Global Hotel Alliance reveals destination hotsposts for 2024 and what's motivating travellers to visit them

05.12.2023 - 08:38 / traveldailynews.com / Vicky Karantzavelou

Europe most popular regional destination with global travellers. Main travel inspirations are social media and friends and family recommendations.

DUBAI, UAE – Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) has revealed the most popular destinations for 2024 and what is motivating travellers to visit them.

Japan and Thailand top the list, followed by Spain, Canada and Hawaii, a survey of its GHA DISCOVERY loyalty programme members found, with the desire to try new destinations and experiences a key motivation behind travel decisions

Europe has emerged as the most sought-after region to visit next year, while staycations are booming in Asia, led by members in China, who are planning more than five on average, followed by Thailand and Malaysia with more than four.

Similar to last year’s survey, GHA DISCOVERY members’ travel plans are predominantly driven by leisure. Across regions most respondents are planning to take no more than one business trip on average and 2-4 trips for leisure.

The strong rebound of Asian outbound travel is also clear, once again led by China where members have six to seven leisure trips planned (a 6.8 average), closely followed by Hong Kong (6.7) Thailand (6.4) and Germany (6.1). The Middle East and Africa stand out too, with travellers in these regions planning almost equal business and leisure trips (4.9 vs. 4.0) in 2024.

Member destination preferences by region include:

Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort Thailand.

Social leads to bookings: Social media is the top inspiration source, with 75% of respondents saying they travel to new places after seeing friends’ posts, with Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Oceania leading this trend. Travel magazines are still an important source in Europe and North America but recommendations from friends and family are the most influential.

Family and foodie breaks: Signalling a return to ‘normal’ demand patterns following the post-pandemic revenge travel movement, members are mostly opting for travel with their spouse or partner and intimate family trips, rather than solo adventures or mega-vacations with extended family. Foodie breaks are on the rise and have overtaken wellness getaways as the most desired travel experiences.

Loyalty programmes influence: Loyalty programme websites and apps are now the #1 choice across all regions for travel research and booking, a clear increase compared to 2023. This is followed by online travel agent sites and dedicated review portals, all preferred to brand and hotel sites, indicating that travellers want to search from a wide choice of options in one place to save time and effort.

When deciding what hotel to stay in, the quality of accommodation and the benefits of its loyalty programme are the most important