US travellers visiting Europe this year are likely to go on more tours than ever before, and younger travellers are less interested in sightseeing, it has been revealed.

Arival’s ‘2024 U.S. Tour Taker Report’, published ahead of Berlin’s Arival 360 (March 2-4) – the global conference for the tours, activities and experiences sector – said today’s US travellers prefer tours that are related to shopping, culinary, adventure, environment and specialty themed tours. Almost all of these tour categories saw an increase in uptake from US travellers.

The report, which surveyed 1,000 US travellers, is the newest report within Arival’s 2024 ‘U.S. Experiences Traveler Research Series’.  The collection of reports delves into the emerging traits of today’s tour taker – who they are, what they want, and how they choose, book and share their experiences.

Notably, the report indicated a shift among younger US travellers away from conventional sightseeing. They are, instead, headed towards experiential tours.  Sightseeing tours remain popular overall, but this is driven largely by older travellers (55+), who are twice as likely to do sightseeing tours than 18-34-year-olds.

Younger travellers – in particular Gen-Z and Millennials – want more immersive, experiential tours. They are twice as likely (or more) as older travellers to do food tours, adventure and wellness, and special interest tours (these are tours focused on an area of industry such as photography or a specific theme in history, culture or art).

“These trends reflect the extraordinary shifts underway in how today’s travellers want a new type of tour – one that more deeply connects a visitor to a place and people and immerses them in an experiential activity,” said Douglas Quinby, co-founder and CEO of Arival. 

“International travel from the US is increasing – and the way these consumers are travelling now is different.  European tour operators should take note and act with intent – new, younger travellers from this region are looking for once-in-a-lifetime experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.”

Gen-Z traveller trends will be a hot topic at this year’s Arival 360 event taking place at the Estrel Berlin, one of the largest convention hotels in Berlin. It is expected to attract hundreds of representatives from companies across the tours, activities, attractions and experiences sectors. Speakers include leaders from GetYourGuide, GlobalTix, Hotelbeds, Game of Thrones Studio, Holiday Extras. – TradeArabia News Service