Post-pandemic travel boom, driven by youth, brings to light new global trends

By Tuba Ongun

Perth, AUSTRALIA (AA) - The COVID-19 pandemic held back travelers, but a global resurgence in tourism, especially among younger people, is now evident, said the CEO of global travel service provider Trip.com.

"We see more enthusiastic populations trying to travel around the world, especially young people who are keen on exploring new areas," Jane Sun told Anadolu.

She stressed that a key trend is the growing interest in "long-tail" destinations – lesser-known spots – that are becoming more accessible.

Sun pointed out the potential of partnerships, particularly with public transportation networks like Japan’s JR trains, to encourage travel to these under-the-radar destinations.

"Taking people not only to the most popular spots but also to long-tail areas is very interesting to the new generation of travelers," she said.

Event-driven travel, fueled by major concerts and global events like Taylor Swift’s tours, is also booming, Sun stressed, noting that governments can capitalize on this trend by investing in infrastructure to attract more visitors.

According to her, across Trip.com’s platform, entertainment-plus-travel products grew by 70% in the past year.

Highlighting that AI is a significant driver of productivity and customer satisfaction at Trip.com, Sun said: "AI has enhanced our customer service, allowing our call center to respond within 30 seconds. It also reduces coding time by 15% to 30% using tools like Copilot."

These technological advancements are improving both efficiency and customer experience, she added.

- China’s growing market

At the 24th Global Summit, co-hosted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Western Australia, Sun recalled that before COVID-19, China was the largest outbound travel market, representing 25% of global travel.

"Chinese travelers made 155 million outbound trips and spent $255 billion. At that time, only around 10% of China’s 1.4 billion population had passports," she said.

Predicting that the Chinese urban market is poised to become one of the largest in the world again, Sun said Chinese travelers made 87 million outbound trips in 2023, and the figure is expected to reach 130 million this year.

"Next year, the figure is projected to rise even further. As of the second quarter of 2024, Trip.com has seen outbound hotel and air ticket bookings recover to more than 100% of 2019 levels. Now Chinese travelers are back," she said.

Sun pointed out three new trends, which she called the “three Es” – entertainment-driven travel, eco-friendly travel, and elderly-friendly travel.

"People are more focused on low-carbon travel," Sun said, adding that orders for electric vehicles on Trip.com’s platform have doubled for outbound markets.

The third trend, elderly-friendly travel, is another rising opportunity, she stressed.

"By next year, over 100 million senior travelers will travel more often and spend more time,” Sun said, forecasting revenue from this demographic to exceed 1 trillion yuan ($141.6 billion).

- Visa-free travel could spark significant tourism boom

While the growth opportunities are vast, Sun also highlighted three key challenges the travel industry must address: visa access, flight availability, and service quality.

Underlining that Chinese travelers often book trips with short notice, she said visa-free policies have helped destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand grow by up to 200% compared to 2019.

Sun urged more countries to adopt long-term or visa-free entry for Chinese travelers.

As the world welcomes back Chinese travelers, Sun also pointed out that China itself is opening its doors to international visitors, with inbound travel seeing triple-digit growth thanks to partnerships and visa support.