2024 Travel Trends + Travel Coaching
A recent TravelPulse article discussed The Travel Trends That Will Define 2024. Here’s how some of these trends fit into Travel Coaching.
Learning about and immersing into other cultures: Travelers have a natural curiosity for how other people around the world live. We saw this in our own TCN 2023 Study on the Deeper Reasons for Why People Travel where our second highest category was Learning About and Experiencing Other Cultures. When you step out of your comfort zone and dive into another culture that opens your eyes, mind, and heart to what else exists in this world, you undoubtably will have an experience that changes who you are. As a Travel Coach, suggest destinations that best suit the cultural experiences that your clients are looking for while explaining how those experiences can enhance their trip.
Making a positive impact: Travelers are becoming more mindful of the impact that they make on the Planet and local communities than ever before which is encouraging them to make travel decisions that leave less of an imprint. Through sustainable efforts, mindful destination choices, off-the-beaten path places, volunteering, giving back, and supporting local businesses, you can educate and encourage your travelers to feel better about their trip decisions by traveling more sustainably.
Increased human connection: Something that many travelers crave is a sense of connection whether it’s through the people that we travel with or the people that we meet along the way. Incorporating the intentional actions of connecting with others while traveling is something that you can do as a Travel Coach to help your travelers branch out of their comfort zone and create the connections, memories, and experiences that matter most.
Wellness and self-care: Travel is a powerful tool for mental, emotional, physical, intellectual, and overall wellbeing and it’s no secret that people turn to travel for self-care and healing in a variety of ways. In our TCN 2023 Study, the most popular reason for why people traveled on a deeper level was for personal development and self-discovery including for a transformation, finding themselves, finding their purpose in life, boost their confidence, feeling empowered, and other personal goals. As a Travel Coach, it’s important to get to know your client on a deeper level through effective questioning and active listening so that you can help them bring awareness to what type of wellness experience they are in need of.
Active travel: Outdoor activities like walking, trekking, kayaking, and cycling are growing in popularity according to the article. These activities are ways that people can push themselves out of their comfort zone while also spending time in nature, both are underlying reasons for why people crave a travel experience in the first place. As a Travel Coach, instead of just helping your clients be more active on a trip, help them bring awareness to what exactly they are searching for internally and externally during a physical activity so that they can be more mindful during their activities.
Budget-friendly travel: As Travel Coaches, we know that travel do not need to cost an arm and a leg to have an incredible experience and to visit remarkable destinations. Helping travelers find better travel deals is nothing new but as Travel Coaches, you can help empower your clients to be able to find deals on their own or sculpt their travel experiences around their own time frame and budget.
Longer slower trips often with multiple destinations and less busy itineraries: Travel experts are used to creating strict itineraries that fill the client’s every moment but according to the TravelPulse article, people are looking for less busy schedules along with traveling for an extended period of time. In the world of Travel Coaching, we understand how beneficial travel is for us in many ways and how fulfilling it is to spend more time in a place and to be able to travel longer. Helping your clients create a plan for themselves on not only where to travel to and what to do there but in a time frame that satisfies the goals that they have set for themselves. There’s a reason for why we want to travel and “get away” for a certain amount of time and as a Travel Coach, you can help your clients reach those goals by better understanding their needs and providing proper guidance and support.
Passion first, then the destination: Travelers are beginning to choose their experiences first and then selecting the destination that suits them. This is why as a Travel Coach, it’s crucial that you speak to the needs, desires, and interests of your clients in your marketing rather than promoting a destination that may not be the right fit for your ideal client. What I mean by “needs” and “interests” of your ideal clients is what are they looking for internally? How are they feeling before their trip vs. how do they want to feel during and post trip?
I challenge you to take a look at these 2024 travel trends and identify which ones align with and relate best to your Travel Coaching business and your ideal clients so that you can implement them in an effective and meaningful way that enables you to provide your clients with impactful and transformative experiences.
