Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has revealed that the recent cost-of-living pressures have not dented consumers’ travel budgets over the past 12 months. On the contrary, they are spending more: almost 80% of GCC respondents reported investing more money in travel, and nearly half of those said their budgets have increased “considerably”.

The major survey of over 3,800 global holidaymakers showed that ‘bleisure’, a trend of combining a work trip with leisure activities, is emerging as a popular habit among travellers following the pandemic.

Those working in the Gulf region seem to be the highest adopters of “bleisure” (71% of respondents) and UK among the lowest (15%). There are also generational nuances, with almost half of Gen Z respondents globally reporting a recent “bleisure” experience. Beyond flexible work schedules, the decision to blend trips is driven by the availability of on-site facilities and near-by activities.

These newly found patterns are likely here to stay and will have long-term implications for product and real estate for existing hospitality players. However, it is yet to be seen whether the “bleisure” travel trend is significant enough to warrant large investments in new infrastructure and real estate, or overhauls in distribution strategies.

Findings highlight the growing environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) awareness trend, thus prompting choices such as staycations, or traveling less frequently, but for longer durations. Gulf respondents were by far the most willing to pay extra for ESG considerations (83%). Within Europe, 66% of Germans said they were open to paying extra, while only 47% of those in the UK were willing to do so.

The increased focus on staycations suggests that hospitality brands and operators with ESG credibility are likely to see a bigger impact from targeted marketing efforts to more localised potential guests than big spending on general brand marketing campaigns.

Ed Bignold, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal, said: “Despite tougher economic times, more and more people are prioritising holidays, indicating that it’s one of the non-negotiables for household budgets, even if savings have dried up.

What was initially seen as just a rush to spend pent-up savings post covid has solidified into a sustained behavioural change. This explains why the holiday industry has been so resilient to the wider slowdown in discretionary spending so far this year and suggests that the outlook for the industry is much brighter than perhaps expected.

“Investors and operators should take note of the changing demands of holidaymakers, while they are seemingly not willing to pay more for more ESG credentials, there is evidence to suggest they are changing their behaviour as they become increasingly climate-conscious with holidays closer to home or fewer, but longer, trips.”

The report notes that social media platforms top the preference of travellers doing travel research in the Gulf countries, whilst globally, a majority of respondents (70%) use online travel agents (OTAs) to research, and 64% used such platforms to book a trip. Social media platforms including Instagram and Facebook are the second most-popular option in both cases.

This report is based on data from online surveys conducted by Alvarez & Marsal among 3,818 adults in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UAE and the UK. The survey was conducted in September 2023 and comprised a questionnaire of 39 closed-ended questions. – TradeArabia News Service