Four Highlights from the 2024 American Express Travel Trends Report

As if they didn’t already know, there’s great news for travel advisors when it comes to the travel intentions of the buying public in 2024. Eighty-four percent of people plan to spend more or the same amount of money on travel in 2024 when compared to last year, and 77% care more about the right travel experience than about the cost of the trip.

Even better many want the help of a travel advisor, with the younger generation leading the way. Fifty-seven percent of Millennials and Gen Z said they “want the help of a travel agent or trusted advisor” to help book their trip. Less than 50% of Gex X and less than 40% of Boomers said the same.

“People are traveling to make memories in 2024,” said Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel, which conducted the research on which the company’s Travel Trends Report is based.

Here are a few of the highlights from the report travel advisors should be aware of:

Experience over cost
While there’s not much of a difference between the generations on experience vs. cost, it is the youngest travelers again leading the way, with 79% of Millennials and Gen Z saying they care more about experience than cost. Seventy-five percent of Gen X and 72% of Boomers said the same thing.

Yes to upgrades
Sixty-six percent of Millennials and Gen Z said they are willing to pay extra to receive an upgrade. Fewer Gen X and Boomers, however, are willing to pay more, 57% and 43% respectively.

Year of the major trip
65% of all respondents said they are more interested in taking a major trip in 2024 than in previous years. What type of “major” trip are they interested in? Fifty-eight percent of Millennials and Gen Z, 53% of Gen X, and 48% of Boomers want to visit more than one country in whichever continent they’re visiting; and 28% of Millennials and Gen Z, 27% of Gen X, and 24% of Boomers want to do an expedition cruise.

Additionally, 31% of Millennials and Gen Z want to engage in some type of adventure travel (trekking, safari, climbing), with only 19% of Gen X and 12% of Boomers saying the same. Gen X and Boomers are slightly more interested in wellness-related travel – 24% and 19% respectively – with 29% of Millennials and Gen Z wanting the same.

Solo travel on the rise
Regardless of which generation travelers fall into, more and more of them are traveling solo. For 2024, 75% of Millennials and Gen Z – compared to 69% of all travelers – said they are planning on traveling solo. And, 60% of those planning on traveling solo this year intend to take two or more solo trips.