Is Global Strife Helping Tourism?

The global travel industry has suffered temporary and destination-specific downturns the past few years, as terrorism and strife have hit Belgium, France, Turkey and even the United States. But a new report from online travel site Skift ponders whether they also are making world travelers more resilient—and perhaps even more driven to travel on.

Travel experts and industry officials have for a long time suggested that travel helps break down geo-political barriers, connecting people of diverse backgrounds who might otherwise be suspicious of one another. The new Skift report, published in conjunction with travel search company Momondo Group, proposes that this bodes well for the future of travel.

“Today’s geopolitically-aware travelers are characterized by their resilience,” the report said. “Even though such tragedies initially might put people off from travelling to certain destinations, life returns to the ‘business as usual’ quicker than ever thanks to the well-informed travelers of the information age.”

Indeed, “most people choose to travel and don’t want to live in fear,” said Andrew Shelton, managing director of Cheapflights.com, a global flight search engine that is part of Momondo Group. “When an attack happens, the flight search volumes to that certain destination pick up quicker than ever—typically in two to three weeks.”

Momondo found that Paris search traffic fell 56% from the previous month following the November 2015 Paris attacks—but then by January 2016, it was up 86%. It was the same for February, with a 42% rise from January, and a 16% increase for the period prior to the attacks.

Skift suggested in its report that “despite perceived travel risks and uncertainty about the global state of affairs, travelers are growing savvier and more resilient than ever. There’s a new kind of geopolitically-aware traveler who remains determined to make the most of the world, live without fear to have deeper, more immersive experiences.”

Momondo and Skift believe a number of trends in the past 10 years have helped form this new “Immersive Traveler,” including:

• The rise of social media and review websites that allow travelers to both hear about far away destinations and cultures from trusted sources and “connect with like-minded people, which enables a deeper exploration of their passions and interests, surrounded by a likeminded virtual community.”
• Cheap and accessible flights.
• The mainstreaming of the “Sharing Economy.”
• Remote working opportunities/virtual offices, which enable millions of workers around the world to tap into the global workforce from anywhere with an internet connection.

“These geopolitically-aware travelers, who tend to be a relatively young, well-educated and digitally savvy segment, also play a critical role in creating a more open world, establishing a stronger dialogue across cultures and popularizing the messages of peace and understanding,” Skift said. “As they tend to share their positive experiences with their extended circles via social media and review websites, the geopolitically-aware immersive travelers are in a unique position to break the stereotypes and act as a band aid, bringing a world divided with tensions closer.”