture, or even cooking classes. If the latter is not possible, at least draw up a list of the best restaurants in your area where they can enjoy traditional cuisine.

Traveling only to disconnect is no longer fashionable. Now we look for complete experiences. This undoubtedly includes gastronomy. Knowing the flavours of local cuisines is currently one of our main objectives. In the United States, some hotels are beginning to include in their facilities a small gastronomic gallery where local restaurants have food stands. This is difficult for smaller businesses, but we propose you the following idea: a typical, healthy and tasty menu. We encourage you to create a menu with your chef that hightlights the qualities of the typical dishes of your region, with the goal of attracting diverse customer segments.

 

Sustainable and healthy accommodations

Travelers are increasingly aware of their ecological impact and seek to minimize it as much as possible, so a 2019 trend will be to stay in places that share these same values. They will appreciate measures that reduce the environmental impact or generate energetic efficiency.

You can work in this area in many ways. Install lighting and climate control systems to turn them off when the room is empty, take recycling as a priority (e.g. use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins and avoid using plastics) or save water with dual flush or interruptible flush systems.

You can also encourage your guests to join in these sustainability measures. Write notes with advices, for example, “use water responsibly when showering”. And… Had you ever thought about offering a bycicle rental service? It’s a small but visible gesture and it helps to reduce pollution.

The following measure is less common than the other ones but some establishments are already starting to implement it: planting an orchard. It does not have to be 100 square meters or grow a huge amount of organic vetegables, but a small orchard or rooftop garden can help you offset your carbon footprint. Also, if you have your own restaurant, you can discover the benefits of composting food waste.

In the end, not only will this benefit you from increased visits, you will also reduce your energy costs and save money. All in one.

 

Demographic changes

Purchasing power is now in the hands of the millennials and centennials. The first ones, born between 1980 and 2000 and the second ones, from the beginning of the new millenium.

What this generation is looking for is to discover something unique and personal. They are characterised by being practical: they are always connected and they are used to feedback and instant results. They look for enriching experiences beyond traditional services, and they are willing to pay for tecnhology and wellness services.

If you want them as your main target, try to incorporate tecnhology to your rooms. Of course, wifi is an unavoidable requirement, but it goes further because the love of smart rooms is something that is in crescendo among this generation. If this is too much, a smart TV that includes Netflix is quite well valued. And if not, it is a good idea for them to have the possibility of connecting their mobile devices to the TV and the audio equipment so they will be able to access to their own entertainment content.

On the other hand, there are social media. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the queens of this market. Boost your brand image through them. Create virtual communities, share content that may be attractive for your travelers and, if you want to bet on a specific content, it should be video. It is the most used by young people and it also has a much greater transfer of information.

 

Technological endowments

However, millennials and centennials are not the only ones who use technology. The tourists of now are hyperconnected, so there is a need for hostels to update their technological equipments.

Offer your services through the mobile channel. Travelers are increasingly demanding that processes such as Check-in, reservation management and payment of services, which are still carried out at the hotel, be speeded up through the computer and the mobile phone. This is easy through a software such as AvaiBook. In our case, we offer you all in one: channel manager, online payments, booking engine and booking management from the same place. Access more information on our plans and prices.

Moreover, the use of chatbots (instant chat programs) between owners and guests is proliferating. The best known are WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, but consider others such as Telegram or WeChat depending on the country of origin of your guests. They can be great allies to resolve your travelers’ doubts, about the acommodation schedule, scheduled activities or room problems. Contact will be direct and very quick, and they will appreciate it.

We take this opportunity to introduce you to what 5G will be: a safer and more agile connection. We are talking about download speeds 10 or 20 times faster than those we have today, which will undoubtedly change the behavior and demands of the future guests. Some experts talk about augmented reality: users will be able to visualize themselves in a room instead of just seeing photos. But do not worry, 5G is programmed to burst into hostels from 2020.

 

Micro trips planned in advance

Surveys reveal that tourists will prefer short stays and they will travel especially on weekends. They will be more reduced but tailor-made trips, more personal and rewarding. Why? I’m sure you have heard about someone who went to Paris and came back on the same day because they found a really cheap plane ticket. This is going to be common in 2019. The prices of routes and transport will fall and this practice will become a trend.

And you will think: are two or three days enough? Well, many respondents say they are able to relax in just two days of vacation. Remember that this year will also prioritize the personalization of experiences and that will help meet the needs of travelers more quickly and directly. Do not generalise. Offer different experiences depending on the type of client. A business traveler will not need the same as a leisure traveler. The first will appreciate a list of all the services offered by the hostel that could serve as, for example, a dry cleaning service. The second one, however, will prefer another set of recommendations such as local restaurants or fairs.

These express trips will increase the desire to stay in unique accommodations, and that will force travelers to make their reservations more and more in advance for fear of being left without a room in the most popular destinations. Faced with this, we recommend that you always have the calendar updated and show yourself willing and agile when thinking about alternatives.

 

And if, in addition to this, you add one of the previous recommendations, you will go the best way to position yourself as one of the most attractive options. After all, it’s all about adapting to change and anticipating what guests are looking for. Steve Jobs already defended it: it is innovation what distinguishes between learder and a follower.