The digital association Bitkom published new survey on the topic of travel and vacation today. According to the results, one-fifth of German consumers can imagine that in 2030, instead of traditional travel, foreign places may be explored virtually in the metaverse or with virtual reality goggles. In addition, two-thirds of those surveyed assume that travel agencies will tend to die out in the future and that trips will then be booked primarily via international online platforms. For this representative survey, Bitkom Research interviewed a total of 1,005 people in Germany aged 16 and over, including 935 vacation travelers, by telephone on behalf of the digital association Bitkom.
These are further details:
- 53 percent of respondents said they preferred to book their vacation trips via online platforms than via travel agencies or tour operators (45 percent). In addition, 66 percent assumed that travel agencies would tend to die out in 2030 and that trips would then be booked primarily via international online platforms.
- 70 percent of consumers plan their trips online by using booking and comparison portals such as Booking.com, Fluege.de or TripAdvisor (58 percent) or by obtaining information directly from hotels, airlines or tour operators online (45 percent). Social networks such as Instagram or Facebook (12 percent) and travel blogs (eleven percent) tend to be less frequently included in vacation planning.
- 87 percent of those who book vacation services online have already done so for their entire trip. Other travel services that people liked to book online include accommodation for hotels or vacation apartments (80 percent), airline tickets (69 percent), tickets for long-distance or regional trains (65 percent), rental cars (52 percent), tickets for sights and attractions (45 percent) or activities such as city tours or sport trips (21 percent).
- Among the biggest advantages of online booking for consumers are independence from opening hours (86 percent), better comparability of travel offers (84 percent), a wider range of offers (60 percent), time savings (58 percent), travel reviews from others (33 percent), cost advantage (31 percent) and convenient cancellation options (23 percent).
- On vacation, consumers are open to new mobility options to get around locally: 30 percent use e-scooters from a sharing provider, 23 percent ride rental bicycles and five percent use a car from a car-sharing provider. Overall, 48 percent of vacation travelers use sharing services – two years ago, only 30 percent relied on shared mobility while on vacation. In addition, vacation travelers generally use public transportation (55 percent), rental cars (38 percent) or take a cab now and then (32 percent).
- To travel in a more climate-friendly and sustainable manner, 44 percent of vacationers would accept an additional charge and 36 percent would forego comfort. However, an equally large share of 44 percent said they would not change their travel behavior for climate or sustainability reasons. 16 percent said they felt ‘flight shame’, but only nine percent offset CO2 emissions of their trips via Atmosfair or myclimate.
Bernhard Rohleder, Bitkom CEO, commented: "In the metaverse, we can rediscover the world and have experiences that would not be possible in reality. Virtual trips to the deep sea or to times long past are just as possible as joint activities with friends who live in other places. Digitally, hard-to-reach or inaccessible places are also made accessible, and potential vacation destinations can be explored virtually in advance. But even if the trip doesn't yet take place in the digital realm – digital devices and the Internet are already an integral part of their vacation for the vast majority. Digitization helps with everything from vacation planning to sharing experiences, making travel easier and more sustainable. Traveling without the Internet – that is unimaginable for many."
Source: Bitkom
More information